Some people asked me to follow-up on the original post
with some rad figures. I finally dug them back
out of the paper pile.
Here are the ones I took at the time:

Background in Dallas, outside: .01 mR/h
Background inside the building: .03 mR/h
(rock/brick/concrete contain radioactive isotopes).
TBY-7 panel, contact: 4 mR/h both before and after treatment.
paint brush: .2 mR/h
paint can top (used to hold paint) .2 mR/h
Paper towels and gloves: .1 mR/h
Everything else measured background level after clean-up.

These are tiny levels and harmless
if handled as I wrote in the original post.

73 Dave AB5S