Life and Death Rays: Radioactive Poisoning and Radiation Exposure

by Alan Perkins

Overview

This unique book provides an accessible introduction to both the scientific background and the key people involved in the discovery and use of radiation and radioactivity. It begins by providing a short history of radiation exposures and radiation poisoning; from the early inappropriate use of X-rays and radium cures through the misadventures of the Manhattan Project and the Chernobyl disaster, to the high-profile and deliberate poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko in London with polonium-210, which gave rise to worldwide media attention.

The chapters provide a catalogue of deliberate criminal acts, unfortunate accidents, and inadvertent radiation exposures, exploring well-known events in detail, as well as some not so well-known occurrences. It works through the topics by focusing on human stories and events and their biological impact. In addition, it covers descriptions of the beneficial uses of radiation and radioactivity.

This book can be enjoyed by any reader with a general interest in science, as well as by students and professionals within the scientific and medical communities.

Key features

• Authored by a subject area specialist who has worked in both clinical practice and academia and was involved with the national media following incidents of national and international importance
• Provides a unique human perspective into well-known and some lesser known events and a concise history of the discovery of radiation and the events that followed
• Adds scientific and medical background to a subject of high media interest

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780367456498
Publisher:	CRC Press
Publication date:	07/06/2021
Pages:	246
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

Alan Perkins is Emeritus Professor of Medical Physics in Radiological Sciences in the School of Medicine at the University of Nottingham, having previously held the position of Clinical Professor of Medical Physics in the School of Medicine and Honorary Consultant Clinical Scientist at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, where he was the Clinical Support Divisional Lead for Research and Innovation. He has over 35 years experience in Nuclear Medicine and Medical Physics and broad managerial experience in the National Health Service. His contribution to clinical science and collaborative research has resulted in authorship of over 200 peer-reviewed publications and 6 published textbooks.
Professor Perkins is a Past President of the British Nuclear Medicine Society and Past President of the International Research Group for Immunoscintigraphy and Therapy, a previous Vice President of the Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine and currently a Governor and Chair of the Research Strategy Board for Coeliac UK. He was an editor of the UK journal Nuclear Medicine Communications and for over 9 years represented the UK on The High-Level Group for the Security of Medical Radioisotope Supplies at the OECD in Paris. He has consulted for a number of commercial organisations and has acted as an expert witness for pharmaceutical litigation in the US.

Table of Contents

Preface xi

Acknowledgements xiii

About the Author xv

Chapter 1 The Poisoned Chalice 1

1.1 Poisoning of a Russian Defector 1

1.2 Poisons and Poisoners 2

1.3 Environmental and Inadvertent Poisoning 3

1.4 Deliberate Poisoning 5

1.5 Thallium: the Poisoner's Poison 6

1.6 Treatment of Thallium Poisoning 10

1.7 Thallium Radiation Poisoning 11

1.8 Poisoning With Tritium (Hydrogen-3) 15

1.9 Poisoning With Phosphorous-32 16

1.10 Irradiation With Sealed Sources 17

Chapter 2 Designer Poisons 19

2.1 Poison Laboratories 19

2.2 Laboratory No 1 20

2.3 Unit 731 23

2.4 Edgewood Arsenal and ULTRA 24

Chapter 3 Mysterious Rays 29

3.1 Radiation, Matter and Energy 29

3.2 The Wondrous Roentgen Rays 31

3.3 Ill Health and Safety 36

Chapter 4 Radiant Health 43

4.1 X-ray Vision 43

4.2 Electromechanical Medical Appliances 45

4.3 If the Shoe Fits 49

4.4 Beauty and the Beast 51

4.5 Mass Irradiation for Health and Hygiene 53

Chapter 5 Kill or Cure 59

5.1 A State of Decay 59

5.2 Alpha, Beta and Gamma Radiation 60

5.3 Radioactivity and the Birth of the Atomic Age 61

5.4 Radium, the Element of Life and Death 66

5.5 The Qray Electro-Radioactive Dry Compress 70

5.6 Sunshine in a Bottle 71

5.7 The Poisoned Paintbrush 79

5.8 Radiotherapy 83

Chapter 6 Chain Reactions 87

6.1 Embracing the Atom 87

6.2 The Manhattan Project 89

6.3 The Philadelphia Incident 93

6.4 Tickling the Dragon's Tail 94

6.5 Stirring Up Trouble 99

6.6 Dawn of the Atomic Age 100

Chapter 7 Nutopia 103

7.1 Human Radiation Experiments 103

7.2 Testing Times 104

7.3 Ultium, Extremium and Plutonium 108

7.4 An Unexpected Bitter Taste 110

7.5 The US Plutonium Studies 110

7.6 UK Human Tissue Studies 117

Chapter 8 From Tracers to Treatment 119

8.1 The Marked Card 119

8.2 Atomic Golf Balls 121

8.3 Track and Trace 121

8.4 The Nuclear Cloud's Silver Lining 123

8.5 Nuclear Medicine 125

8.6 Technetium, the Missing Element 129

8.7 The Antimatter Scan 132

Chapter 9 A Series of Unfortunate Events 137

9.1 Accidents Happen 137

9.2 The Windscale Fire, 1957 137

9.3 The SL-1 Meltdown, 1961 141

9.4 Three Mile Island Accident, 1979 141

9.5 The Chernobyl Disaster, 1986 142

9.6 The Tokaimura Accident, 1999: a Fate Worse Than Death 146

9.7 The Fukushima Daiichi Disaster, 2011 150

9.8 Military and Medical Mishaps 151

Chapter 10 Home and Away 155

10.1 Radon Alert 155

10.2 Home Truths 157

10.3 The Radioactive Boy Scout 159

10.4 The Kramstorsk Tragedy 161

10.5 Environmental Radiation 162

10.6 Cosmic and Space Radiation 163

10.7 Radioactive Food for Thought 163

10.8 Geological Radiation 164

10.9 The Most Radioactive Place on the Earth 164

Chapter 11 Biological Effects and Medical Treatment 167

11.1 Biological Effects of Radiation 167

11.2 Radiosensitivity 172

11.3 Treatment of Radiation Casualties 175

11.4 Treating Radiation Casualties 177

11.5 Beer and Dragon's Blood 178

Chapter 12 Spies, Subterfuge, Missions and Murder 181

12.1 Spy Dust 181

12.2 X-ray Surveillance 188

12.3 The London Polonium Poisoning 189

12.4 Polonium-210 195

12.5 Deployment, Diagnosis and Detective Work 197

12.6 Other Polonium Poisonings 202

12.7 Security of Radioactive Materials 204

Glossary 205

Bibliography 213

Appendix 1 Table of SI Metric Prefixes 219

Index 221