NY Times Editorial on Marie Curie

[JPDavisCHP@aol.com]

Radsafers -
Today's NY Times has a short editorial  entitled Marie Curie and A Century of
Radiation.  It starts out saying nice things about Madame Curie and then
refers to a current exhibit at the NY Academy of Science on the history of
radioactivity.  Then it goes on to say:  " [the exhibit] suggests that the
history of radioactivity during the past century divides into two parts,
before 1934, when natural radioactivity was the focus of scientific study, and
after 1934, when the first man-made radioactive elements were created.  Most
laypeople are likely to feel that the century divides a little more neatly
than that:  before 1945, when the first atomic bombs were detonated, and after
1945.
  Marie Curie died as a result of exposure to radioactivity, some of it
incurred while preparing radium for medical use.  A century has passed since
she first discovered that radioactivity was a property of atoms, and we are
still adding up the balance sheet, still trying to weigh the lives saved or
improved by the scientific exploration of radioactivity against the lives lost
or unalterably worsened."

Based on what I read on Radsafe recently about the uncertainty in the cause of
Mme Curie's death,  and what seems to be an  implication that "scientific
exploration of radiation" resulted in atomic bomb casualties, I  think a
clarifying letter to the editor might be in order.  I think someone who is
familiar with the Curie medical history should write it.  Or, as a thin-
skinned HP am I reading the editorial too negatively ?

Joyce Davis

JPDavisCHP@aol.com
hometown.aol.com/jpdavischp    
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