10 Common Items That are Surprisingly Radioactive and Their Green Substitutes

With all of the talks of alternative energy sources, nuclear is a word freely tossed around.

Radioactive materials are all around us, we just might not be able to determine what they are. Below are items that you come into contact with every day that you might not know it is radioactive.

Granite Countertops

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Radioactive because granite does contain uranium and plutonium decaying within it, emitting radon gas

Green Alternative: EnviroSLAB or IceStone, both are countertops made from 100% recycled glass or porcelain.

Blue Topaz

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The intense blue color is created by subjecting topaz to the radiation from a nuclear reactor.

Green Alternative: Try a beautiful aquamarine or sapphire if you’re looking for a stone of bluish coloring. Or, pick up a pure, transparent piece of topaz instead of one induced with chemicals.

Luminous Watch Dials

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Radium is a naturally occurring substance that is used in luminous paints for watch dials and fluorescent paints for aircraft dials

Green Alternative: Grab a solar/light powered watch. Try Casio or Pulsar to find these watches.

Medical X-Rays

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There is a reason pregnant women are strongly recommended not to have x-rays done on them

Green Alternative: Currently, there aren’t any equivalent radiation-free alternatives in the mainstream to replace x-rays. Just try not to break any bones and follow the exact instructions of the x-ray technician when you do need to do this.

Toner

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Uranium is in some of the silver colors in toner used for photography and similar projects.

Green Alternative: Most toners nowadays use carbon to produce the colors necessary, so you’re usually safe on the average one bought from the store. Xerox, however, is now producing an eco-friendly toner that results in less waste and less energy to produce.

Brazil Nuts

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High counts of barium and radium are within the meat of the nut. Radium is the radioactive element and inside the nut is about 1000 times more than other foods.

Green Alternative: No more nutty nukes! Or, rather, nuke-y nuts. Try a delicious macadamia nut, also grown in South America.

Uranium Glass

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This glass, also known as vaseline glass, was very popular in the 1800s and was to plate food that would be consumed. Today, however, it is only decorative. If it glows in the dark, don’t eat off of it!

Green Alternative: Try some of the hip and beautiful bamboo dishes available on the market.

Cloisonné Jewelry

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Popular in the 1980s, it became less-so due to the uranium oxide used to create the pieces.

Green Alternative: Go for some handmade jewelry from Green Earth Jewelry or turn techie with the recycled computer parts at Geekware.

Low Sodium Salt

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There is a little bit of radioactive potassium-40, from which the salty taste is derived.

Green Alternative: Don’t add salt at all! Most of the things you are eating already have a high enough level of sodium inside. Punch up the flavor of things with a little cumin, cayenne, black pepper, turmeric, etc. But, if you insist on adding real salt, go for the kosher salt, which contains no additives.

Fertilizers

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Your lawn fertilizers with high concentrations of potassium, which will have potassium-40

Green Alternative: Grab a bag of organic fertilizer, made of worms, manure, compost, and more.

Most of these items have radiation levels below the threshold for human hazards, but the radiation is still there and it does accumulate over time.