[ RadSafe ] Radium history question - internal contamination

[gelsg at aol.com]

Ed:

Just a note on the cause of rupture or bursting of radium tubes or needles.  The buildup of internal pressure is the presumed cause.  One part of this buildup is the linear increase of helium pressure inside due to the steady emission of alpha particles once secular equilibrium with daughters is achieved.  But, I believe it was found that radium in the form of radium chloride frequently contained quite a bit of water of hydration in the crystal.  If the radium was in the form of radium sulfate, this was less of a problem.  The intense radiation field within the tube/needle caused the H2O to dissociate into H2 and O2 pretty quickly which caused the internal pressure to increase very quickly.  In the early years, improperly dried radium crystals caused a number of glass tubes to rupture, and later even some of the platinum-irridium needles experienced the same fate.  The accumulation of helium was a contributing factor, but the dissociation of the water molecule was probably a much greater contributor in most cases.

To be accurate about helium buildup after the first 30 days, I should have said it is "almost" steady, since there is also a slow (a few percent per year) increase in helium production as the long-lived daughters of radium accumulate.  However, if there is any significant amount of water inside the tube/needle, the effect of water dissociation will be much larger.

Jerry Gels



-----Original Message-----
From: edmond0033 <edmond0033 at comcast.net>
To: The International Radiation Protection (Health Physics) Mailing List <radsafe at health.phys.iit.edu>
Sent: Fri, Oct 28, 2011 1:55 pm
Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] Radium history question - internal contamination


There was a home in Lansdowne, PA of a Physician who used Radium in his 
ractice.  As you may know or not that the buildup of Helium in these 
eedles caused them ruptured. The house was contaminated.  The Commonwealth 
f PA and the U.S. Public Health Service (under the direction of Adm. John 
illforth) cleaned it up.  We, the Winchester Engineering and Analytical 
enter (formerly the Northeastern Radiological Health Laboratory), did the 
rine testing for the workers.  No health problem was observed.
Ed Baratta
edmond0033 at comcast.net
----Original Message----- 
rom: J. Marshall Reber
ent: Friday, October 28, 2011 1:37 PM
o: The International Radiation Protection (Health Physics) Mailing List
ubject: Re: [ RadSafe ] Radium history question - internal contamination

n Oct 28, 2011, at 10:17 AM, Bjorn Cedervall wrote:
> It is certainly clear that some people working with radium during the 
 approx. years 1910-1940 became heavily contaminated with radium and even 
 exhaled radon as a consequence of the radium burden (the dial painters are 
 probably the best known examples, see Claudia Clark's Radium Girls which 
 is great reading for anyone interested in that particular tragedy).
Although I took Robley Evans graduate course at MIT, a good buddy was a 
hesis student of his.  My friend was involved in measuring the radon 
xhaled by many "Radium Girls" who had not developed bone cancers many years 
efore.  It was curious that these women seemed to be living longer than the 
ormal lifespans of unexposed women.  The real tragedy was the canceling of 
overnment support for such monitoring while many of the women were still 
live!  A scientific opportunity was lost that will probably never be 
vailable again.
After Prof. Evans suggested the dial painters stop pointing their radium 
rushes with their lips such fatal contamination ended.  No other other 
emediation was made:  no monitoring of the work place was done, no cleanup 
as performed, no government agency was involved!
J. Marshall Reber, ScD
65 Berkeley St.
ethuen MA 01844
Tel/Fax: 978-683-6540
lternate Email: reber at alum.mit.edu

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