Radioactive Dinner Plates

The former owner of this plate died from cancer.
She was quite elderly at the time of death.  It is hard to know whether eating from these plates or having them in her cabinet shortened her life. She did have a collection of the plates.

The x-ray film below was left inside its envelop for the five days that it was placed under the plate.




The plate above "took its own picture" by just being placed on an envelop of x-ray film for five days.  The plate's mark is shown below the x-ray.

Below is the mark on the bottom of the old dinner plate.  These have not been manufactured since prior to World War II, but many people still collect and use them.  Most colors such as browns, blues, and greens, would have no need to contain uranium and are not likely radioactive.

Disclaimer
The author of this page offers only limited evidence and experience in these matters.  You should not assume anything about other yellow, orange, or red colored glazes on old pottery unless they are tested or reliably labeled.



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Posted by Marvin Bartel.  E-mail: marvinpb@goshen.edu
Updated: Sept. 9, 2001