Re: Radium in 5 cc vials

[julian.gibbs@mcmail.vanderbilt.edu]

     Radsafers:
     It is difficult to be sure what the subject 5cc Ra vials were used 
     for.  If they date back to before 1930 or so, they could have been 
     prepared for therapeutic use.  Radiation was used for whatever ails 
     you back then.  Some radioactive solutions, e.g. Radithor containing 
     thorium, were sold over-the-counter to be drunk.  This continued until 
     a prominent New Yorker died from thorium OD.  I believe there were 
     some papers on this issue in Health Physics about the time of the 
     Roentgen Centennial.
     They say an interest in history is an early sign of senility.
     
     Julian Gibbs

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     S. Julian Gibbs, DDS, PhD                           Voice 615-322-3190
     Professor of Radiology                                FAX 615-322-3764
     Vanderbilt University Medical Center
     Nashville TN 37232-2675      mailto:julian.gibbs@mcmail.vanderbilt.edu
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