Okay, so to all my crafters/artists out there, these Czech glass beads sold at Michaels, and apparently other craft stores too, particularly the Opal Aqua Luster or Silk Green Aqua White Luster varieties, or certain "Superduo" styles, contain uranium dioxide, which acts as a colorant and makes the beads radioactive.
Normal background levels of radiation are typically around 20–60 CPM (counts per minute), some say 5-100+ depending on sensors, but people are reporting getting readings of 300-2000+ and needless to say this is concerning.
Michaels claims the glass protects you…that may be wrong going by the readings people are getting.
The beads emit alpha radiation, which cannot penetrate skin, but can cause cancer/health risks if ingested, inhaled or absorbed through wounds. So if any of these beads are broken and the dust gets in your lungs or a cut, or if a child or pet ingests them, it can be a problem.
According to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, there is no recognized danger to handling or using uranium glass, as the glass itself blocks most of the alpha particles…unless broken or in dust or ingested.
BUT! They may also emit beta and gamma radiation. Gamma is highly penetrating, passing through the body and causing deep organ damage, while beta particles typically cause superficial burns on skin but can be dangerous if ingested.
An easy way to tell if a bright green or yellow-green glass bead of any type (or bright green glass in general) may be radioactive is to shine a UV light on it. If it glows a bright neon green, you got radiation!
So anyone that uses beads in their crafting or art, be aware, better safe than sorry!
