Radium. That notoriously radioactive element that have been responsible for such devastating events in human history like the 1986 Chernobyl accident which saw a devastating nuclear reactor explosion from which the region has never truly recovered. But as is the case with all of our history, we did not simply spawn into this world with the knowledge that while radium certainly has some uses, you can't take it into the shower with you and try to use it like a bar of soap.
From medical advice advocating patients take a dose of radium with their daily intake of water to spa baths advertising radium pools to help cure all forms of ailments and a court case against radial manufacturers during the First World War which encouraged women to lick the tip of their radium packed paintbrushes to give their job that extra bit of shine - join Hayley this week as she takes the gang on the terrifying trip through the history of radium, from its first uses as a cure-all remedy to its disastrous consequences for those exposed to it.
I can safely say, dear listener, some of these stories are not for the squeamish. Keego nearly threw up while recording at one point! You'll want to bring your bucket for this one.
This episode was hosted by Hayley O'Connor and joined by Arron Keegan and Conor Daly. The intro and outro music - Strollin' Along - was recorded by David Renda. Make sure to follow us on our social media pages! Simply search for That's Old News on TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter/X or follow the links below!
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Sources & Further Reading
- Kovarik, William, “The Ethyl Controversy: How the News Media and Health Advocates Set the Agenda for a 1920s Environmental Debate over Leaded Gasoline and the Alternatives,” Ph.D. dissertation, University of Maryland, 1993.
- Macklis, Roger M., "The Great Radium Scandal" in Scientific American, a division of Nature America, Inc., Vol. 269, No. 2 (August 1993), pp. 94-99.
- Martland, Harrison S., Conlon, Philip, and Knef, Joseph P., “Some Unrecognized Dangers in the Use and Handling of Radioactive Substances" in Journal of the American Medical Association, (December 5, 1925): 1669.
- New York Telegram, “Woman Awaiting Death Tells How Radium Poison Slowly, Painfully Kills,” May 13, 1928.
- ORAU Museum of Radiation and Radioactivity, "Radithor", https://www.orau.org/health-physics-museum/collection/radioactive-quack-cures/pills-potions-and-other-miscellany/radithor.html
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Chapters:
(00:00) Intro
(00:30) Discord Server Announcement
(04:46) Episode Start
(12:26) Radium and Early Medicine
(29:15) Radium, the First World War, and the Radium Girls
(51:05) Ebenezer McBurney Byers and the Harrowing Effects of Radium
(58:45) Post Show Banter
