6/1/2023 0 Comments Radium paint![]() Observation of the phenomenon dates back to ancient China where luminescent paintings were known and, closer to us, to the discovery of the Bologna stone in 1602. Persistence luminescence (also called afterglow or long-lasting phosphorescence) is defined as a property of some materials to emit light long after the excitation has stopped. Bünzli, in Reference Module in Materials Science and Materials Engineering, 2016 4.2 Persistent Luminescence Some of these worker and patient cohorts continue to be studied in order to gain a better understanding of the long-term effects of radium exposure. In post–World War I Germany, injections were given to treat tuberculosis, ankylosing spondylitis, and other diseases. Other patients sought relief by exposing themselves to natural water sources containing significant amounts of radium. Over-the-counter solutions containing radium (e.g., Radithor) were ingested by thousands of people seeking cures for these illnesses. Also around this time the American Medical Association accepted radium therapy as a treatment for rheumatism, mental instability, and a variety of other disorders. Many developed cancer (bone sarcoma) due to ingesting significant amounts of radium if they used unsafe work practices, for example, moistening and shaping the thin tips of their delicate brushes by insertion into the mouth. Workers painted ‘glow in the dark’ watch dials, clocks, compasses, and other instruments starting in the early part of the century through the 1960s. In the early twentieth century, luminous paint was developed that contained radium. Many people experienced significant exposures to radium before its harmful health effects were known. It was isolated from pitchblende by the Curies, Marie and Pierre, in 1898, who in 1903 jointly won the Nobel Prize in physics for their studies of radiation. Radium has a particularly interesting history. ![]() Gad, in Encyclopedia of Toxicology (Third Edition), 2014 Background Information
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