Consumer Products

This category covers smoke detectors, watches, clocks, glow in the dark items, ceramics, and other things that contain or may contain radioactivity that you might purchase.

FAQs Developed by the HPS

The following FAQ has been developed by our topic editors for this category:

  HPS FAQ   Is Anything We Use in Everyday Life Radioactive?

Relevant HPS Web Pages

The following HPS Web pages also address this category:

  PDF   AARST Granite Position Statement_8_04_2008
  PDF   Consumer Products Fact Sheet
  PowerPoint   Natural and Man-Made Radiation Sources
  PDF   Radiation from granite countertops

Questions Answered by HPS Experts

The following health physics questions have been answered by an expert and approved by our editors for inclusion in our "Ask the Experts" feature. Click on the question to see the answer.

Questions in this Category Are in the Following Subcategories:
  •  Electronics
  •  Watches, Clocks, and other Glow-in-the-Dark
  •  Radioactive Ceramics and Glass
  •  Miscellaneous
 
Electronics
Q7276   –   DVD player
 
Watches, Clocks, and other Glow-in-the-Dark
Q7667   –   Old watch parts
Q8650   –   Older watches
Q11008   –   Gas mantles
Q11947   –   Hyalite opal ring
Q11972   –   Vintage wristwatches
Q12289   –   No risk from promethium-147 on watch dial
Q12513   –   Radium-illuminated compass
Q12757   –   Glow-in-the-dark night sight with tritium
 
Radioactive Ceramics and Glass
Q3167   –   Eating off glazed pottery
Q5705   –   Vaseline glass
Q7440   –   Radioactivity and dose limits due to ceramic tiles
Q11320   –   Vaseline® glass contamination
Q12205   –   Radioactivity in decorative tiles
Q12886   –   Is radon present in Fiestaware?
 
Miscellaneous
Q7445   –   Concerns about americium-241 smoke detectors and their use
Q8036   –   Smoke detectors
Q8460   –   Effects of radiation on hearing aids
Q8486   –   Safety of cell phones
Q8521   –   Dose to lungs from cigarettes
Q8678   –   Smoke detector broke open
Q8971   –   RFID tags in clothing
Q9737   –   Safety of smoke detectors
Q11701   –   How safe is my smoke detector?
Q12321   –   Military clothes used in Afghanistan
Q12533   –   Safe distance for two-way satellite dish

Other Useful Websites

The following websites may also be useful:

  External website   Consumer Products – Health Physics Society
  External website   Electronic Product Radiation Control – U.S. Food and Drug Administration
  External website   Microwave Ovens – U.S. Food and Drug Administration
  External website   Smoke Detectors – U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
  External website   Television Radiation – U.S. Food and Drug Administration