Availability of Radium-226

["Otto G. Raabe" <ograabe@ucdavis.edu>]

July 29, 1997

Dear Health Physics Community:

I believe it is now somewhat difficult to obtain clean samples of
radium-226. Some of you may know of investigators who are looking for
samples of pure radium-226.

Currently ITEH at the University of California, Davis, has 13 small
stainless steel vials each containing precisely 0.98 mCi of radium-226 in
dry form as the chloride salt. The radium was carefully purified from
samples obtained from South Africa almost 40 years ago. Our own
measurements of companion samples have not detected the presence of other
radionuclides except those of the radium-226 decay series. These vials
containing 1 mCi each of the purified radium-226 were purchased from U.S.
Radium Corp. in 1962 for studies of radium toxicity, but were never opened.
Of course, these samples now have the in-grown decay products including
about 0.65 mCi of lead-210, which could be separated by chemical means for
separate use.

These vials are available to licensed users for the cost of packaging and
shipment. Please contact me if you know of anyone who is interested.
Otherwise, these rather special samples are destined for disposal was waste.

Thanks...

OTTO
		*****************************************************
		Prof. Otto G. Raabe, Ph.D., CHP
                [President, Health Physics Society, 1997-1998]
		Institute of Toxicology & Environmental Health (ITEH)
		     (Street address: Old Davis Road)
		University of California, Davis, CA 95616
		Phone: 916-752-7754     FAX: 916-758-6140
		E-Mail: ograabe@ucdavis.edu
		******************************************************