1. 1 A Glowing Review: Radium in collections Judith A. Wiener, MA, MLIS Assistant Director, Collections and Outreach Head, Medical Heritage Center

2. 2 More Common Than You’d Think Medical Uses Valuable commodity “Quack” medical devices and cures Everything was better with radium! (Water, cosmetics, food) “Glowing” properties seen as useful and novel in a variety of applications (i.e. clock dials) Credit: OSU Medical Heritage Center

3. 3 Side Effect Realization Credit: Argonne National Laboratory

4. 4 A Wide Spread Issue Laboratory and safety regulations remained lax through the early 20 th century. Items containing radium can easily appear within general collections. Donors may not be aware that antique or artifact items include radium or may think that the danger has passed. Credit: Oak Ridge Associated Universities

5. 5 Self-Preservation radium has an incredibly long half-life (approximately 1,600 years). Materials can pose significant risks to the health and safety of those who interact with these materials. Collecting items containing radium is discouraged. Credit: Oak Ridge Associated Universities

6. 6 Identification Research early or quack medical devices. Be suspicious of early glow-in- the dark items. Look-out for radioactive symbols or images. Be aware of types of collections that are more likely to have radium within them. If found or believe to be found- Stop, isolate the object or area and contact a professional! Credit: Oak Ridge Associated Universities

7. 7 For Further Information Judith Wiener. The Element of Surprise: Preparing for the Possibility of Hazardous Materials Within Archival Collections. Journal of Archival Organization. Vol. 5, No. 4, 2008, pgs. 33-49. Oak Ridge Universities Health Physics Historical Instrumentation Collection Museum Library. http://www.orau.org/ptp/museumlibrary.htm http://www.orau.org/ptp/museumlibrary.htm 7

8. 8 THANK YOU! Judith Wiener, MA, MLIS Judith.wiener@osumc.edu (614) 292-9273