I guess my question is did he (1) die for the long, unfiltered x-ray exposure, or (2) the anesthesia. My impression was it was the anesthesia as the remained semi-comatose until he died.
I assume they were going to remove the bullet to reduce infection and tissue response.
"Strickert, Rick" <rstrickert@signaturescience.com> wrote:
In October of last year there was a Radsafe discussion thread on who was the first person to die from radiation. Michael J. Vala posted the following information on October 25 (http://www.vanderbilt.edu/radsafe/0210/msg00405.html):
>According to The CRC Handbook of Management of Radiation
>Protection Programs (1986), the Radiation Litigation Chapter
>edited by Vicent Collins cites the death of James Punzo in 1897.
>
>Apparently Punzo was victim of a gunshot to the head. Three
>weeks after the injury, when Mr. Punzo was healed and walking
>around the hospital, a 35 minute xray with a crooks tube attached
>to a Holtz Static Generator was taken under anesthesia to try to
>find the bullet. The bullet was not found. Mr. Punzo remained
>semi-comatose until he died 12 days later.
. . .