Glow Rings: just how unsafe and just how illegal?

Ok, I just stumbled upon a glow ring thread, and that prompted me to do a search, which resulted in me spending the next 45 minutes reading about glow rings )

There are a few things I'm still curious about though, and none of the threads seem to clear this up.

1. If glow rings are illegal in the US, how can you carry them outside? I mean they do attract attention, and wouldn't it be just a matter of time, before you got pinched.

2. If glow rings aren't sold in the US, how are you guys getting them past customs?

3. Are you guys absolutely sure these things are safe? I guess if they're sold in Europe, they're probably not dangerous, but then again, not enough years have passed, to determine the long term health consequences. You guys are putting these in your pocket right next to the ol baby maker. Maybe there's a chance your next kid pops out looking like Danny DeVito or Ron Jeremy.

Raven

Raven...who know's they're illegal besides the NSF? How many NSF officers you see standing around??

Raven I work around a nuclear medicine camera. can detect down to 1 microcurie of radiation. I put a glow ring under it....... NO detectable radiation. The particles cannont make it out of the glass much less the plastic case... Don't worry about thier safety...I would let my kids play with them except they are breakable and I worry more about glass shards than radiation. A single chest x-ray exposes one to many thousands of times more radiation than a broken glowring.

General consensus of information available from reliable sources (like Bushman, above, who beat me to the punch as I was typing this) appears to be that they are less harmful than taking a walk outside due to cosmic radiation. Larger versions are approved for use in the US in civilian industrial installations as emergency markers and for use by the military.

Suffice to say they are prohibited from posession by ordinary citizens by the NRC. Radioactives are not allowed in "novelty items" which is what a glowring is.

Of course, traveling 1 MPH over the speed limit is illegal too...

Are these the devices they put in Exit signs?
little tubes lined up spelling EXIT?
Self Luminous.

This reminds me of all the "rules, regulations, outdated laws, policies, lobbyists, graft...".

Tritium gun sights have been discussed already in another "glow ring thread" and they are "approved" in the United States. However reference "glow rings, because someone hasn't filled out all of the "paperwork" or paid the right people...someone "in power" says "Nope, can't do it, because I can "say so"!

In a previous "49 CFR, Transportation of Hazardous Materials" class, I learned that a "famous" fast food hamburger establishment could not transport their "special sauce" unless it met all the rules, requirements, labeling...a whole lot of "red tape". Well that was going to drive up the cost so much (not to mention scare the public!) it would have caused them to eliminate their "flagship burger". So they of course hired some lobbyist to do their "thing" (however, whatever their "thing" is) and lobby for a "Department of Transportation" "exempt" status/waiver. This would allow their "special sauce" to be transported. Keep in mind that even "seemingly harmless" substances in great quantities can indeed be "hazardous" to individuals and/or the environment. (Don't get me on the "Dihydrogen Monoxide" subject!)

Anyway, you would certainly think some "resourceful" organization would be trying to get these "approved", eh?

I believe that I can recall the final consensus of the previous threads. Gun sites are legal because they are very small. There is a limit to the amount of tritium you can have in something like that. A gun site or watch face is below this number, a glow ring is considerably above this number.

You actually COULD make a legal one, however it would require that you register where you are going to keep it, submit to potential inspections as to how you're using the thing and finally the company selling them must register as to how they are going to dispose of them. You're not allowed to just throw them away and a plan to get rid of them must be on record.

Nobody is going to go through this for glowrings. There there are restrictions on frivilous items using the stuff. Meaning that the NRA doesn't want to have to do paperwork for keyrings, but they will be willing to do it for exit signs and runway markers and such.

As far as danger is concerned, I think that exposing yourself to large amounts of the afore mentioned "Special Sauce" as normally applied to the special sauce delivery system is far more dangerous to your longevity and overall health

Nobody has answered this yet.
2. If glow rings aren't sold in the US, how are you guys getting them past customs?

Ebay-UK and friends send them in the mail.
They do not label them as "Dangerous and Hazardous and Illegal"

They are not hazardous, dangerous or illegal in the UK. It is your responsibility to know the laws of your country -regardless- of how stupid they may be.

...well you know what I mean...

They are not hazardous, dangerous or illegal in the UK. It is your responsibility to know the laws of your country -regardless- of how stupid they may be.

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial"> ROTFLMAO Couldn't have said it better (regarding the "stupid" part!)

Just to clarify my earlier post, I have my share of Glowrings and give them to family members as gifts and do not think they are dangerous or hazardous, however they are illegal in the States.

Spot on about "stupid laws".

Originally posted by Raven:
Maybe there's a chance your next kid pops out looking like Danny DeVito or Ron Jeremy.
Raven

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">That was just wrong!

Fwieze you are all under awest!!! (Elmer Fudd voice)this is the nucular agency, we know who and where you are, expect a knock on your door soon.

Why not drop the subject before it attracts unwanted attention.

Just my $0.00002

If the other 2,000 posts about this subject has not attracted attention by now, I think we might be safe.

There are differences between regulations established by a regulatory agency and laws enacted by a legislative branch of the government. I'm not aware of any laws suggesting that the owning of a glowring is illegal. Commerce dealing with them are a different story. Regulatory agencies can confiscate products, levy fines, and various other nasties that would make non-compliance in commerce undesirable.

Do you remember the tags on mattresses, furniture and such that stated "do not remove under penalty of law" (or something similar)? If you removed them, did you think the regulatory agency was going to come after you? They couldn't care less.
If you tried going into the business of selling them or something though, I wouldn't recommend removing them.

Thanks for that information Empath. So what could happen if a shipment of Glowrings are found that is coming into the USA?

My fiance is a chemical engineer who has worked with tritiated materials as part of her grad school work (cancer research)--she's a Phd, now. When I told her about it, she just looked at me blankly. Seems she talked to her schools radiation saftey officer before she was allowed to handle the stuff. The officer said something to the effect of "try not to drink large quantities of it. But, if you do, you'll just pee it out in a day or two, so the only thing that gets irradiated is the toilet"

Keep in mind she wasn't using T2 or TH, but an amino acid with a T substituted for an H. Tritiated Lucine, if I remember right. That would make it much more bio-active than raw gasious tritium.

From what I've read the risks of these things are in this order:
1) the phosphor is toxic
2) the glass shards are sharp
3) the NRC may come get you
4) the tritium may irradiate you

Keep the little tubes in their protective plastic cases and 1, 2 are out of play. 3 and 4 are somewhat unlikely, so I wouldn't let it keep me up at night.

Keep in mind I am neither a nuclear scientist nor a lawyer. I'm just a computer engineer who likes things that emit photons.

Can a "green" glow ring be easily seen if it's dropped in the grass during the day?

Raven

NO, to any color. Wait untill night falls.