Radithor and the era of mild radium therapy

Article Abstract:

A history and evaluation of the era of unfettered enthusiasm about the properties of radium is presented. This period was characterized by optimism about the health benefits of the newly-discovered radium, touted as a treatment for cancer and benign skin conditions. The medical approach that continues from these days is brachytherapy, the implantation of a radioactive source in a tumor bed so it can sterilize malignant tissue (use of a distant source is teletherapy). But another tradition, 'mild radium therapy', grew out of the homeopathic and physical medicine movements. These practitioners used low doses of radiation to stimulate metabolic processes believed essential for healing. Although the ways radiation acted were unknown, all agreed that alpha particle emission, with its low penetrance, was the essential event in promoting healing. This kind of radiation was not used by oncologists as it was too weak and irascible for therapeutic effectiveness. Water from hot springs that contained radon (radium-emanation) was prized for its curative powers. Because radium was a natural element, it was not regulated and was bottled and sold over the counter as a remedy for rheumatism, gout, syphilis, anemia, epilepsy, and other disorders. When a prominent millionaire, Eban M. Byers, consumed large quantities of Radithor, a patent medicine, for treatment of aches and tiredness, and became deathly ill, the medical and public communities became alarmed. The Food and Drug Administration, which had very little influence at that time, issued warnings and their investigations led to an injunction against the Bailey Radium Laboratories halting the manufacturing of Radithor. The laboratory, headed by William J.A. Bailey, was investigated. A brief biography is presented of this messianic character who believed that most disease was 'endocrinologic' in nature and could be healed by radium. Radithor was purported to be a strong sexual stimulant and aphrodisiac. When Byers died, radium became known as a deadly element, and the patent-medicine industry collapsed. Bailey died of bladder cancer at age 64, having consumed more radium water (by his own claim) than any living man. The deleterious effects of mild radium therapy are well recalled when radon exposure today is characterized as harmless. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Evaluation, Complications and side effects, Byers, Eban M.

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The radiotoxicology of Radithor: analysis of an early case of iatrogenic poisoning by a radioactive patent medicine

Article Abstract:

Radithor, a patent medicine marketed during a time of fascination with the curative properties of radium (between 1925 and 1930), was found to have profoundly damaging effects on the body. Each half-ounce bottle may have contained 1.1 microCurie of two radium isotopes in sterile water. Evaluation of the effects of this low-dose radioactive source can shed light on how long-term exposure affects the body. A report of radiochemical spectral analysis on four Radithor samples is provided. Based on these and other data, a model is developed to estimate absorbed radiation doses (dosimetry) for long-term, low-level exposure. The results are applied to one case of Radithor poisoning, that of the millionaire Eban M. Byers, who died in 1932. His skeleton was exhumed and studied in 1965, and, based on its radioactive content, the dosimetric model can be calculated. The gamma ray emission spectrum of Radithor is presented. The compound contained substantial amounts of radium isotopes, with short (approximately six years) half-lives (time until half the nuclei of a radioactive substance have decayed). Different bones in Byers' skeleton contained different amounts of radiation. He had absorbed a very high dose of radioactivity and stayed surprisingly healthy, in spite of this. Such investigations can help investigators understand the biologic effects of long-term internal radiation exposure. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Measurement, Radiation measurement

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Low-level radioactive wastes

Article Abstract:

A federal law requires all states to have in place by 1993 provisions for the safe disposal of low-level radioactive waste. This includes medical nuclear waste which accounts for between 25 and 30 percent of all radioactive waste produced in civilian applications. Low- level radioactive wastes (LLRWs) also result from activities associated with the production of nuclear power and from industrial uses of radiation. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission, in conjunction with various states, is beginning to select disposal sites which are chosen on the basis of factors such as small amounts of rainfall and low humidity which make radioactive wastes easier to store. Stable geological features of a prospective site are also a factor. Costs of transporting and storing LLRWs will be borne by the producers. Physicians will have a role in informing the public of the risks associated with LLRWs.

Laws, regulations and rules, Nuclear power plants, Waste management, Radioactive wastes

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