govthookercoulson: did-you-kno: Marie Curie’s century-old notebooks are still radioactive, so
govthookercoulson:did-you-kno:Marie Curie’s century-old notebooks are still radioactive, so they’re kept in lead-lined boxes for protection against radiation exposure. Photo via: Wellcome Library, LondonAnyone wishing to handle her notebooks, personal effects, or other items have to wear protective gear and sign a liability waiver, just in case. She basically walked around carrying radium and polonium in her pockets, so… yeah.Photo via: Amanda Macias/Business InsiderMarie and her husband Pierre are buried in Paris’s Panthéon, a mausoleum in that contains the remains of distinguished French citizens — including philosophers Rousseau and Voltaire.SourceHi, my real job is radiation protection. Let’s talk about this.Paper is basically impossible to decontaminate. That’s just it’s nature. Paper is a fragile material that absorbs everything, and when it absorbs moisture, it degrades. If it absorbs anything else, it’s not going to come out.Marie Curie did her work in an era when there was no real knowledge of the hazards of radiation and radioactive contamination. She exposed herself to toxic materials with no protection. The isotopes that are radioactive also tend to be toxic heavy metals.So she’d do her work while handling these materials and her hands, and her work tables, transferred those isotopes to the paper, where it’s now there permanently. These books can never be cleaned. And since she worked with some rather long-lived isotopes, that contamination is now fixed permanently.It’s not just her book, either. Her entire workspace is radioactive. It still stands but it’s under lock and key. If you do get permission to enter with a dose rate meter, and survey the room, it’s actually very obvious what she touched. Her doorknobs, and the back of her chair, are more radioactive.She suffered from still births and health problems not understood then, but understood now. We’ll likely never know just how much dose she saw, and how much toxic material she ingested. Her work was exemplary, and it is regrettable she did this in a time with no true safety equipment.Like any major industry, the first researchers suffer, especially those that are far beyond their time. Only lion tamers get eaten by lions.What should you take from this? That hazardous materials deserve respect, and you deserve proper safety equipment. And, of course, respect those that walked there ahead of you and their sacrifices. -- source link
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