But so many people have contracted cancer and the medics don’t know why or how. Some of them might be because they wore a luminous watch when a child, played in an old cockpit in a scrapyard – who knows???

Roger Smith.

Hi Roger,

Elliots very enlightening report must surely put to bed, that any risk due to direct exposure to instruments in normal operation by presentation to, is non exisitant. Even painting the dials without licking the brush was a pretty safe pastime. Licking the brushes was clearly the elephant in the room.

Yes you are correct, Cancers and their origins can be difficult if not impossible to predict their causes.

It would be an act of absolute folly to speculate and then conclude, without a similar detailed historic survey, that for example playing in a cockpit as a child or wearing an old luminous watch has an elevated risk at all.

That report only deals with the painting, but it doesnt cover 70 years of decay and flaking dust forming particles which is much more of a danger to health, making it easy to inhale. Alpha particles may not have the strength to penertrate a fag paper but it loves the soft tissues of the nasal cavities and lungs and will cause future problems
Best advice keep away from the stuff
G

I agree that inhaling the stuff, if actually possible that is, could be fraught with potential danger.

However, a few sensible questions should be asked before the hysteria takes off into orbit once more. Once a jobsworth in UK officialdom picks this up properly and runs with it, the implications regardless of the facts will be impossible to correct, I can just picture the ill informed newspaper headlines…… :

1. Does the paint turn to dust or does it come off in flakes typically?

2. On a scale of 1 to 10, how much typically falls off say a 1940’s instrument, (1 being none, 10 being all)

3. For an instrument which isn’t ever dismantled, is there away for these physical particles to fall out?

4. What are the statistics of death, or injury directly attributed to exposure to these instruments by flightcrews, techs, instrument repair shops, panel collectors? Is there even a single death noted?

I’ve asked this before, though still no answer.

How many people are known to have been mamed or died directly from exposure to aeroplane instruments? (not manufacturing them historically)

Given the increasing EU trusted and sponsored paranoia, there must be hundreds of examples to quote?

Sgt Austin The reason for this absurdity is because there were very stringent requirements laid-down in advance, and by this stage the spectre of non-compliance penalties was starting to appear, so BAC were keen to do everything to the letter.

Have you located the specific articles from the Contract which illuminate this hypothesis that we can review?

The credible eye witness account of a particular incident is so compelling in it’s aparent absurdity, that it deserves significant documented references of the facts, if you are attempting to wash it away don’t you think?

Taking a mould in GRP is quite straight forward and shouldn’t damage the subject badly if you adhere to the basic rules.

A mould release agent is essential and has to be used to prevent the gel coat from adhering. When I was working for a composites co. back in the 80’s this was typically a highly wax polished mould and a coating of MRA / PVA IIRC.

Make sure that the area being moulded has no ‘returns’ and the subect can be removed from the mould without any features retaining it. The mould may have to be split to allow for this.

Significant heat can be generated from resins going off, especially if it is quite a thick lay up. Be aware of this if the subject is heat sensitive.

I would expect, that if I was allowed to mould from a nicely painted metal clad museum piece at Hendon for example, that there would be inevitable minor dings from the process…

fantastic!

Even the damage to the cladding is correct.

LA198

That wouldn’t be BM597 by any chance would it?