Question 1

What was Radithor and what did it do to Eben Byers?

Accepted Answer

Radithor was distilled water infused with certified radium, sold as a health tonic in the 1920s. Eben Byers drank nearly 1,400 bottles over three years. The radium lodged in his bones and irradiated him from within, destroying his jaw and skull and killing him in 1932.

Question 2

Why did radium end up in people's bones?

Accepted Answer

Radium sits directly below calcium on the periodic table, and the body cannot distinguish between them. When ingested, radium is deposited in the skeleton as if it were calcium, where it stays permanently and emits radiation into surrounding tissue for the rest of a person's life.

Question 3

Who were the Radium Girls?

Accepted Answer

The Radium Girls were young factory workers who painted glowing radium dials on watches during and after World War One. Told to point their brushes with their lips, they swallowed radium daily. Many suffered jaw necrosis and bone fractures, and their lawsuit helped establish modern occupational safety law.

science-history

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