These studies were consolidated at Argone National Laboratory in the late 1960s. Bone samples were collected from deceased “radium poisoning” victims. These clinical studies included radon breath analyses, skeletal and dental x-rays, in vivo counts, and physical examinations. Several radium research programs were initiated to study the effects of radium in humans. Individuals also self-medicated themselves using publicly available “remedies” such as the radium spiked water, Radithor, which was certified to contain 1 ♜i of 226Ra and 1 ♜i of 228Ra. Physicians prescribed radium to treat a variety of ailments such as acne, arthritis, and high blood pressure. In addition to those occupationally exposed in the dial painting industry, numerous people ingested radium or received injections for therapeutic purposes. (photo from Oak Ridge Associated Universities) The practice of tipping brushes was prohibited in the late 1920s. Such early cases exhibited “acute necrosis of the jaw, usually involving infection and severe leukopenia and anemia.” 2 Within a few years osteogenic sarcomas began to appear. 1Ī New York dentist, Theodore Blum, was one of the first to note the biological effects of radium when he observed what he termed “radium jaw” in a woman who had worked at a New Jersey dial painting plant. Many of these women ingested 226Ra and 228Ra (mesothorium) as they ‘tipped’ brushes between their lips to obtain a finer point. These plants employed several hundred women to paint watch dials and military instruments with radium paint. Radium Corporation in Orange, New Jersey (initially located in Newark, New Jersey) and the Radium Dial Company in Ottawa, Illinois (previously located in Chicago and Peru, Illinois). Several dial painting plants were established to capitalize on this discovery, including the U.S. The radium dial painting industry began in the United States in the early 1900’s when it was found that objects painted with radioluminous material were visible in the dark. Radium Dial Painters Radium Dial Painters.
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