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    "label": "Report, September 12, 1927",
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    "title": "Report, September 12, 1927",
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        "Safety Light Collection",
        "Records Related to Radium Dial Painters"
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    "ocrText": "COPY\nSeptember 12,1927.\nI found at the beginning of my study that radium had been in use by\nmedical profession for over a quarter of a century, and found that the treat-\nment consisted of internal injections and external exposure. External\nexposure including the burial of \"seeds\" in malignant growths.\nRadium gives off three kinds of radiation - Alpha, Beta and Gamma.\nI was informed by physicists that Alpha rays are actually helium atoms carrying\ntwo positive units of electricity: that the pentrability of Alpha rays are\nvery slight being absorbed by tissue paper or the film of a soap bubble.\nThey possess powerful fluorescent photographic and ionizing powers, but very\nsuperficial in its action. Beta rays are negatively change electrons\nand are identical with the cathode rays of the X-ray tube. Colwell & Russ\n(Radium X-rays and the Tuning Cell, London, G. Bell & Sons: Campbell W.R)\nfound that the initial value of the beta rays is reduced to 26% after passing\nthrough 4d m.m. of human tissue. Beta rays also possess strong photographic\nfluorescent and ionizing powers, tho to a lesser degree than the alpha ray.\nBut becuase of its greater penetration, into the humantissue this ionization\npower is\ndeeper.\nGamma Rays with the exception of wave length are identical with X-rays.\nI found that there was 8 standard used in determining the X-ray dosage.\nFor this purpose 2 milliamperes of current C 6\" spark, a distance of 8\" and an\nexposure of 3 mm. should cause evythema in two weeks. As far as I could learn\nno standard has been set in radium work, but because of the similarity of the\nrays one would expect that the text for avythema would give some idea of the\nstrength of the dosage. Mesothorium is 250 times as active as radium wight\nfor weight, but is sold according to equivalent in radium.\nIn studying any industrial poison one must become familiar with the\nfollowing facts: How absorbed into the body, where stored, how and when\neliminated; what its earliest symptoms; lethal dose.\nIn these cases there were two ways in which radioactive material was\ningested; either through the gastrointestinal tract and absorption into body\nthrough the intestinal wall, or else inhaled into the lungs. Drinker took\nsamples of the air and failed to find that it contained radio-active material.\n(See Drinker's report or letter to Company) This seems to eliminate the\nlungs as the way of ingestion, because very small quantities of radium are\nreadily detected by means of the electroscope.\nNow the solubility of a salt affects the amount absorbed through the\nintestinal walls. Barium Sulphate is considered practically an insoluble\nsalt in X-ray work, as is given a patient when certain X-rays are to be taken.\nBarium sulphate is 100 times more soluble than radium sulphate which salt of\nradium is the one supposed to be present in the luminous paint. Barium sulphate\nis soluble to the extent of .006 parts per 100 parts 300/0 Hct. The digestive\njuice of the stomach contains about 0.4 - 0.50% Hel (Haw#k). This being\ntrue one would hardly expect to find but the smallest trace of radium sulphate\ndissolved and absorbed into the body by means of the body fluids.\n-2-\nTo determine if any absorption did take place and fed each one where stored,\nwhen and how eliminated we took 3 guinea pigs / 100 milligrams of luminous\npaint containing 2.9 mg. of radium per 100 grams of paint, each day for 20 days.\nThe urine and feces were collected each day. After the animals had had 2\ngrams of the paint fed them, they were kept for an additional ten days during\nwhich period the urine and feces were also collected but kept reparte from\nthat of the 1st 20 days. The animals were autopsied and\norgans dissected\nout. Because the organs were small and the amount of radioactive material\nsupposed to be present was minute we put the individual organs of the three\nanimals together. Our findings were as follows:\nOrgans\nDry wt.\nmicrogram radium element per gram of material\nHeart\n3.4189\n5 X 10 -4\nLungs\n3.4618\n4.6 x 10 -4\nBrains\n3.3708\n2 X 10\n-4\nSpleen\n2.9406\n2.5 X 10\nLiver\n12.1291\n2.5 X 10\nKidney\n4.035\n1.6 X 10\nMusch after\nburning\n10.5\n1.6 x 10 -3\nBones after\nbuning\n12.3\n.02 micrograms\nThe feces for the 1st 10 days contained 1.55 micrograms per gram\nburnt material.\n2nd ten days - 1.75 micrograms per gram. burnt material.\n10 days after feeding: 0.23 micrograms per gram.\nThe urine samples remained more or less constant for the entire\nperiod and contained 2.5 X 10-2 micrograms per gram evaporated material.\nAn analysis of the original paint showed that 2 grams of the paint\ncontained .058 mg of radioactive material.\nOur test showed that 97.85% of the material ingested was eliminated\nwithin 10 days after the feeding stopped. The fact that radioactive\nmaterial was actually absorbed is proven by the fact that the urine was radio-\nactive as well as the various organs. The greater part of the radium retained\nin the body was found to be deposited in the bone. The amount percent in the\nother organs depended on the blood supply.\nThe jaws of 5 pigs were painted regularly each day for a period of\nsix months during which time each pig had 3 grams of paint painted on the\ngums. Two months after the last application the pigs were killed and the\nentire body burnt to an ash and examined for radium. As a control the bodies\nof two intreated animals were also ashed.\nAnimal\nSide Div.\n1st read.\n2nd read.\nAverage\nBlank\n60 - 50\n197 sec\n197 sec\n197sec\nA\n#\n194\n188\n191 sec\nB\n#\n195\n200\n197.5\nBlank\n#\n199\n195\n197.\nC\n#\n194\n195\n194.5\nD\n#\n194\n196\n195.\n#\n198\n198\n198\nE\nBlank\n#\n198\n197\n197.5\nA Repeated\n#\n191\n192\n191.5\n-3-\nPigs B & E showed no radio-active material. Pigs C & D give a\nslight indication of its presence: might\nbe an error in observation.\nPig A shows a definite amount tho very small.\nWe injected equal amounts of radium chloride subcutaneously into a\nnumber of pigs, Willed them at stated periods, burning them to an ash and\nmaking a radium determination with the following result\nAnimal Killed\n15 minutes after injection\n4.21 microgram\n#\n24\n#\n#\n#\n3.75\n#\n#\n48\nil\n#\n#\n3.15\n=\n#\n7 days\nIf\n#\n1.32\n#\n#\n14\n#\n=\n#\n1.29\n#\n#\n⑉\n38\n#\n#\n.75\n=\n#\n3 months\nII\nIf\n.34\n#\nThese findings confirmed those of Viol (Radium July 1923) who found\nthat 54 to 60% of the radium was eliminated in 10 days and after that at a\nrate of around 1% per month. Wada (\n) findings were the\nsame.\nAlso, Gustave M. Meyer, Jour. Brol. Chem. 2.461: 1907, H. A. Seil\nN.M. Medical J. 101, 896, May 1,1915. My examination of the excreta of a\npatient showed that she was excreting radium.\nIn other words we find that no matter how radioactive material gets\ninto the body, part of it is rapidly eliminated but that after approximately\n10 days the radio-active material becomes temporarily fixed in the body, and\nthe rate of elimination is very slow and while in the usual person it may be\ncompletely eliminated in time. The main place of deposit is in the bone\nwhere its emanating can react on the bone marrow which is the chief blood\nforming organ in the body.\nThe question naturally arose if radio-active deposits are in the body\ndo they throw out a large amount of emanation. It is a well known fact that\nradium can be completely de-emanated by passing a current of air through a\nsolution of its salts or by heating the compound. Even dry radium chloride\nand bromide which are soluble salts give up quite large proportions of their\nincluded radium emanation. On the other hand radium subphate, even when very\nfinely divided, holds the emanation very strongly, so that less than 5% of\nthe emanation escapes from the salt. (Cameron & Viol, Radium Hanuary 1915).\nFor this reason a good deal depends on what form the radium is deposited in\nas to the effect that it has on the human system. The blood bathes every part\nof the body carrying food to the tissues and carrying away the waste products.\nIn this way we find that the blood of a person whose body contains radio-active\ndeposits will be radio-active probably containing emanation. These emanations\nare gases and according to osmotic pressure will escape largely through the\nlungs. This furnishes a good confirmation method as to the presence of radio-\nactive deposits in the body. But is only a qualitative test. This escape of\nemanation in the exhaled air was mentioned by Cameron & Viol in \"Radium\" May\n1915 ( Su Radium July 1923).\nI wanted to see if we can detect radio-active deposits by means of the\nGamma Electroscope. For this purpose some employees of the U. S. Radium Corp.\nwere asked to subject themselves to the test. The instrument was placed close\nto the body over the chest, with the person lying down flat on their back.\nThe instrument was just far enough away from the body so that the clothes\ndid not rub against the instrument and anuse static electricity which would\ngive a positive reading. This method was found to be so delicate that the\nperson being examined was required to take a good bath give the hair a thorough\nwashing and to waar clothes that had never been norn before, Several in the persons shop\nwho were positive when these precautions were not used, were found to be\nnegative when they were taken. This method was also checked up by means of\nanimals.\nOn examining employees we used both methods whenever practical; that is\nan alpha ray test of the expired air and a gamma ray test.\nRealizing that our animal tests are only indicative and that they must\nbe confirmed by clinical observation, we obtained and made an examination of\nas many present and past employees who had worked with luminous paint. We\nhave examined the employees of the following plants:\nAnsonia Clock Company\nLuminite Company\nWaterbury Clock Company\nNew England Clock Co.\nEd. E. Ingraham & Co.\nNew Haven Clock Co.\nRadium Dial, of Illinois\nRadium Dial Co. of L.I. City\nStarkey Dial Company\nI also had the girls of the Ingersoll Watch Company in London examined for me.\nIn studying the literature as to the effect of radium on the organism\nI found that it was around 1920-22 that the medical profession became arounsed\nas to the dangers from radium exposure. Geo. E. Pfahler, Oct. 1922, Amer.\nJ. Roentgenology, called attention to the report of 5 deaths from aplastic\nenemia due directly or indirectly to the radiation of radium or x-rays. 3 of\nthese occured among workers at the Radi m Institute of London. Each of these\ndeaths could have been due to a definite disease apart from the effect of\nradium but the Institute considered it highly probably that their exposure to\nradium had weakened the power of resistance.\nThe first definite case\nuncomplicated by any other disease was reported by Larkin in Arch. Radiol. Elee\ntroth, May 1921.\nRuss and co-workers, Taylor, Witherbee & Murphy all reported in various\narticles during 1919 as to the effect of x-rays on the blood. Motham and\nco-workers in London, andihvesti in this country all pointed to blood\nchanged as the first indication of an overdue exposure to radium. Some blood\npressure was noticed and reported by R. C. Williams, Pfahler and others.\nCases and danger from radium burns have been reported as early as 1906, but\nall of these cases came from exposure to what is considered as large quantities\nof radium.\nPaul Lazarus in 1922 called attention to the fact that radio-\nthorium develops ets deleterious effects only after a period of time, much in\nthe same way as phosphorus did and its chief action is centered on the bone and\nliver and spleen. (See Deutsch Med. Uchusan, 48:451, April 7,1922). In the\nsame year C. Aubertin Bull et mem Soc. med. d. hop de Paris 3rd Senes 46: 582\nApril 7,1922, Peported threatment for rheumatism by weekly injection of 300\nmicrograms thorium X and called attention to the diminished lesilco-cyter\ncount in three cases as low as 1500 - 2000. He emphasized the fact that\n-5-\nthorium might render the body less resistant to infection and that the\nblood count must be carefully\nI obtained my first reliable information on bone destruction from\nDr. Clark in Philadelphia. In investigating the effect of luminous paint\nI wrote to Dr. Pfahler, Dean of the Graduate School of Medicine. Penn University\nDr. Proescher of Pittsburgh\nDr. Clark, Clark Hosp. in Phila.\nDr. Viol, Standard Chem. Co. of Pittbburgh\nDr. Alice Hamilton (Personal conversation)\nDr. Schlundt of Missouri\nDr. McCoy formerly of Chicago University\nDr. Legge, Senior Medical Inspector of\nin Great Britian\nDr. H. Zangger, Universitat, Zurich\nMayo Clinic\nDr. C. William C.S.P.H.S. Wahington D.E.\nM.J. Roach, Depart. of Labor of N.J. and the investigator he had\nsent to Germany to study this problem.\nThe dentists who had treated these cases -\nDr. Martland, but unfortunately he was very uncomunicative\nPfof. F.E. Simpson, Prof. Denn. Northwestern University Med. School\nI had access to a letter from Mme Curie of Paris\nDr. Ferman, Physikalischi, Arberthing der Radium Station in\nAllegememen Kranbenh ans."
}