# Is stainless steel cookware more dangerous than aluminum cookware? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 11, 2001, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-stainless-steel-cookware-more-dangerous-than-aluminum-cookware/86703 "2001-10-11T01:27:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![leroy\_the\_mule](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6a8cbe/32.png) [@leroy\_the\_mule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leroy_the_mule)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2001, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-stainless-steel-cookware-more-dangerous-than-aluminum-cookware/86703/1 "2001-10-11T01:27:36Z")
According to these sources you could [die](http://www.serversolutions.com/decomm_sec/scrap.htm) of radiation poisoning using stainless steel, or you [do fine](http://yarchive.net/med/aluminum.html) with aluminum. Kind of turns the old health-food dogma on its ear, doesn’t it? Maybe I’ll switch to porcelainized steel pots… ---
**Author:** ![Booker57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Booker57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Booker57)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2001, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-stainless-steel-cookware-more-dangerous-than-aluminum-cookware/86703/2 "2001-10-11T02:00:05Z")
Cast Iron and Corning[sub]tm[/sub]Ware I don’t do much real cooking, but when I do, those are what I use. ---
**Author:** ![red\_dragon60](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ce73a5/32.png) [@red\_dragon60](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/red_dragon60)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2001, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-stainless-steel-cookware-more-dangerous-than-aluminum-cookware/86703/3 "2001-10-11T02:00:29Z")
Stainless steel is made with molybdenum and carbon. Some kinds are made with zinc I think, I haven’t studied metallurgy as much as I should though. These are not radioactive elements. Unless you are cooking Plutonium soup, you should be fine. ---
**Author:** ![douglips](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@douglips](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/douglips)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2001, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-stainless-steel-cookware-more-dangerous-than-aluminum-cookware/86703/4 "2001-10-11T02:12:24Z")
dragon, the point of the link was that sometimes steel from nuclear contaminated sites is recycled into mainstream products. Most anything can be radioactive if it is activated by radiation - you shoot neutrons at something, some of them stick, and you get radioisotopes. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2001, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-stainless-steel-cookware-more-dangerous-than-aluminum-cookware/86703/5 "2001-10-11T04:44:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by red\_dragon60 \* > \*\*Stainless steel is made with molybdenum and carbon. Some kinds are made with zinc I think, I haven’t studied metallurgy as much as I should though. These are not radioactive elements. Unless you are cooking Plutonium soup, you should be fine. \*\* Stainless is steel is stainless specifically because it is made with **Chromium** and **Nickel**. It can also contain Molybdenum, hell, it can also contain Erbium and Lanthanum too, but the main qualifiers of a stainless steel are its level of Chromium and Nickel. And all of the above mentioned elements, including the iron in the steel, can be made radioactive by exposure to neutron sources. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2001, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-stainless-steel-cookware-more-dangerous-than-aluminum-cookware/86703/6 "2001-10-11T04:59:04Z")
Christ on a cracker! Now I’ve gotta worry about _radioactive pots_???!?!? ---
**Author:** ![Walrus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/51bf81/32.png) [@Walrus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walrus)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2001, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-stainless-steel-cookware-more-dangerous-than-aluminum-cookware/86703/7 "2001-10-12T17:15:18Z")
Green Bean wrote: Christ on a cracker! Now I’ve gotta worry about radioactive pots???!?!? Green Bean, Don’t worry. Just use the Aluminium pots, the Altzheimers will ensure that you forget all about the radiation sickness. Walrus