The Radium Girls

SciShow explores the harrowing tale of the so-called Radium Girls, factory workers who were the first who for years worked with one of the world’s most radioactive substances -- and suffered the consequences.

 

Rays in the universe: radon

The earth contains a great many natural radioactive elements (such as uranium, thorium and potassium). Uranium, for example, is present in all rocks, and in particular granite rocks. When it decomposes, it gives rise to a radioactive family, ultimately forming lead, which is stable. Radon is one of the radioactive decay products of uranium. Its distinguishing sign is that it is a gas.

 And as it is a gas, it escapes and accumulates in caves or galleries, which are enclosed spaces. During the first few years when French uranium deposits were mined, the miners breathed air in which the radon content could be as high as 20,000 Becquerels per cubic meter. Epidemiological studies on uranium miners have shown that radon is a carcinogenic agent that can cause lung cancer. More recently, studies on the general population have confirmed this risk for exposure to radon in the home.

 

The epic story of radium

Picking up the work of the French physicist Henri Becquerel, Pierre and Marie Curie give the name "radioactivity" to the property possessed by certain elements of spontaneously emitting radiation. In 1898, Marie isolates polonium and radium, both of then unknown and highly radioactive elements.

 Medicine grabs radium and makes it the tool in the fight against cancer. Praised for its benefits, radium becomes a source of rejuvenation for the public and a source of profit for manufacturers. It will take time and evidence to admit the danger of its radiation...

 

Electromagnetic Spectrum: Gamma Rays

Part 8 of the "Tour of the Electromagnetic Spectrum" by NASA.

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