Editing Radium (section)

===Historical applications===
====Luminescent paint====
[[File:Radium 2.jpg|thumb|Watch hands coated with radium paint under ultraviolet light]]
Radium was formerly used in [[luminescence|self-luminous]] paints for watches, aircraft switches, clocks, and instrument dials and panels. A typical self-luminous watch that uses radium paint contains around 1 microgram of radium.<ref name=renamed_from_2024184_on_20240813160145/> In the mid-1920s, a lawsuit was filed against the [[United States Radium Corporation]] by five dying "[[Radium Girls]]" – dial painters who had painted radium-based [[luminous paint]] on the components of watches and clocks.<ref name=":2" /> The dial painters were instructed to lick their brushes to give them a fine point, thereby ingesting radium.<ref name=OakRidge>
{{cite web
 | author = Frame, Paul
 | year = 1999
 | title = Radioluminescent paint
 | website = Museum of Radiation and Radioactivity
 | publisher = [[Oak Ridge Associated Universities]]
 | url = https://www.orau.org/health-physics-museum/collection/radioluminescent/index.html#section-heading-main
 | archive-date = July 31, 2014
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140731220027/http://www.orau.org/ptp/collection/radioluminescent/radioluminescentinfo.htm
 | url-status = live
}}
</ref> Their exposure to radium caused serious health effects which included sores, [[anemia]], and [[bone cancer]].<ref name=epa/>

During the litigation, it was determined that the company's scientists and management had taken considerable precautions to protect themselves from the effects of radiation, but it did not seem to protect their employees. Additionally, for several years the companies had attempted to cover up the effects and avoid liability by insisting that the Radium Girls were instead suffering from [[syphilis]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://environmentalhistory.org/people/radiumgirls/|title=Environmental history timeline&nbsp;– Radium Girls|access-date=1 Sep 2018|date=2012-07-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180902084212/http://environmentalhistory.org/people/radiumgirls/|archive-date=2 September 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

As a result of the lawsuit, and an extensive study by the U.S. Public Health Service, the adverse effects of radioactivity became widely known, and radium-dial painters were instructed in proper safety precautions and provided with protective gear. Radium continued to be used in dials, especially in manufacturing during [[World War II]], but from 1925 onward there were no further injuries to dial painters.
<ref name=":2">{{multiref2|Rowland, R. E. (1995) [https://publications.anl.gov/anlpubs/1994/11/16311.pdf Radium in humans: a review of U.S. studies] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111109003623/http://www.osti.gov/accomplishments/documents/fullText/ACC0029.pdf |date=9 November 2011 }}. Argonne National Laboratory. p. 22|{{Cite journal |last=Coursey |first=Bert M. |date=2021 |title=The National Bureau of Standards and the Radium Dial Painters |url=https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/jres/126/jres.126.051.pdf |journal=Journal of Research of the National Institute of Standards and Technology |language=en |volume=126 |doi=10.6028/jres.126.051 |issn=2165-7254 |pmc=10046820 |pmid=38469446}}}}</ref>

From the 1960s the use of radium paint was discontinued. In many cases luminous dials were implemented with non-radioactive fluorescent materials excited by light; such devices glow in the dark after exposure to light, but the glow fades.<ref name="epa" /> Where long-lasting self-luminosity in darkness was required, safer radioactive [[promethium]]-147 (half-life 2.6 years) or [[tritium]] (half-life 12 years) paint was used; both continue to be used as of 2018.<ref>{{multiref2|{{Cite journal |last1=Broderick |first1=Kathleen |last2=Lusk |first2=Rita |last3=Hinderer |first3=James |last4=Griswold |first4=Justin |last5=Boll |first5=Rose |last6=Garland |first6=Marc |last7=Heilbronn |first7=Lawrence |last8=Mirzadeh |first8=Saed |date=February 2019 |title=Reactor production of promethium-147 |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0969804318305931 |journal=Applied Radiation and Isotopes |language=en |volume=144 |pages=54–63 |doi=10.1016/j.apradiso.2018.10.025|pmid=30529496 |bibcode=2019AppRI.144...54B }}|{{Cite journal |last1=Eyrolle |first1=Frédérique |last2=Ducros |first2=Loïc |last3=Le Dizès |first3=Séverine |last4=Beaugelin-Seiller |first4=Karine |last5=Charmasson |first5=Sabine |last6=Boyer |first6=Patrick |last7=Cossonnet |first7=Catherine |date=January 2018 |title=An updated review on tritium in the environment |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0265931X17307956 |journal=Journal of Environmental Radioactivity |language=en |volume=181 |pages=128–137 |doi=10.1016/j.jenvrad.2017.11.001|pmid=29149670 |bibcode=2018JEnvR.181..128E }}}}</ref> These had the added advantage of not degrading the phosphor over time, unlike radium.<ref>{{cite book |script-title=ru:Аналитическая химия технеция, прометия, астатина и франция |trans-title=Analytical Chemistry of Technetium, Promethium, Astatine, and Francium |language=ru |first1=Avgusta Konstantinovna |last1=Lavrukhina |first2=Aleksandr Aleksandrovich |last2=Pozdnyakov |date=1966 |publisher=[[Nauka (publisher)|Nauka]] |page=118}}</ref> Tritium as it is used in these applications is considered safer than radium,<ref name="ieer">{{cite web|author=Zerriffi, Hisham|date=January 1996|title=Tritium: The environmental, health, budgetary, and strategic effects of the Department of Energy's decision to produce tritium|url=http://www.ieer.org/reports/tritium.html#(11)|publisher=[[Institute for Energy and Environmental Research]]|access-date=15 September 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100713051055/http://www.ieer.org/reports/tritium.html#(11)|archive-date=13 July 2010|url-status=live}}</ref> as it emits very low-energy [[beta radiation]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Physical and Chemical Properties of Tritium |url=https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML2034/ML20343A210.pdf |access-date=25 October 2024 |website=Nuclear Regulatory Commission}}</ref> (even lower-energy than the beta radiation emitted by promethium)<ref>{{Cite thesis |last=Hinderer |first=James Howard |title=Radioisotopic Impurities in Promethium-147 Produced at the ORNL High Flux Isotope Reactor |date=2010 |degree=Master's |publisher=University of Tennessee |url=https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/717}}</ref> which cannot penetrate the skin,<ref>
{{cite report
 |title=Hydrogen-3
 |series=Nuclide safety data sheet
 |publisher=Environmental Health & Safety Office, [[Emory University]]
 |via=ehso.emory.edu
 |url=http://www.ehso.emory.edu/content-forms/3anuclidedatasafetysheets.pdf   <!-- presumed -->
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130520184942/http://www.ehso.emory.edu/content-forms/3anuclidedatasafetysheets.pdf
 |archive-date=2013-05-20  }}
</ref> unlike the gamma radiation emitted by radium isotopes.<ref name="ieer" />
[[File:WWI German altimeter radium painted.jpg|thumb|left|A zeppelin [[altimeter]] from [[World War I]]. The dial, previously painted with a luminescent radium paint, has turned yellow due to the degradation of the fluorescent [[zinc sulfide]] medium.]]
Clocks, watches, and instruments dating from the first half of the 20th century, often in military applications, may have been painted with radioactive luminous paint. They are usually no longer luminous; this is not due to radioactive decay of the radium (which has a half-life of 1600&nbsp;years) but to the fluorescence of the zinc sulfide fluorescent medium being worn out by the radiation from the radium.{{sfn|Emsley|2003|page=351}} 
Originally appearing as white, most radium paint from before the 1960s has tarnished to yellow over time. The radiation dose from an intact device is usually only a hazard when many devices are grouped together or if the device is disassembled or tampered with.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2024-05-27 |title=Could your collectible item contain radium? |url=https://www.cnsc-ccsn.gc.ca/eng/resources/radiation/could-your-collectible-item-contain-radium/ |access-date=2024-10-22 |website=Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission}}</ref>

==== Use in electron tubes ====
Radium has been used in [[vacuum tube|electron tube]]s, such as the Western Electric 346B tube. These devices contain a small amount of radium (in the form of [[radium bromide]])<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://tubedata.altanatubes.com.br/sheets/084/3/346B.pdf |via=Altana Tubes |title=Electron Tube Data Sheet: Western Electric 346B Electron Tube |publisher=Bell System Practices |date=April 1956 |access-date=February 12, 2025}}</ref> to ionize the fill gas, typically a noble gas like [[neon]] or [[argon]]. This ionization ensures reliable and consistent operation by providing a steady current when a high voltage is applied, enhancing the device's performance and stability. The radium is sealed within a glass envelope with two electrodes, one of which is coated with the radioactive material to create an ion path between the electrodes.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Electron Tubes |url=https://www.orau.org/health-physics-museum/collection/consumer/miscellaneous/electron-tubes.html |access-date=2025-02-12 |website=Museum of Radiation and Radioactivity |language=en}}</ref>

====Quackery====
{{Main|Radioactive quackery|Radium fad}}[[File:Radior_cosmetics_containing_radium_1918.jpg|thumb|1918 ad for Radior, one of several cosmetic products claiming to contain radium for its purported curative properties<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Díaz Díaz |first1=R.M. |last2=Garrido Gutiérrez |first2=C. |last3=Maldonado Cid |first3=P. |date=December 2020 |title=Radioactive Cosmetics and Radiant Beauty |journal=Actas Dermo-Sifiliográficas (English Edition) |language=en |volume=111 |issue=10 |pages=863–865 |doi=10.1016/j.adengl.2020.09.014|doi-access=free }}</ref>]]

Radium was once an additive in products such as cosmetics, soap, razor blades, and even beverages due to its supposed curative powers. Many contemporary products were falsely advertised as being radioactive.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Prisco |first=Jacopo |date=2020-03-03 |title=When beauty products were radioactive |url=https://www.cnn.com/style/article/when-beauty-products-were-radioactive/index.html |access-date=2024-10-13 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref> Such products soon fell out of vogue and were prohibited by authorities in many countries after it was discovered they could have serious adverse health effects. (See, for instance, ''[[Radithor]]'' or ''[[Revigator]]'' types of "radium water" or "Standard Radium Solution for Drinking".){{sfn|Emsley|2003|page=351}} [[Destination spa|Spas]] featuring radium-rich water are still occasionally touted as beneficial, such as those in [[Misasa, Tottori]], Japan,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Morinaga |first1=H. |last2=Mifune |first2=M. |last3=Furuno |first3=K. |date=1984 |title=Radioactivity of water and air in Misasa Spa, Japan |url=https://inis.iaea.org/search/search.aspx?orig_q=RN:15072187 |journal=Radiation Protection Dosimetry |volume=7 |issue=1–4 |pages=295–297 |doi=10.1093/oxfordjournals.rpd.a083014 |issn=0144-8420 |via=International Nuclear Information System}}</ref> though the sources of radioactivity in these spas vary and may be attributed to [[radon]] and other radioisotopes.<ref>{{multiref2|{{Cite journal |last1=Gulan |first1=Ljiljana |last2=Penjišević |first2=Ivana |last3=Stajic |first3=Jelena M. |last4=Milenkovic |first4=Biljana |last5=Zeremski |first5=Tijana |last6=Stevanović |first6=Vladica |last7=Valjarević |first7=Aleksandar |date=March 2020 |title=Spa environments in central Serbia: Geothermal potential, radioactivity, heavy metals and PAHs |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0045653519324105 |journal=Chemosphere |language=en |volume=242 |pages=125171 |doi=10.1016/j.chemosphere.2019.125171|pmid=31671300 |bibcode=2020Chmsp.24225171G }}|{{Cite journal |last1=Sainz |first1=Carlos |last2=Rábago |first2=Daniel |last3=Fuente |first3=Ismael |last4=Celaya |first4=Santiago |last5=Quindós |first5=Luis Santiago |date=February 2016 |title=Description of the behavior of an aquifer by using continuous radon monitoring in a thermal spa |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0048969715310330 |journal=Science of the Total Environment |language=en |volume=543 |issue=Pt A |pages=460–466 |doi=10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.11.052|pmid=26599146 |bibcode=2016ScTEn.543..460S |hdl=10902/31301 |hdl-access=free }}|{{Cite journal |last1=Uzun |first1=Sefa Kemal |last2=Demiröz |first2=Işık |date=September 2016 |title=Radon and Progeny Sourced Dose Assessment of Spa Employees in Balneological Sites |url=https://academic.oup.com/rpd/article-lookup/doi/10.1093/rpd/ncv413 |journal=Radiation Protection Dosimetry |language=en |volume=170 |issue=1–4 |pages=331–335 |doi=10.1093/rpd/ncv413 |pmid=26424134 |issn=0144-8420}}|{{Cite journal |last1=Walencik-Łata |first1=A. |last2=Kozłowska |first2=B. |last3=Dorda |first3=J. |last4=Przylibski |first4=T.A. |date=November 2016 |title=The detailed analysis of natural radionuclides dissolved in spa waters of the Kłodzko Valley, Sudety Mountains, Poland |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0048969716313742 |journal=Science of the Total Environment |language=en |volume=569-570 |pages=1174–1189 |doi=10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.06.192|pmid=27432727 |bibcode=2016ScTEn.569.1174W }}|{{Cite journal |last1=Karakaya |first1=Muazzez Çelik |last2=Doğru |first2=Mahmut |last3=Karakaya |first3=Necati |last4=Kuluöztürk |first4=Fatih |last5=Nalbantçılar |first5=Mahmut Tahir |date=2017-08-01 |title=Radioactivity and hydrochemical properties of certain thermal Turkish spa waters |url=https://iwaponline.com/jwh/article/15/4/591/28582/Radioactivity-and-hydrochemical-properties-of |journal=Journal of Water and Health |language=en |volume=15 |issue=4 |pages=591–601 |doi=10.2166/wh.2017.263 |pmid=28771156 |bibcode=2017JWH....15..591K |issn=1477-8920}}|{{Cite journal |last1=Duran |first1=Selcen Uzun |last2=Kucukomeroglu |first2=Belgin |last3=Damla |first3=Nevzat |last4=Taskin |first4=Halim |last5=Celik |first5=Necati |last6=Cevik |first6=Uğur |last7=Ersoy |first7=Hakan |date=2017-01-02 |title=Radioactivity measurements and risk assessments of spa waters in some areas in Turkey |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10256016.2016.1116986 |journal=Isotopes in Environmental and Health Studies |language=en |volume=53 |issue=1 |pages=91–103 |doi=10.1080/10256016.2016.1116986 |pmid=27008087 |bibcode=2017IEHS...53...91D |issn=1025-6016}}}}</ref>

====Medical and research uses====
Radium (usually in the form of [[radium chloride]] or radium bromide) was used in [[medicine]] to produce radon gas, which in turn was used as a [[cancer]] treatment.<ref name=brit/> Several of these radon sources were used in Canada in the 1920s and 1930s.<ref>
{{cite book
 |first = Charles | last = Hayter
 |year = 2005
 |chapter = The politics of radon therapy in the 1930s
 |title = An Element of Hope: Radium and the response to cancer in Canada, 1900–1940
 |publisher = McGill-Queen's Press
 |isbn = 978-0-7735-2869-7
 |chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=NtKUdnjaCxMC&pg=PA135
 |via=Google Books
}}
</ref> However, many treatments that were used in the early 1900s are not used anymore because of the harmful effects radium bromide exposure caused. Some examples of these effects are [[anaemia]], cancer, and [[mutation|genetic mutations]].<ref name=Harvie>{{cite journal | doi = 10.1016/S0160-9327(99)01201-6| pmid = 10589294| title = The radium century| journal = Endeavour| volume = 23| issue = 3| pages = 100–105|year = 1999| last1 = Harvie| first1 = David I.}}</ref> As of 2011, safer gamma emitters such as [[cobalt-60|{{sup|60}}Co]], which is less costly and available in larger quantities, were usually used to replace the historical use of radium in this application,{{sfn|Keller|Wolf|Shani|2011|pages=97–98}} but factors including increasing costs of cobalt and risks of keeping radioactive sources on site have led to an increase in the use of [[linear particle accelerator]]s for the same applications.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://amos3.aapm.org/abstracts/pdf/166-58831-15631646-171798-1721147678.pdf |title=A RETROSPECTIVE OF COBALT-60 RADIATION THERAPY: "THE ATOM BOMB THAT SAVES LIVES" |journal=Medical Physics International |last1=Van Dyk |first1=J. |first2=J. J. |last2=Battista |last3=Almond |first3=P. R. |date=2020}}</ref>

In the U.S., from 1940 through the 1960s, radium was used in [[Pharynx|nasopharyngeal]] radium irradiation, a treatment that was administered to children to treat [[hearing loss]] and chronic [[otitis]]. The procedure was also administered to [[Airman|airmen]] and [[submarine]] crew to treat [[barotrauma]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ronckers |first1=Cécile M |last2=Land |first2=Charles E |last3=Hayes |first3=Richard B |last4=Verduijn |first4=Pieter G |last5=Stovall |first5=Marilyn |last6=van Leeuwen |first6=Flora E |date=December 2002 |title=Late Health Effects of Childhood Nasopharyngeal Radium Irradiation: Nonmelanoma Skin Cancers, Benign Tumors, and Hormonal Disorders |url=https://www.nature.com/doifinder/10.1203/00006450-200212000-00007 |journal=Pediatric Research |volume=52 |issue=6 |pages=850–858 |doi=10.1203/00006450-200212000-00007 |pmid=12438660 |issn=0031-3998}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=CDC |date=2024-02-20 |title=Facts About Nasopharyngeal Radium Irradiation (NRI) |url=https://www.cdc.gov/radiation-health/data-research/facts-stats/nasopharyngeal-radium-irradiation.html |access-date=2024-10-13 |website=Radiation and Your Health |language=en-us}}</ref>

Early in the 1900s, biologists used radium to induce mutations and study [[genetics]]. As early as 1904, Daniel MacDougal used radium in an attempt to determine whether it could provoke sudden large mutations and cause major evolutionary shifts. [[Thomas Hunt Morgan]] used radium to induce changes resulting in white-eyed fruit flies. Nobel-winning biologist [[Hermann Joseph Muller|Hermann Muller]] briefly studied the effects of radium on fruit fly mutations before turning to more affordable x-ray experiments.<ref name="Hamilton">{{cite journal |last1=Hamilton |first1=Vivien |date=2016 |title=The Secrets of Life: Historian Luis Campos resurrects radium's role in early genetics research |url=https://www.sciencehistory.org/distillations/magazine/the-secrets-of-life |url-status=live |journal=Distillations |volume=2 |issue=2 |pages=44–45 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180323154857/https://www.sciencehistory.org/distillations/magazine/the-secrets-of-life |archive-date=23 March 2018 |access-date=22 March 2018}}</ref>