Thread: Yellowstone Compound

Originally Posted by DaveMartell

I've heard that the orange/brown cerium is radioactive and considered to be a carcinogenic. The whiter the better. That's what little I know.

I think you may have this confused with Cesium.

Lapidary Supplies, Tools, Lapidary Equipment - Delta One Lapidary Supplies

Go to this website Lapidary Supplies, Tools, Lapidary Equipment - Delta One Lapidary Supplies, click "ABRASIVES" in the lefthand box, then go to pages 4 & 5 in the Abrasives section for "SUPER CERIUM OXIDE'
If you can't get to pages 4 & 5, type cerium oxide in the product search box.

Super Cerium Ox is almost pure white which is supposed to be superior to the yellowish, orangish, brownish stuff.

Do it.....
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Originally Posted by 0livia

Do you have a source for this message, Dave?

I might have been mistaken about the color of the cerium oxide being the indicator of radioactive isotopes being present as it appears that all naturally occuring cerium oxide has this present. I don't think it's really an issue but the stuff does contain thorium (uranium) non-the-less. I would guess that whatever the levels are of this stuff would be different in each differing type of cerium compound available. I'm no scientist though, just remembered reading about it before and just did a quick Google search to find this info. I'm sure there's a lot more to find about it if you dug deeper.

Cerium Oxide and Contaminants

Cerium Oxide MATERIAL SAFETY DATA SHEET

Cerium oxide

Thorium - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Thanks Dave for the info about thorium and radioactivity. As a result of reading your PDFs, I will wear a dust mask or respirator while stropping with Cerium powder.

Why is it that everytime we find something good that works well, it isn't good for our health.
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they have a spray for this stuff? I though it doesn't do well in water and needed a soap?

Cerium Oxide New Spray Bottle with Super Cerium Oxide -- Covington Model No. SSSB001 at Delta One Lapidary Supplies

So Ceruim is radioactive? That is so cool! I wonder what superpowers I'm gonna get.

Originally Posted by Pete_S

So Ceruim is radioactive? That is so cool! I wonder what superpowers I'm gonna get.

Hopefully all our hair doesn't fall out - - what would we have to shave!?!

I see! Thank you Dave!
Now its clearer why the german MSDS speaks about safety precautions.
They dd not mention why, though.

oh jeez

it can't be very strong or customs at some point would have picked up one of the 20 packets I've mailed all over the world by now
I've been including little packs for free in stuff I ship

Be careful not to fall into the WMD range, hehehe

Cerium is a rare earth metal, a group of metals that includes those of the lanthanide series, and may include yttrium, scandium, and thorium. Naturally occurring radioactivity from the uranium or thorium decay series is possible from rare-earth mineral operations. In this case, thorium contamination in the cerium oxide is the cause of the radiation readings found. While the radiation readings are higher than the background readings, for workers handling the material for only about 10 minutes a day the total radiation dose is a fraction of annual occupational radiation dose limits established by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The total radiation dose from this activity is also well below the average annual radiation dose received by all individuals from other naturally occurring sources of radiation, which is typically 300 millirem per year (National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements [NCRP] Report No. 94 "Exposure of the Population in the United States and Canada from Natural Background Radiation").