We’ve talked about the dangers of various collectibles, from frayed wires to poisonous flatware, including some of the more insidious of dangerous collectibles: radioactive collectibles. There’s more to this genre of collectibles, including a number of quite-safe items, but the background is fascinating.

You may have noticed a couple weeks ago, when I posted a number of photos I got at an antique shop. One photo was of a large, clapboard-sided building, huge letters painted on the side: RADIUM WATER. As a child of the post-atomic age, the dangers of radioactivity were part of my gradeschool education. We learned of fallout, half-lives, and a group of women called the Radium Girls who were slowly killed by the radium paint they used to illuminate watch dials. As far as radium goes, it’s not as energetic as its more unstable brothers, but its radioactive properties still cause enough damage. On top of it all, radium degrades into the carcinogenic noble gas radon.

Radioactivity was first discovered and experimented with in the late 19th century and early 20th century, so by the 1910s and 1920s just enough was known about this magical property of unstable atoms to be, honestly, dangerous. At the lowest end, radioactivity was deemed ’safe’, and many people and doctors believed radioactivity had a curative nature. In cases like ‘radium spas’, natural water sources that had a degree of natural radioactivity were touted as fountains of youth. For those unlucky enough to not have a natural repository of radioactive materials (’unlucky’ being subjective), radioactive objects could be purchased and used for their imagined medical properties.

Irradiating water was one of the biggest quack remedies utilizing these dangerous compounds. “Radium jars” like the one on the right were large crocks for containing water, with either radioactive elements in the clay or added as a separate piece. It’s wise to realize that, while radium is itself a radioactive element, the term ‘radium’ was used as a catch-all for any radioactive substance, including polonium and uranium. Radium jars potentially contained a large amount of uranium, while others had barely enough to set off a geiger counter. As for the dangerousness of these items, unless you’re trained in detecting radiation, you’re taking some unpleasant risks if you’re buying from an inexperienced seller, or ‘discover’ an item when the previous owner has no idea how radioactive it is — you don’t want the EPA at your house taking measurements when the neat little thing you found turns out to be enormously radioactive. Objects that no longer contain radioactive materials did not retain radioactivity for very long after the source was removed, and their prominent labels describing their radioactivity are sure to attract attention without actually carrying any danger. Displaying a radium water jar in your kitchen or a Radithor bottle in your medicine cabinet may make your guests uncomfortable, unless that’s your intent.

Red and ivory Fiestaware are some of the more common radioactive collectibles you can buy without significant risk. While the glaze could have up to several grams of uranium in it, unless you’re actually using it for dining or have amassed a large amount of it, your radiation exposure is negligible. Uranium in glazes wasn’t limited only to Fiestaware (although they were the most productive at it) — many rich, vibrant glazes used natural or depleted uranium in the glaze…and some potters are still using it today. Vaseline Glass is also moderately radioactive due to the inclusion of uranium to add a luminescence to the glass. Vaseline glass, however, has even less radioactive content than Fiestaware, and while it might set off a geiger counter, aside from inhaling or eating the glass itself exposure to vaseline glass is even less dangerous.

If you’ve got a glowing antique watch from before the 1940s, it is probably radium. Radium paint itself isn’t overly dangerous — the substance needed to be inhaled or eaten to have significant medical problems. You still need to use care with radium-dialed clocks, to avoid the paint flaking or being scraped off due to carelessness. If you’ve got a modern clock with glowing spots, you may still have something radioactive: tritium is used today, a radioactive substance that like radium is harmful when inhaled or consumed, but otherwise not particularly dangerous in the small amounts used. Tritium has a shorter half-life, so the radiation decays relatively quick, the radiation doesn’t penetrate skin, and it doesn’t decay into anything dangerous. Tritium is used in things from instrument panels on airplanes to gun sights. If you wanted to own something actively and visibly radioactive, replacement gun sight parts with tritium are rather inexpensive.

Although not inherently radioactive, around the same time science became fascinated with everyday applications for x-rays, from fitting shoes to checking your tires. These did put out quite a bit of radiation, but posed little danger when turned off. Aside from the inherently dangerous, like imbibing something radioactive or possessing something that’s kicking out neutrons at an alarming rate, the fun of collecting these quasi-harmful items comes from modern knowledge of radiation and its effects, and knowing just how naive the public was that once irradiated their feet for comfort, drank radium to feel better, and ate from uranium-laced plates. It’s a wonder humanity survived past the 1960s, and your shelves can hold a few reminders of the past atomic age.

Going antiquing may not be as safe as you previously thought. Sure, carnival glass, chalkware figurines, and Barbies aren’t a huge threat to you and the people you love, but careless collectors have found themselves in dangerous propositions.

First, we have an absurdly random event: a few months ago, a teacher in Ventura, CA, tapped the 40mm shell paperweight he had on his desk — causing it to explode, losing part of his hand. While most of us know better than to pick up unexploded ammunition found while hunting near a military base, quite a few people might not think much of the howitzer round’s smaller cousins. An antique gun, kept with vintage ammunition nearby, could be equally dangerous and deadly. As gunpowder ages, there’s a chance that it might become unstable and sensitive to the same jolting the teacher gave his shell. A box of fifty year old bullets jostled a little too hard — or even due to a temperature or air pressure change — could still cause a bit of damage. Antique toy cap guns as well: caps contain a very small amount of explosive materials, but under the right circumstances they could cause a small fire. In general, anything containing gunpowder should be disposed of properly, and not kept as a collectible; historical or valuable shells can be rendered inert and reassembled to remove any danger.

Guns have an additional risk: the law. While the USA still has rather liberal gun ownership laws, other countries do not. Ireland recently held a gun amnesty period, allowing people to turn in their firearms before a stricter gun ownership law went into effect. This amnesty period netted a number of weapons, including crossbows, swords, and a musket. One gun owner, not wanting to run afoul of the law, turned in his grandmother’s antique pearl-handled pistol…only to realize the artifact probably had historical value. Like bullets emptied of their primer and powder, a gun can be deactivated and made unfireable. Even in the US, while laws protect much of gun ownership, there are still restrictions. Quite often, many people believe than an antique gun, even machine guns or large-bore firearms, are legal because they are collectible, but each individual state sets their own laws regarding fireable weapons. As with Ireland, knives, crossbows, and other lethal weapons are bound by various laws depending on locality. In college I knew a man who fell under legal scrutiny for owning a shuriken, or throwing star; he ordered it from a catalog, without realizing they were illegal at that time in his state. Collectors with a weapon in their collection should talk to the proper authorities to ensure that no lines are crossed that might cause a problem later.
Guns, knives, and crossbows, regardless of antique value, make moms everywhere click their tongues and wag fingers their children for wanting to own them: weapons have an obvious danger. However, a lot of antiques tend to go under the radar.

There are a number of materials that have long been abandoned by manufacturers, but are still around in collectibles. Lead paint, of course, is always a worry, as it may turn up in everything from toys to furniture. Asbestos was long used as a insulator against both heat and electricity. And — of all things — a number of collectibles are radioactive enough to set off Geiger counters, everything from bright Fiestaware colors to vaseline glass to radium-dial watches. The key to managing these is proper storage and handling. Radioactive dishware is safe enough to display, though not to be eaten off of. Many asbestos items are not degraded enough to become airborne and get into lungs, provided they are not overly worn nor being used on a regular basis. Lead paint can be varnished over to prevent flaking, or stored in a place to avoid casual contact that might cause paint to come loose.

Just because the electrical outlet hasn’t changed much in nearly a century, many people do not consider the dangers of plugging in antique electrical items to see if they work. A worn or frayed cord (which might contain asbestos; I refer you to the previous paragraph) could start an electrical fire very quickly, or cause a nasty shock. Using plastic to insulate electrical devices was not consistent or reliable until the 1960s, leaving plenty of exposed metal to pass electricity on to the nearest grounded object — most likely, your hand. Because older electrical objects had so much metal and asbestos in them, they might not even smoke until it is too late, causing a fire at the outlet due to circuit overload. Electrical items should be examined closely for fraying or loose wires before even considering putting power to the leads. More complex items should be opened up and examined internally, to look for dust, cobwebs, or loose parts that could cause a short or burn quickly if there is a problem. The good news is most electrical appliances older than the 1970s were relatively simple, and most people who can use a screwdriver can learn how to repair shorts and replace cords. The safest option is to leave a display appliance as a display — do not be tempted to test it out if you have no intention of ever using it, and you will avoid potential disaster.

I suppose a collector could stick to stamps, coins, and books, avoiding all risk, but where’s the fun in that? With a little foresight, common sense, and understanding, even the most dangerous of antiques can be handled and kept without ever risking life and limb. The first step is to recognize and acknowlege that just because something is old doesn’t mean it doesn’t have its own dangers. By learning how to handle, care for, and repair antiques, a collector profits from their newfound knowledge, regardless of any risks in owning their collection. But, as always, be careful: you don’t want to end up as a quirky news story someday!