NRC advises throwing radioactive negative ion generating consumer goods into the trash

[Emily]

[h=2]?Negative Ion? Technology?What You Should Know[/h] 4 Comments Posted by Moderator on July 28, 2014

Vince Holahan, Ph.D. Senior Level Advisor for Health Physics
You may have heard about colorful silicone wristbands and athletic tape infused with minerals that are supposed to release ?negative ions.? You might even be wearing one. They are touted as improving balance and strength, enhancing flexibility and motion, and improving mental focus and alertness. They?ve been sold on the Internet or in retail stores across the U.S.
The minerals these products contain can vary from volcanic ash and titanium to less familiar ones such as tourmaline, zeolite, germanium and monazite sand. They may also contain naturally occurring radioactive elements, including uranium and thorium. In trace amounts, these materials do not warrant much attention. But the radioactive emissions?that is to say gamma rays?from several of these products were detected on entry to the country by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials using radiation monitoring equipment
While they may be radioactive, these products are not expected to create any health impacts. The amount of radiation given off by these products is well below the level that would cause any health concern or illness, even if worn over several years.
But NRC licensing requirements for uranium and thorium depend on the amount of radioactive material present. We commissioned the Oak Ridge National Laboratory to do an analysis that found enough radioactive thorium in several ion technology products that they require an NRC license for manufacture, distribution and possession in the U.S.
NRC staff experts on radiation worked with federal agencies and state regulators to determine the most appropriate path forward. Products containing negative ion technology ? that is to say containing licensable amounts of radioactive material ? should not be sold at the present time because they have not been licensed, as required, by the NRC.
Anyone wishing to dispose of a negative ion product may simply put it in their trash. This is OK because, although the amount of radioactive material requires licenses for manufacture and sale, it does not require any special handling or disposal.

We cannot say whether these products work as advertised. If you have them or know someone who does, our best advice is to throw them away. Anyone with health concerns should talk to their doctor. In the meantime, we?ll continue to do all we can to make sure they are being regulated properly....

http://public-blog.nrc-gateway.gov/tag/negative-ion-bracelets/​

It gets more Kafkaesque:

Utah DEQ
Last Updated: March 6, 2015
[h=1]Consumer Products and Radiation[/h] [h=2]Consumer Products Containing Negative Ion Technology[/h] The Division of Radiation Control (DRC) is committed to protecting public health and the environment by ensuring that human exposures to radiation are kept to levels that are as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA). The goal of radiation protection is to prevent or minimize exposures that provide no benefit.
The DRC was recently made aware that consumer products using negative ion technology were being marketed and sold in Utah. The Division has been working with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the Organization of Agreement States (OAS) since that time to address the health and safety implications of the use of this technology in consumer products.
Negative ion technology embeds negative ions in personal products and is currently being advertised as a means to maintain health, balance energy, and improve emotional well-being. Specifically, some commercially available silicone wristbands and kinesiology tapes commonly used by athletes and the general public promote the use of negative ion technology in their products.
The DRC believes it is important for the public to understand that negative ion technology can be an alternate description for the use of radioactive material that produces negative ions. Negative ion technology can involve the use of minerals that contain a naturally occurring source of radiation such as thorium or uranium.
The NRC has determined that the levels in some of these consumer products may be subject to radioactive materials licensing requirements. Licensing serves to ensure the proper possession, use, distribution, and transfer of radioactive materials. The FDA has determined that these products do not pose a significant public health and safety concern, even for negative ion silicone wristbands that contain levels of radiation that make them subject to radioactive materials licensing requirements...

http://www.deq.utah.gov/Topics/Radiation/conprods/ionrad.htm


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The FDA position is incomprehensible. They cause food producers to recall and waste millions and millions of dollars of food every year, (if not month), because their hordes of contractors have found miniscule levels of salmonella in an ingredient used in processed food, even if the food is meant to be served hot and there are no illnesses reported, but they make a mockery of nuclear regulations.

Here's a blog post with some videos done by a consultant working in this area who was alarmed by his own investigation of some of these wristbands:

Radioactive wristbands
...
I immediately pulled out my SE International Inspector EXP radiometer which tests for all 4 common types of ionizing radiation, and placed one of the bracelets up to the detector. I was shocked to find that the wristband was indeed radioactive, producing around 3.8uSv per hour (33.288mSv per year). I recorded two videos (embedded below) and sent them to the company to alert them that their bands are radioactive and they are not complying with the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission?s requirements listed in NRC Regulations 10 CFR Subpart D ? Radiation Dose Limits for Individual Members of the Public; http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/cfr/part020/part020-1301.html
Aside from not being licensed to sell products which contain radioactive materials in the US, I pointed out specifically that paragraph 1 contains two provisions the industry as a whole is not complying with; 1) The total effective dose must not exceed 1mSv per year, but these wristbands I had produced approximately 33.2mSv per year, and 2) proper disposal guidelines for radioactive materials were not likely being followed by consumers when they disposed of old wristbands.

...
My primary concerns are as follows:

• The general public purchasing these bracelets has no idea they are radioactive, and by wearing these products they are greatly increasing their annual exposure to harmful ionizing radiation, putting themselves and possibly their children at greater risk
• If a person were to wear two or more of these products, they would be well over the 50mSv annual exposure limit set for radiological workers (people who work with or around radioactive materials or devices).
• The industry is unregulated, and competition to produce wristbands and other products that produce higher and higher ion output will drive ionizing radiation levels emitted by these products higher and higher.
• The environmental impact of improper disposal of this radioactive material may pose a serious problem.

That company seemed to respond by getting their product into compliance, but why is the NRC saying it is OK to just throw these wristbands away if disposal regulations are being violated?

Here is a comment to the blog post that indicates that the public is not being informed of this risk:

Stuart says:
September 25, 2014 at 10:19 pm
I own I trion Z band and work in the nuclear industry. Last week a brief went out that an operator set of a hand Monitor. Turns out it was his ionising band. (tests were done and was found to contain Th-136)The make was ?i-ons? I think. I?ve been wearing a trion Z one for about a year so I tested it with a dp6 frisk probe and it?sgiving out about 10cps beta/gamna..
I have since searched the net this is the only site I have found. Nothing on Amazon or any of the sites where they are sold points out anything about them? DEFO NOT GOOD..

http://amal.net/?p=4773​