[BCMA] Disposing of an old x-ray machine

[Moderated BCMA subscriber listserv]

Dear Petra, thank you. I am very interested in hazards in museums , and I
had not thought of old x-ray machines , though I have cleaned one, ( the
outside of graffitti). What do you consider the dangers are ?  There is an
oil which is not so healthy but it  is enclosed PCBs. X rays at this time
used cobalt 60 , this has a T 1/2 = half life of just over 5 years , thus
if we say your machine is 1945 for simplicity . it has had  under 16 half
lives and we can reckon that after 8-10 half lives little remains , cobalt
60 becomes safe nickel , I have asked a physics teacher friend of mine for
advice too ,  so I am wondering how dangerous it is . There might be lead
and Beryllium  that can be dangerous , but they are enclosed
Paul Harrison MSc FII C conservator

On Thu, 4 Dec 2025 at 18:40, Moderated BCMA subscriber listserv <
listserv at lists.museum.bc.ca> wrote:

> Hello BC Museum Community,
>
> The Summerland Museum and Archives Society is looking to dispose of an old
> dental x-ray machine from the 1940s. We acquired the x-ray machine in 1977
> and seemingly no one in our organization thought about the hazards
> associated with items of this nature. It has been in storage for a very
> long time (perhaps even the entire time we have had it) but now we must
> vacate our storage facility.
>
> I have been trying for some months to identify a disposal method for the
> machine with no success. Our municipal waste disposal won't touch it, GFL
> couldn't dispose of it, and another company I reached out to won't call me
> back.
>
> Has anyone else dealt with an issue like this? I would greatly
> appreciate hearing about others experiences - and better yet, any advice on
> how we can properly dispose of the thing!
>
> Thank you very much,
> Petra Höller
> --
> Petra Höller (*They/She)*
> Curator
> Summerland Museum and Archives
> (250) 494-9395
> *curator@*summerlandmuseum.org <archives at summerlandmuseum.org>
> The Summerland Museum and Archives respectfully acknowledges
> that we are situated on the unceded and ancestral territory of the Syilx
> Peoples.
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>
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