Woah, I'm very sorry to hear about your dad's plights, guys. Unfortunate stuff seems to happen to good people....
I did a little more research on the net pertaining to EMF's and health, and boy do the opinions vary. Some feel that cellular phones, wireless internet, and satellite communications will be the ruination of society....While I am certainly not that extreme, I do try to limit my exposure to microwave (wifi) radiation and actually do not own a cell phone (haven't since 2004...) IMO, the whole "wireless world being harmful" debate is still in its infancy and it will likely be years before we find some solid evidence on what these waves can do to human tissue and the brain.
But yeah, lead is somthing to avoid at all costs. As was previously discussed, New York City is mandating the recycling of all CRT devices starting in 2010. Wouldn't want lead leeching into the water table! I'm sure there are enough toxins threathening the drinking water already.
After some thought and research, I am convinced that X-radiation exposure from old TV's is negligible and would only be a concern if you work on old tube-rectified sets day in and day out for years, like Bgadow noted.
Just don't want my poor vision to get much worse....