Vintage radioactive wrist watches - Is Radium really nasty?

[Paul Berger (Canada)]

(01-18-2015 11:19 AM)jebem Wrote:  Some time ago I ordered some nice vintage watch hands, guaranteed to have Radium paint.
I wanted to discover how dangerous can it be for human health by comparing the safety accumulated radiation annual dose against what these Radium painted hands can emit.

You may be interested in this article about vintage watches with radium paint dials, you will note that the author states there is a significant danger of radioactive dust being present inside such watches dues to the radioactivity breaking down the binder in the paint.
http://www.vintagewatchstraps.com/luminous.htm