radioactive nixie sources

[pcguru2000]

With the pricing of nixie tubes, you have to wonder if any of the nixes on sale by russian sources came from areas of the chernobyl contamination zone?  If some idiot went to the abandoned control room and starting pulling out nixie tubes to resell for $$, would the usps/ups/fedex have radiation sensors in place that would save us from getting something very radioactive?

Nixies are naturally radioactive, but the type of radiation is probably benign, how would we know if they weren't from a contaminated site?


Am I the only person that wondered about this?

[Matthew Smith]

Quoth pcguru2000 at 07/10/13 07:41...

I think it unlikely, as exempt radiation sources can be shipped through
regular channels.

http://www.nrc.gov/materials/miau/consumer-pdts.html

If above a country's exemption limits (some countries don't have these -
all radioactives require a permit) then they would have to be declared
and shipped as such, but I the chances of a Nixie being that 'hot' would
be pretty slim.

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[Nick]

On Sunday, 6 October 2013 22:11:25 UTC+1, pcguru2000 wrote:

With the pricing of nixie tubes, you have to wonder if any of the nixes on sale by russian sources came from areas of the chernobyl contamination zone?  If some idiot went to the abandoned control room and starting pulling out nixie tubes to resell for $$, would the usps/ups/fedex have radiation sensors in place that would save us from getting something very radioactive?

Nixies are naturally radioactive, but the type of radiation is probably benign, how would we know if they weren't from a contaminated site?

Nixes are NOT naturally radioactive - those that did have a VERY SLIGHT doping with Kr85 which has a half-life of slightly under 11 years, so by now there'll be pretty much nothing at all left. No danger whatsoever (and there never was any danger, even when initially manufactured)

Nixies are not so expensive as to warrant a suicide mission inside Chernobyl or anywhere else for that matter.

If I wasn't such a trusting person, I'd suspect that this was a troll :)

Nick

[pcguru2000]

The reason I was asking is that if someone can sell 6 IN 18 tubes for $200 on ebay, that would take about 20 minutes top to rip out of equipment.  There are still people living in that area and this may seem like a quick and easy $ to make.  This is a valid concern that probably no one has thought of.  I guess that I will still to the National Brand that is made in the U.S.

The Zone is estimated to be home to 197 samosely^[14] living in 11 villages as well as the town of Chernobyl.^[15] This number is in decline, down from previous estimates of 314 in 2007 and 1,200 in 1986.^[15] These residents are elderly, with an average age of 63.^[15] After recurrent attempts at expulsion, the authorities became reconciled to their presence and have allowed them limited supporting services. Residents are now informally permitted to stay by the Ukrainian government.

Approximately 3,000 people work in the Zone of Alienation on various tasks, such as the construction of the New Safe Confinement, the ongoing decommissioning of the reactors, and assessment and monitoring of the conditions in the Zone.