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From: cash@eustis.cs.ucf.edu (Gene Cash)
Subject: Re: Electrostatic Autopilots
In-Reply-To: park@netcom.com's message of Fri, 5 Mar 1993 06:47:59 GMT
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	<1993Mar4.031815.29240@ee.ubc.ca> <1993Mar5.064759.15138@netcom.com>
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Date: Fri, 5 Mar 1993 21:55:21 GMT
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In article <1993Mar5.064759.15138@netcom.com> park@netcom.com (Bill Park) writes:

   The radioactive materials in a smoke detector are hazardous.  Note the
   warning sticker on the sensor.  Mine says:  "Caution.  Radioactive
   material, AM241 - 1.0 microCi" which means it contains the isotope
   Americium 241, with a radioactivity measured as one microCurie.
   It also warns that the device should be returned to the manufacturer
   for repair OR DISPOSAL.

   A smoke detector is hazardous, radioactive waste.

   Granted, one microcurie is not a very strong source of radiation.
   Nevertheless, hobbyists thinking of disassembling smoke detectors to
   obtain the ion sources for use in an electrostatic autopilot should
   realize that they will be handling small pieces of radioactive metal.

Yes, Maynard Hill mentions this danger himself in most of the practical
(i.e. for the model airplane people, not the atmosphere physicists)
articles he's written.

The ionizers he sells himself (as Aeroprobe Tech. Corp., see my other posting)
contain the polonium inside metal gratings, and are relatively safe.

Still, radioactive material is radioactive and hazardous.

One of my friends works at Argonne National Labs, and his boss died
of stomach cancer a little while ago.  His desk had a chunk of
glass (a souvenir from the trinity nuclear test) in the middle
drawer that was very "hot". :(

-gc
--


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