Radiation in old Lenses

[enny]

I come across article that say that old lenses from 50s to 80s can be radioactive. Got me wondering if our anaorphic lenses are in the same boat since most of them are old i think my was build in 70 bausch and lomb.

Radioation is in the glass of the lens  (In case you didn’t know, some camera manufactures from decades ago chose to use the radioactive elements lanthanum and thorium in their camera lenses (and sometimes viewfinders) in order to increase the glass’ index of refraction.)

 

I was wondering if we will turn in to hulk after using it for long time But they say that there is relly no danger (This puts the “6hrs/day for a month” usage at about the same as getting a chest X-ray [...] Or to put it another way, using the lens six hours a day for a year would be the same as taking three round-trip flights from one US coast to the other in that year. Not completely trivial, but not something people normally stress about. And that’d be really heavy usage) Some lenses are more radioactive then others SMC Takumar 55/1.8 is the worst of them all and kodak

 

Youtube video of the geiger scale used on takamura sound like Chernobyl documentary i watched when they enter the city geiger scale goes of crackling

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ozOMssiP2E

 

 

 

What do you think?

 

Oh and if any of you want to give up your anamorphic lenses after reding this i will be happy to take them specialy  lomos and isco ;)

 

More info

http://petapixel.com/2013/05/03/decades-old-lenses-may-be-radioactive-especially-if-theyre-made-by-kodak/

 

Lens tested for radiation good info here

http://camerapedia.wikia.com/wiki/Radioactive_lenses

[Rcorrell]

This is interesting and very true about lots of the equipment we "professionals" use.  Want to see something really scary?? (my best Dan Akroid voice from the twilight zone) No, but seriously??  Take that geiger reader and put next to / up to a wireless follow focus system such as the Bartech....   Get ready to run away very fast in the other direction. It's seriously scary how much unhealthy radiation that thing puts out, and any of the microwave based wireless devices.  You can go through "your healthy amount of radiation in a year"  in a matter of hours using a Bartech..  But seriously, all you AC's out there, at least know what you're willingly putting your brain next to for days/ weeks at a time.  

 

And thats my PSA for the day.

 

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[Cineman1]

Excuse me if I'm wrong, but I don't think a geiger counter would register anything from a follow focus.  I think what you would need is an R.F. or E.M.F. meter.