15 Radiant Insights into the History of Radiation

Strange Glow: The Story of Radiation, authored by Timothy Jorgensen, a Georgetown professor specializing in radiation medicine, offers a captivating exploration of radiation's dual impact on human health. Released this month, the book not only clarifies radiation risks for everyday understanding (did you know airport scanners emit less radiation than the time spent waiting in line?) but also delves into a collection of fascinating, sometimes shocking, historical anecdotes about the 'strange glow' that has reshaped our world.

1. X-RAYS TRANSITIONED FROM LABORATORIES TO HOSPITALS AT BREAKNECK SPEED.

In 1895, Montreal resident Toulson Cunning faced a grim Christmas after being shot in the leg. Coincidentally, this incident occurred shortly after Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen, a German physicist, observed an unusual glow during his cathode ray experiments. Roentgen's groundbreaking paper, 'On a New Kind of Rays,' published on December 28, 1895, quickly gained traction in both scientific and mainstream media. A McGill University professor replicated the experiment, and Cunning's doctor, inspired by the findings, requested an x-ray of the injured leg. Despite a 45-minute exposure producing a faint image, it was sufficient for surgeons to locate and extract the bullet, preventing amputation. Jorgensen highlights this as the fastest transition from scientific discovery to practical medical application in history.

2. THE UNIT OF RADIOACTIVITY HONORS ITS UNINTENTIONAL DISCOVERER.

Henri Becquerel, along with his father and grandfather, held the prestigious position of chairing the Department of Physics at the Musee d’Histoire Naturelle in Paris. Their shared fascination with fluorescence and phosphorescence led them to accumulate an extensive collection of fluorescent minerals, which they used extensively in their research.

Fascinated by Roentgen’s x-ray discovery, Becquerel speculated whether his mineral collection might emit similar rays. He conducted experiments by placing flakes of fluorescent materials on photographic film wrapped in black paper and exposing them to sunlight. Surprisingly, uranium sulfate was the only mineral that left a faint impression on the film, regardless of sunlight. This led Becquerel to realize that uranium emitted its own unique form of radiation, unrelated to x-rays or fluorescence. His accidental discovery of radioactivity earned him the 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics, shared with Marie and Pierre Curie. Today, the unit of radioactivity, the becquerel, commemorates his groundbreaking work.

3. POLONIUM PAYS TRIBUTE TO MARIE CURIE’S POLISH ROOTS.

The Curies surpassed Henri Becquerel in radioactivity research, coining the term 'radioactive.' They identified two new elements in uranium ore—radium, named for its radiant properties, and polonium, named in honor of Marie Curie’s homeland, Poland, which was under Russian rule at the time.

The Curies conducted extensive research with radiation, leading to numerous groundbreaking discoveries. After Marie's death from aplastic anemia in 1934, there were concerns that her remains might still be radioactive. However, tests during her reinterment in 1995 revealed her skeleton was not radioactive, though her papers remain so. (Pierre had tragically died earlier in 1906 due to an unrelated horse cart accident.)

4. EARLY RADIATION RESEARCHERS OFTEN LACKED CLEAR UNDERSTANDING.

Many pioneers in radiation and radioactivity research initially struggled to grasp the mechanisms behind their discoveries. For instance, Becquerel mistakenly thought radioactivity was a form of fluorescence, while Marie Curie hypothesized that uranium could absorb x-rays and re-emit them as radiation. Even Guglielmo Marconi, who won the 1909 Nobel Prize for his radio wave innovations, admitted he had no explanation for how his radio waves traveled across the Atlantic Ocean. Classical physics couldn't account for this phenomenon until scientists later discovered that radio waves reflect off a layer in the upper atmosphere, enabling global transmission.

5. RADON WAS THE FIRST RADIOACTIVE ISOTOPE CONNECTED TO HUMAN CANCER.

Radon, a byproduct of radium decay, was first identified as a potential cause of lung cancer in German miners in 1913. However, World War I delayed further investigation. The definitive link between radon and cancer was only established after a comprehensive analysis of 57 studies published by 1944.

6. THE “RADIUM GIRLS” EXPOSED THE PUBLIC TO THE HAZARDS OF RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS.

During the 1910s, young women in Connecticut, New Jersey, and Illinois, who painted glow-in-the-dark watch dials using radium-infused paint, became famously known as the “Radium Girls.” Ironically, these watches were primarily marketed to men, who traditionally favored pocket watches. The luminous dials gained popularity among soldiers, adding a masculine appeal to the product.

Tragically, these women often sharpened their paintbrushes by licking them, unknowingly ingesting radium. Over a year, workers could consume around 300 grams of paint. This led to severe health issues, including cancer, bone diseases, and a condition dubbed “radium jaw.” The watch companies faced lawsuits, resulting in substantial settlements. Protective measures like fume hoods and rubber gloves were introduced, and the practice of mouth-sharpening brushes was prohibited. However, by 1927, over 50 women had died from radium poisoning, as reported by NPR.

7. RADIUM CONTINUED TO BE MARKETED AS A HEALTH ELIXIR.

Despite the Radium Girls' plight, radium was still sold as a health tonic. Eben McBurney Byers, a wealthy industrialist and golf champion, was a notable victim. His doctor prescribed Radithor, a radium-laced water solution, which he consumed in large quantities—around 1400 bottles over several years. This led to the deterioration of his jaw and skull, ultimately causing his death in 1932. He was buried in a lead-lined coffin to prevent radiation exposure to others.

8. THE MANHATTAN PROJECT HID A COVERT RADIATION BIOLOGY INITIATIVE KNOWN AS THE 'CHICAGO HEALTH DIVISION.'

At the start of the Manhattan Project in 1939, the health impacts of radiation were still poorly understood. While protective measures like fume hoods and ventilation systems were modeled after those used for the Radium Girls, the project also launched a secretive radiation biology research program called the Chicago Health Division. This initiative was driven by the physicists themselves, who were deeply concerned about their own life expectancy due to radiation exposure.

9. THE MICROWAVE OVEN OWES ITS EXISTENCE TO A RADAR ENGINEER.

Radar technology, which relies heavily on microwave signals, was developed in secrecy by multiple nations before WWII. In the U.S., a classified lab at MIT collaborated with Raytheon to produce magnetrons, devices that generate microwave signals for radar systems.

Percy Spencer, a Raytheon engineer, made a serendipitous discovery when a candy bar in his pocket melted while he was working with radar equipment. Curious, he directed a microwave beam at a raw egg, causing it to explode. He later experimented with popcorn, successfully popping it using microwaves. This led Raytheon to patent the first microwave oven, dubbed the Radarange.

10. RUINED X-RAY FILM REVEALED TO HIROSHIMA SURVIVORS THAT AN ATOMIC BOMB HAD STRUCK.

After the atomic bomb devastated Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, the city's residents were unaware of the bomb's nature. Doctors at the Red Cross hospital discovered a critical clue when they found all their x-ray film had been ruined by radiation. (The public would only learn the truth about the weapon a week later.) With the film unusable, hospital staff repurposed the x-ray envelopes to store the ashes of cremated victims.

11. SURVIVORS OF HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI HAVE BEEN CRUCIAL IN STUDYING RADIATION'S HEALTH IMPACTS.

Following the 1945 bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, scientists recognized the unique opportunity to study radiation's effects on human health. President Harry Truman authorized the National Academy of Sciences to initiate the Life Span Study (LSS), a long-term project tracking the health of 120,000 atomic bomb survivors and control subjects from 1946 to the present. Jorgensen describes the LSS as the most comprehensive study on radiation's health effects.

The LSS has yielded critical data, including the lifetime cancer risk per unit of ionizing radiation: 0.005% per millisievert. For example, exposure to 20 millisieverts—equivalent to a full-body spiral CT scan—increases lifetime cancer risk by 0.1% (20 millisieverts X 0.005% = 0.1%).

12. THE U.S.'S BIGGEST NUCLEAR TEST WAS MARRED BY A SIGNIFICANT ERROR.

On March 1, 1954, the U.S. carried out its largest nuclear test, Castle Bravo, at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands. The hydrogen bomb, nicknamed 'Shrimp,' released over twice the expected energy—15,000 KT of TNT instead of the predicted 6000 KT. Jorgensen explains that this miscalculation stemmed from physicists at Los Alamos National Laboratory misunderstanding that two lithium deuteride isotopes, not one, would fuel the fusion reaction. Combined with unpredictable winds, the fallout spread far beyond the anticipated zone, contaminating the Japanese fishing boat Lucky Dragon #5 and sparking a diplomatic crisis between Japan and the U.S.

13. BIKINI ATOLL'S RESETTLEMENT LED TO DISASTER DUE TO A CRUCIAL TYPO.

Before the Castle Bravo tests, Bikini Atoll residents were relocated for a project claimed to benefit humanity, ending nearly 4000 years of habitation. The island was resettled in 1969 after a 'blue-ribbon panel' deemed radiation exposure risks low. However, the panel relied on a report with a critical decimal error, underestimating coconut consumption by a factor of 100.

The error wasn't uncovered until 1978, prompting another evacuation. Many islanders developed thyroid and other cancers, leading to over $83 million in personal injury awards from the U.S. However, Jorgensen notes that millions remain unpaid, with many claimants passing away before receiving settlements.

14. A PENNSYLVANIA RESIDENCE RECORDED ONE OF THE HIGHEST RADON LEVELS IN HISTORY.

In 1984, Stanley Watras repeatedly triggered radiation alarms at his workplace, a nuclear power plant. Investigators traced the contamination to his home, which sat atop a significant uranium deposit. Radon, a byproduct of uranium decay, was found in concentrations 20 times higher than typical uranium mines. This discovery prompted the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to survey homes nationwide, revealing widespread hazardous radon levels.

The Watras family was warned of a sevenfold increased risk of lung cancer over the next decade, with fears their children might not reach adulthood. However, these risks were overestimated; 30 years later, no family members had died from lung cancer. Their home became an EPA lab for radon remediation, and the family eventually returned. Stanley and his wife still reside there, as noted by Jorgensen.

15. ASSESSING THE RISKS OF NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS HAS PROVEN CHALLENGING.

In the early 1970s, Norman Rasmussen, an MIT nuclear engineering professor, led a federal committee to evaluate the risk of nuclear reactor core accidents. The resulting report estimated the likelihood of such an accident at 1 in 20,000 per reactor annually.

The Rasmussen report, widely recognized today, significantly underestimated the likelihood of nuclear accidents. Just four years after its publication in 1979, the Three Mile Island incident occurred, involving a partial reactor meltdown. Subsequent analyses, using data from the International Atomic Energy Agency, suggest the accident rate is closer to 1 in 1550 operational years. With 430 active nuclear reactors globally, Jorgensen calculates that a major reactor core accident could be expected approximately every 3 to 4 years, based on historical accident rates.