Background radiation is a measure of the level of ionizing radiation present in the environment at a particular location which is not due to deliberate introduction of radiation sources.
Radium is a chemical element; it has symbol Ra and atomic number 88. It is the sixth element in group 2 of the periodic table, also known as the alkaline earth metals. Pure radium is silvery-white, but it readily reacts with nitrogen (rather than oxygen) upon exposure to air, forming a black surface layer of radium nitride (Ra3N2). All isotopes of radium are radioactive, the most stable isotope being radium-226 with a half-life of 1,600 years. When radium decays, it emits ionizing radiation as a by-product, which can excite fluorescent chemicals and cause radioluminescence.
Radon is a chemical element; it has symbol Rn and atomic number 86. It is a radioactive noble gas and is colorless and odorless. Of the three naturally occurring radon isotopes, only radon-222 has a sufficiently long half-life for it to be released from the soil and rock, where it is generated. Radon isotopes are the immediate decay products of radium isotopes. Radon's most stable isotope, radon-222, has a half-life of only 3.8 days, making radon one of the rarest elements. Radon will be present on Earth for several billion more years, despite its short half-life, because it is constantly being produced as a step in the decay chain of uranium-238, and that of thorium-232, each of which is an extremely abundant radioactive nuclide with a half-life of several billion years. The decay of radon produces many other short-lived nuclides, known as "radon daughters", ending at stable isotopes of lead. Radon-222 occurs in significant quantities as a step in the normal radioactive decay chain of uranium-238, also known as the uranium series, which slowly decays into a variety of radioactive nuclides and eventually decays into lead-206, which is stable. Radon-220 occurs in minute quantities as an intermediate step in the decay chain of thorium-232, also known as the thorium series, which eventually decays into lead-208, which is stable.
Thorium is a chemical element. It has the symbol Th and atomic number 90. Thorium is a weakly radioactive light silver metal which tarnishes olive gray when it is exposed to air, forming thorium dioxide; it is moderately soft and malleable and has a high melting point. Thorium is an electropositive actinide whose chemistry is dominated by the +4 oxidation state; it is quite reactive and can ignite in air when finely divided.
Radioactive decay is the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation. A material containing unstable nuclei is considered radioactive. Three of the most common types of decay are alpha, beta, and gamma decay. The weak force is the mechanism that is responsible for beta decay, while the other two are governed by the electromagnetism and nuclear force.
Nuclear chemistry is the sub-field of chemistry dealing with radioactivity, nuclear processes, and transformations in the nuclei of atoms, such as nuclear transmutation and nuclear properties.
Ebenezer McBurney Byers was an American socialite, sportsman, and industrialist. He won the 1906 U.S. Amateur in golf. He died from multiple radiation-induced cancers after consuming Radithor, a patent medicine made from radium dissolved in water.
Radithor was a patent medicine that is a well-known example of radioactive quackery and specifically of excessively broad and pseudoscientific application of the principle of radiation hormesis. It consisted of triple-distilled water containing at a minimum 1 microcurie (37 kBq) each of the radium 226 and 228 isotopes.
Radionuclides which emit gamma radiation are valuable in a range of different industrial, scientific and medical technologies. This article lists some common gamma-emitting radionuclides of technological importance, and their properties.
Radium and radon are important contributors to environmental radioactivity. Radon occurs naturally as a result of decay of radioactive elements in soil and it can accumulate in houses built on areas where such decay occurs. Radon is a major cause of cancer; it is estimated to contribute to ~2% of all cancer related deaths in Europe.
Uranium tailings or uranium tails are a radioactive waste byproduct (tailings) of conventional uranium mining and uranium enrichment. They contain the radioactive decay products from the uranium decay chains, mainly the U-238 chain, and heavy metals. Long-term storage or disposal of tailings may pose a danger for public health and safety.
Naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) and technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive materials (TENORM) consist of materials, usually industrial wastes or by-products enriched with radioactive elements found in the environment, such as uranium, thorium and potassium and any of their decay products, such as radium and radon. Produced water discharges and spills are a good example of entering NORMs into the surrounding environment.
Radium-226 is the longest-lived isotope of radium, with a half-life of 1600 years. It is an intermediate product in the decay chain of uranium-238; as such, it can be found naturally in uranium-containing minerals.
Radon-222 is the most stable isotope of radon, with a half-life of approximately 3.8 days. It is transient in the decay chain of primordial uranium-238 and is the immediate decay product of radium-226. Radon-222 was first observed in 1899, and was identified as an isotope of a new element several years later. In 1957, the name radon, formerly the name of only radon-222, became the name of the element. Owing to its gaseous nature and high radioactivity, radon-222 is one of the leading causes of lung cancer.
An Ionized bracelet, or ionic bracelet, is a type of metal bracelet jewelry purported to affect the chi of the wearer. No claims of effectiveness made by manufacturers have ever been substantiated by independent sources, and the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has found the bracelets are "part of a scheme devised to defraud".
Tho-Radia was a French pharmaceutical company making cosmetics between 1932 and 1968. Tho-Radia-branded creams, toothpastes and soaps were notable for containing radium and thorium until 1937, as a scheme to exploit popular interest for radium after it was discovered by Pierre and Marie Curie, in a fad of radioactive quackery.
Doramad Radioactive Toothpaste was a brand of toothpaste produced in Germany by Auergesellschaft of Berlin from the 1920s through World War II. It was known for containing thorium, a radioactive metal, and is an example of radioactive quackery.
William John Aloysius Bailey was an American patent medicine inventor and salesman. A Harvard University dropout, Bailey falsely claimed to be a doctor of medicine and promoted the use of radioactive radium as a cure for coughs, flu, and other common ailments. Although Bailey's Radium Laboratories in East Orange, New Jersey, was continually investigated by the Federal Trade Commission, he died wealthy from his many devices and products, including an aphrodisiac called Arium, marketed as a restorative that "renewed happiness and youthful thrill into the lives of married peoples whose attractions to each other had weakened."
The history of radiation therapy or radiotherapy can be traced back to experiments made soon after the discovery of X-rays (1895), when it was shown that exposure to radiation produced cutaneous burns. Influenced by electrotherapy and escharotics—the medical application of caustic substances—doctors began using radiation to treat growths and lesions produced by diseases such as lupus, basal cell carcinoma, and epithelioma. Radiation was generally believed to have bactericidal properties, so when radium was discovered, in addition to treatments similar to those used with x-rays, it was also used as an additive to medical treatments for diseases such as tuberculosis where there were resistant bacilli.
The radium fad or radium craze of the early 20th century was an early form of radioactive quackery that resulted in widespread marketing of radium-infused products as being beneficial to health. Many radium products contained no actual radium, in part because it was prohibitively expensive, which turned out to be a grace, as high levels of radium exposure can result in radiation-induced cancer.
