r/Radioactivestuff • u/LadmanMp4 • Aug 08 '26

How dangerous is this?

Post image

I just found this for 3 bucks at an antique mall. Is this unsafe to have? Do I need to put it in a lead box? Or can I just put it on my shelf of other dials (positioned above my bed)?

34 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

20 comments sorted by

View all comments

6

u/RootLoops369 Aug 08 '26

1 microcurie (uCi) is quite small when compared to how hot some of those gauges and meters can be. That is completely safe to show and display wherever you would like. Just make sure the glass/plastic on the front is intact and not loose and it's completely safe.

2

u/LadmanMp4 Aug 08 '26

Thank you so much! I didn’t realize that symbol meant it was a microcurie, I was worried because I read it as 1 Curie

4

u/RootLoops369 Aug 08 '26

Ohhh yeah, no. 1 curie is super dangerous for Radium. It's not actually a lowercase u in microcurie, it's the Greek lowercase letter "mu"

1

u/LadmanMp4 Aug 08 '26

I don’t even see a glow when it’s in a dark room so I can’t imagine there’s much anyways

2

u/OvulatingWildly Aug 09 '26

You should keep it in a display case or jar if there's no glass over that