I`m going to have to call this one out.

 

after talking to Atheist and performing other tests and looking at other possibilities, this Panic merchant post made in #4 is unfounded entirely!

 

I`ve smahed the Bi metal to expose the insides and still NO radiation after hours exposure, I`ve fused the Bi directly to the Am241 chip in the slug, and machined it down a little at a time (a few micron each time) until I`m back down to the chip again and half the slug is missing, there is Nothing abnormal going on at all!

 

it IS perfectly safe to have a radium painted watch and be around Bi metal!

it`s total BS to think otherwise!

 

Budllewaargh, you owe me a new Am241 Slug!

 

and the worst part is I was Really hoping this would actualy Work! it would be nice to add Astatine to my element collection.

I’m currently not supporting fear mongering…the alpha partials from radium are certainly not energetic enough but http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astatine#Occurrence

I kind of wish I could get a sample of Po-209. It has a 100+ year half-life so it would be keepable as a sample in an element collection. In addition, the lack of gamma radiation means that it could be kept in a glass ampoule and put on display. However, the somewhat elevated decay energy and the process of electron capture and positron decay modes might make it tough to keep a sample at temperature that won't melt the glass. Still, if I had enough money it would be nice to have.