The early years of radiation protection: a tribute to Madame Curie.

In 1936, almost 4 decades after the discovery of the x-ray and of radium, the German Röntgen Society erected a monument to commemorate all who had died as a consequence of exposure to x-rays or radium. George W.C. Kaye of the US National Physical Laboratory wrote the inscription: “To the röntgenologists and radiologists of all nations, doctors, physicists, chemists, technical workers, laboratory workers, and hospital sisters who gave their lives in the struggle against the diseases of mankind. They were heroic leaders in the development of the successful and safe use of x-rays and radium in medicine. Immortal is the glory of the work of the dead.” One hundred years ago, on Dec. 26, 1898, Marie Curie, Pierre Curie and Gustave Bémont announced their discovery of a chemical element that would revolutionize medicine: “Les diverses raisons que nous venons d’énumérer nous portent à croire que la nouvelle substance radioactive renferme un élément nouveau, auquel nous proposons de donner le nom de radium. La nouvelle substance radioactive renferme certainement une très grande proportion de baryum: malgré cela, la radioactivité est considerable. La radioactivité du radium doit donc être enorme.” The discovery of radium came only 5 months after the Curies had announced the existence of another previously unknown element, which they named “polonium, du nom du pays d’origine de l’un de nous.” Four years after the discovery of radium, Marie Curie reported its atomic weight. This was the result of a very labour-intensive endeavour. The isolation of 1 gram of pure radium had required the handling and processing of 8 tons of pitchblende ore. In handling this enormous amount, Marie and Pierre Curie unknowingly exposed themselves continuously to radioactivity; they contaminated their food and clothes with radium and inhaled radon, the gaseous by-product of decaying uranium and radium. It is therefore not surprising that they both complained of fatigue and ill health. In addition, Mme Curie grew thinner by several kilograms. These changes did not go unnoticed by their friends: “J’ai été frappé, en voyant Mme Curie à la Société de Physique, de l’altération de ses traits.” Nevertheless, Mme Curie gave birth to 2 healthy daughters as well as leaving a remarkable scientific legacy. She went on to receive 2 Nobel prizes — one in physics and one in chemistry — and received many honorary degrees from universities all over the world. She also contributed significantly to the development of radiology during World War I. It is interesting that the Curies initially chose to ignore exposure to radioactivity as a health hazard. In 1900, Pierre Curie voluntarily exposed his arm to radium for several hours and as a consequence developed a burn. Eventually, though, Mme Curie not only recognized “that radium was dangerous in untrained hands” but went on to advocate specific training for those who worked with radioactive substances. On this, the 100th anniversary of the discovery of radium, it is fitting to review the first years of radiation protection, a process that started 3 years before the discovery of radium and that initially was focused on the health hazards of x-ray exposure. Within a few weeks after the discovery of x-rays by the German physicist Wilhelm Konrad Röntgen, the first published reports of the ill effects of x-ray exposure began to appear. Thomas A. Edison and William J. Morton independently reported that their eyes were affected after exposure to x-rays. It is unclear whether this was caused by x-ray exposure or simply by the strain of peering for prolonged periods at a dimly fluorescing screen. Indeed, neither Edison nor Education