GemClear LP, an independent laboratory licensed by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to test gemstones for radiation, has issued its first Exempt Distribution Certificate for mounted blue topaz to
According to a release from the company, Dallas-based GemClear can verify without conflict of interest that blue topaz is in compliance with NRC standards for safe and legal levels of radiation.
Though a hot seller among consumers, blue topaz first began getting the cold shoulder from retailers in the summer of 2007, when the NRC informed the jewelry industry that only NRC-licensed companies could import and initially distribute irradiated blue topaz.
At that time, no domestic companies were licensed to do so, prompting some retailers to pull the popular stone from their store shelves, even though the NRC did not require them to do so.
Since that time, the NRC has licensed a number of companies to test blue topaz to ensure safe levels of radiation.
According to GemClear, the NRC regulations, which were revised in 2007, are designed to protect American consumers from potentially dangerous levels of residual radioactivity, though no such levels have been detected in the
