My wife wants to buy a Toyota Camry Hybrid ( coming off the shelve next week but she has had NO reassurances from anybody at Toyota that the batteries(mainly) are radioactive free<. anybody has any ideas of what is going on with radioactivity from Japanese companies?
I wouldn’t worry about it at all. I’ve seen no report of any imported manufactured product with any contamination. If your wife wanted to buy Japanese rice, that’s another thing entirely…
Radioactive - You’re kidding right??
You will get more radiation from eating a banana. Potassium 40.
There are however, electromagnetic fields that some people claim to be sensitive/allergic to. I don’t know if this is a real phenomenon, but the psychosomatic symptoms can be enormous.
If you know a high school science teacher, maybe you could borrow a geiger counter and take it on your test drive.
I believe The Science Patrol is on top of the situation.
Now I’ve heard it all… radioactive cars? The thing about using a geiger counter though is she’ll realize there is radioactivity in her surroundings ALL the time. If she does not have a basic foundation of knowledge about radiation, she might not understand or accept any explanations though. Also, only a fraction of the car might be made in Japan and could be assembled in another country anyway. I’d worry the LEAST about the japanese parts.
If you are concerned about fallout from the damaged Japanese nuclear plant, don’t be. If radioactive fallout was bad enough to make a battery dangerous, millions would be dying from radiation poisoning in Japan.
Any inherent radiation from materials used to build the hybrid battery is so low that you need not worry about that, either. Granite is low grade uranium ore, and will make a Geiger counter light up. But there is not enough radioactivity to harm you. People have worked in granite buildings for decades without harm.
Wow. Another one of my posts disappeared. I didn’t think it was inflammatory, so I would like to know if it was flagged or if it is a technical glitch. This is getting old.
This is simply not a concern.
“Granite is low grade uranium ore, and will make a Geiger counter light up. But there is not enough radioactivity to harm you. People have worked in granite buildings for decades without harm.”
True enough. Uranium in general is not very radioactive. What people are worried about (even if they don’t know it) is radioisotopes that can be absorbed and stored by the human body. Doesn’t seem like a likely issue with autoparts. The OP’s wife might want to avoid camera stores as well. Anyway, at the end of the day, a lot of those batteries are made in China anyway. Oh, that’s right, avoid the Apple Store too. Sleep tight.
Camry hybrids don’t come off a shelf, they come off an assembly line in Kentucky.
USA!
There are so many other things that will kill you before a radioactive hybrid battery from Japan.
Hot dogs, for instance.
Chill, dude.
There is more radioactivity in your glow-in-the-dark watch dial…If you are having buyers remorse, you will have to find another reason to weasel out of your sales contract…
To add to the list of radioactive items… smoke detectors, vintage cloissone, vintage dishes, salt substitute, instant coffee, bricks, lantern mantles, vintage glass (to include the marbles you played with as a kid), dental porcelain, Boeing and Douglas aircraft from the 80s and earlier, brazil nuts, cat litter, water softener salt, fertilizer, tiles … I bet there are a lot more, such as random cheap stuff from China. Of course bananas are the best. In the nuclear industry, amounts of radiation exposure are often conveyed using the so-called “banana equivalent dose”. Incidentally, sun flower seeds and potatoes also contain K40. 
Perhaps you should line the inside of the trunk with aluminum foil. And always wear a hat. That helps, too.
I just sold my 1978 Oldsmobile. Had the radio been active, I might have gotten an additional $25 for the car.
And don’t even think about a dental xray or taking a jet flight…
Oh yeah, and LIFE-SAVING medical procedures.
lol @ Triedaq
Triedaq, you are a hoot!
Don’t go skiing either, at 10,000 ft above sea level, there’s less atmoshpere between you and the sun and the gamma rays from outer space.
Tough crowd.
Your wife’s concern is not irrational, and has been shared by the auto industry. I’d suggest that you Google “radioactivity concerns in japanese automobiles” for detailed information on the steps the industry has taken to assure acceptable radiation levels on Japanese autos and product. There’s a great deal of good information available.
Be aware also that auto manufacturers’ VIN numbers are coded to identify the country of origin. I’ve attached the VIN decoder for Toyota for an example. Others use similar formats. While parts and subassemblies may still oriiginate from Japan, this should help.
Sincere best.