[stephen f. polyak]

Legally, none of this appears "cut-and-dried”, one size fits all. Let's hope not at least.

Can’t imagine the Dutch officials who prepared the laws and regulations being discussed/interpreted here considered this sort of situation - a privately-owned collection of vintage items (with both monetary and historic value) holding relatively small amounts of sealed radium. No one has cited sections that absolutely apply. The brush is broad. This has to be worked through the court(s). And the community needs to be prepared for the outcome - good or bad - as, likely, it will eventually reach beyond Liad and the Netherlands.

The first thing that should happen it to restrain any harm to the items until a ruling is reached. The police enforce law, they do not make or litigate it. I doubt the law simply says confiscate radioactive material and then dress it in concrete and check it into a landfill. (Not only would radium be buried, but history.)

Could the instruments be assumed by one or more museums (in and/or outside the Netherlands); it sounded above like display exceptions are permitted in that country and are not (yet) needed in others? Will Liad be compensated if ownership is lost; could he retain a form of ownership through a museum holding transfer?

Minefields are hazardous, but, in time, they can be cleared. Here, one wonders how many collector casualties there will be in the process.