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    "localId": "75723456",
    "label": "Letters Received to H.H. Barker, December 7, 1928",
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    "title": "Letters Received to H.H. Barker, December 7, 1928",
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    "ocrText": "UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI\nCOLUMBIA\nDEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY\nDecember 7, 1928\nMr. H. H. Barker\n346 Bichmond Avenue\nSouth Orange, New Jersey\nMy dear Howard:\nLet me give you a little diversion by sending you a brief\naccount of a series of experiments which I began during the Thanksgiving\nHolidays and which are still awaiting completion. The experiments, however,\nhave progressed far enough to merit report.\nOn Friday, November 30, I commenced an experiment on my-\nself to extend our investigation on detecting and estimating radium in living\npersons. Having on hand a good supply of Mr. Bailey's Radiothor, I made use\nof it to get some first hand data on the elimination of the radioactive sub-\nstances contained therein. This water, you know, contains about 1.1 micro-\ngrams radium element, and 1.4 micrograms mesothorium and radiothorium, a total\nof about 2.5 micrograms per bottle. On Friday, November 30, I drank one\nbottle of this water and followed it on Saturday by another bottle. Then\nduring the Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday that followed, the expired air\nwas tested at various times for radon and thoron. Excreta were collected on\nSunday and Monday. These were incinerated and the residue are being used for\ndetermining radium and mesothorium content. Unfortunately, gamma ray mea-\nsurements were not begun until Sunday afternoon at which time 1.3 micrograms\nof the radium element had already been eliminated. I now propose to conduct\nanother series of experiments in which gamma ray measurements and expired air\ntests will be conducted parallel.\nLet me state briefly here some of the outstanding points\nof the experiment.\n1. Thorium emanation was not detected at any time in the\nexpired air. I interpret this to indicate that Therium X, the parent of\nThorium emanation was precipitated with its isotopes, mesothorium and radium,\nand so did not get into the Circulatory System.\na. Radon was detected in the ired air in from five\nto ten minutes after drinking the water and for a good many hours afterwards.\nIn the first series of experiments after 11 hours the radon present per liter\nof expired air was 2.6 X 10-10 curies, whose radium equivalent would be\nbetween 20 and 25 micrograms. We interpret this to mean that the high radon\ncontent of the expired air simply represents a part of the radon which has\naccumulated in the water as a result of its radium content. After the lapse\nof two days after the second bottle of radiothor was drunk, radium emanation\nwas no longer detected in the expired air and I infer from this that the radon\ndissolved in the water finds its way into the Circulatory System but that the\nradioactive substances, radium, mesothorium, radiothorium, and thorium X,\ndo not get into the Circulatory System in detectible amounts.\nUNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI\nCOLUMBIA\nDEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY\n- 2 -\nH. H. BARKER\n3. Gamma ray measurements were begun two days after the\nfirst bottle was ingested. Even then, when over 50 per cent of the radium\ningested had been eliminated, the gamma ray test was distinctly positive,\nand if we use a factor of the same order of magnitude as we use for the Wulf\ninstrument which we have been employing for gamma ray measurements, the radio-\nactivity by the gamma ray tests would exceed considerably the amount of\nradium and mesothorium still remaining in the system. In other words, I have\nconcluded that radium or mesothorium and its products when present in the\nintestinal tract, give a far greater gamma ray effect than we have assumed for\nour gamma ray measurements, and while we can only state approximately what\nthe magnitude of the effect is, I am beginning to feel that the factor to be\nused in converting scale readings to micrograms should be increased about\nfive fold when the gamma ray activity is localized in the intestines. I\nneed not point out the possible bearing of this result on the gamma ray\nmeasurements which Dr. Failla conducted last month. The relationship will\nbe quite apparent to you.\n4. An analysis of the residue of the faeces shows that\nmost of the activity is present in this residue. The first residue obtained\nabout two days after ingestion of the first bottle of Radithor contained at\nleast 60 per cent of the radioactivity, and the second residue contained\nfully 30 per cent, so that at least 90 per cent was recovered.\nI shall now repeat these experiments in somewhat modified\nform and in another week I hope to have a further set of experimental data to\nsubmit which I trust will corroborate in large part at least the conclusion\nherein stated.\nThis little experiment seems to me indicates that one can\neasily be made radioactive either by ingestion of radioactive water containing\nradon alone, or by radioactive water containing radium or mesothorium compounds\nin solution. We have thus far failed to detect thoron in the expired air,\nbut thoron is present apparently in normal amount in the faeces residue, and\nwhen a small part of that is dissolved in dilute nitric acid and air bubbled\nthrough it into an electroscope, the discharge is surprisingly fast.\nIn addition to the repetition of this experiment, I would\nlike to try another to determine what sort of measurements one would get by\ningesting simply water containing radium emanation alone and not its parent\nsubstance, radium.\nI may add that a good many conjectures have passed through\nmy mind with reference to the bearing of this experiment on the observed dis-\ncrepancy in the activity of the five girls as found in Newark in April and in\nNew York very recently, but I do not have time now to begin writing out these\nUNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI\nCOLUMBIA\nDEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY\nDecember 7, 1928\nH. H. BARKER\nthoughts. Further experiments will probably modify some of them but I hope\nthat these preliminary data will give some indication as to the next step that\nshould be taken in detecting the radioactivity of the five girls, alleged to\nbe suffering from radium poisoning.\nMy class is now waiting and I am sorry I have to close thus\nabruptly. With very good wishes to Mrs. Barker and with my personal regards\nto you, I remain\nSincerely yours,\nHerman Schlundt\nHerman Schlundt.\nWould it be difficult for you to secure a few ampoules\nof radioactive water - containing Radon alone,\nsurreld like to make a run with it. 4tolo u curies\neach\nHS\nc\nb"
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