Watch luminous paint, glow-in-the-dark toys - those green luminous material - just how dangerous are they?

Question

I have many toys that are entirely green to make them glow at night. Worse still, they are near my baby. Do they cause harm due to their radiation?

Answer 1

I do also have many children's toys like you too, which glows in the dark.

Glow in the dark pigments are made of phosphores, a non-radioactive and non- toxic material.

Unfortunately many companies are using a lower grade for a cheaper price. The old saying you get what you pay for usually rings true.

There are only some pigment which can glow into water based mediums most other pigments will start deteriorating after exposure to any ambient moisture including humidity.

You will notice that most of the toys or gow-in-the-dark items are coated with some sort of plastic to keep moisture out.

So get rid of glow-in-the-dark items that had stopped glowing or keep them away from the kids ,most porbably ,moisture had gone in. (what goes in ..could come out)

I hope this answers your question.

Answer 2

The radiation given off by these toys is 100% harmless. It is not the harmful type (radiation refers to the entire electromagnetic spectrum, including light from your lightbulb).

Glow in the dark toys glow because incoming photons from visible light strike the electrons orbiting the nucleus and excite them, causing them to jump into a higher orbit. Much like when you are pushing a child on a swing and you happen to push them just at the right time so they go higher.

The electrons eventually fall back down to lower orbits again, and in the process, give off the extra energy they have in the form of another photon. This causes the glow you see.

Glow in the dark paint has actually been around for centuries, and was immediatly popular with the religious trinket industry.

The dangerous type of radiation is microwave radiation and the ionizing type such as high frequency UV, X-Rays, ,gamma rays, etc. Hopefully your child will not come into contact with dangerous levels of this very often. If you live in an at risk area or have a basement or underground portion of your house, you may want to check it for radon though if you haven't already.

I should mention that microwave radiation does not make things radioactive. They do cause water molecules to vibrate rapidly, which is how they heat food so fast, and can cause internal burns if you're exposed to them. To do this you'd have to find some way to run the microwave oven without the shield intact, or stand infront of a microwave satelite dish or doppler radar. You have nothing to worry about when you go to defrost tonights dinner. The waves dissapear almost the instant the cooking process stops. You can get microwave leak detectors from Radio-Shack fif you want to make sure your microwave oven has no leaks in it though.

Answer 3

Luminous Paint

Answer 4

Glow In The Dark Toys

Answer 5

No. Glow-in-the-dark toys usually have phosphors (the substances which make it glow) made from from zinc sulfide or strontium alumate, which are not radioactive substances. They do not emit any types of harmful radiation. The tritium used in glow-in-the-dark watches IS radioactive, as is the americium in your smoke detector, but not nearly enough to constitute a health hazard. You get far more radiation from the sun than any of these sources.

Answer 6

Ok logic here,
most glowing objects require being "charged with light" to glow and eventually fade out..i.e. they absorb energy "radiation" and then slowly dispell it, so I'd think it be relatively safe (as safe as being under an electric light would be. but I wouldn't let the baby actually touch or chew on them., Just in case.

Answer 7

Been eating lead paint chips lately? Don't put your neck out and ask any more questions like this one, I am getting hung up on them tonight.

Answer 8

Is it for babies, then it is non-toxic. Glow in the dark toys are harmless luminescence substance except uranium, they are not use for households.

Answer 9

they shouldnt cause harm....stuff glows just by giving off the light they absorbed...your baby will be fine!!