Answer to Question #3757 Submitted to "Ask the Experts"

Recently at a boutique I came across a collage art piece made of clock and watch dials. I noticed some of the dials appeared to have radium paint. I contacted the state agency who did a survey and found three of the dials did have radium. My concern is that there was no glass or cover on the pieces, leaving the paint exposed to chipping, flaking etc. Since I had my baby and carriage and gear along I am worried about contamination—should I do anything, do I need to worry?

Thank you for your question. It was a good idea to have someone from your state agency confirm that these dials did, in fact, have radium paint. From what you have indicated, it doesn't appear there is anything for you to worry about.

You are right that it is the chipping and flaking of the paint that could be a concern. It is not so much of a concern from a contamination standpoint, though, because if a flake were to get on your clothing, it would just wash off in the washing machine or blow off in the wind. In high quantities, the concern would be ingestion of the radium paint flakes.

In general, these watches do not have very much activity (approximately 0.1 microcuries)—which is why they were allowed to be sold as a consumer product. Even if it was possible that you or your baby ingested a flake of the paint, it would be of minimal risk.

Kelly Classic, MS
Certified Medical Health Physicist