Thread: Radioactivity of natural stones

Hello gentlemen!

I have been wondering this a while, has anyone tested any natural hones for radioactivity?
I expect at least some of them to be somewhat radioactive, having traces of Uranium or other radioactive elements.
Chances are nobody developed cancer from his hones, but if someone had the tools to test his collection, I would love to see the results.

I wonder if honing a blade off of a stone sourced out of Chernobyl would not only cut better, but work as an astringent at the same time?

Lol.

Interesting question!

Originally Posted by earcutter

I wonder if honing a blade off of a stone sourced out of Chernobyl would not only cut better, but work as an astringent at the same time?

Lol.

Interesting question!

Might facilitate honing during power failures.

I think that all stone is radioactive to some degree. My understanding is that the radioactive minerals are ubiquitous and that geological processes sometimes sort and concentrate them into deposits. Houses in Colorado that have contact or exposure to rock or rocky soil often have radon issues.

Disclaimer; I have not done any research on this, it is just how I've always understood it.

There are very few rocks and/or minerals radioactive to any real extent. Considering what hones are comprised of you have a better chance of being struck by lightning on a day without a cloud in the sky.

What would be more interesting is to expose your hones to Ultraviolet light. it might be a real visual treat.

Radon is a gas produced by the natural deterioration of certain isotopes. It usually comes from pretty deep down and the solution is ventilate the area under the structure.

Originally Posted by thebigspendur

There are very few rocks and/or minerals radioactive to any real extent. Considering what hones are comprised of you have a better chance of being struck by lightning on a day without a cloud in the sky.

What would be more interesting is to expose your hones to Ultraviolet light. it might be a real visual treat.

Radon is a gas produced by the natural deterioration of certain isotopes. It usually comes from pretty deep down and the solution is ventilate the area under the structure.

I have friends in the interior of British Columbia and that is exactly what they had to do. I find that a little frightening.

some people expose themselves to small amounts of radiation for it's health benefits.

Originally Posted by tintin

some people expose themselves to small amounts of radiation for it's health benefits.

There are 'Vapor Caves' in Colorado that I think used to be called 'Radium Vapor Caves', or something like that , when the radon was considered an attribute. I've gone to the caves and enjoyed them. I don't think that the radon got any lower when they changed the name. Radon used to be considered helpful to TB patients and there were many sanitariums in Colorado for the treatment of TB.

Five years ago I went for vacations on the Island of Lemnos, a friend had a house there. Here it's generally a bad idea to drink tap water on small islands, and that friend of mine knew of a natural spring where the water was fine for drinking... but it had radon. And his family used to keep it in glass bottles overnight, supposedly to "escape from the water".
Needless to say, I didn't drink it since buying bottles is really cheap, but I did get a stone, fine sandstone that was near the spring, and I started wondering the above after getting the stone.
To my understanding, radiation with higher frequency of the light is always dangerous, and a source of cancer, no matter the health effects advertised.
I remembered the case with the radioactive paints, around the WWII time, that were used as lipstick by the (female mostly I assume) workers as it glows in the night. I bet it looked extraordinary, but many of them got cancer.

Originally Posted by bluesman7

I think that all stone is radioactive to some degree. My understanding is that the radioactive minerals are ubiquitous and that geological processes sometimes sort and concentrate them into deposits. Houses in Colorado that have contact or exposure to rock or rocky soil often have radon issues.

As a professional in the field of radiation protection I couldn't have put it better. In summary, it's pretty unlikely that any of the natural stones we use for honing would have significant radioactive content, and certainly very unlikely to present any kind of radiation hazard in normal use.

However, one scenario where I could see a hazard arising would be where stones with significant radioactive content were being processed by sawing, grinding and polishing. Operations like these could produce respirable dust which would need to be controlled both for worker safety and environmental reasons. In most jurisdictions there are strong regulations governing stone processing aimed at controlling dusts as the detrimental effects of silica and asbestiform minerals have been well known for a long time.

So the short answer is there is minimal hazard to hone users but companies that process stone need to thoroughly assess the risks of processing, storage and waste management.