delegation to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the NRC worked with member nations on a code of conduct for radioactive sources. Experts worried that untracked or stolen radioactive sources, including radium, could be used in "dirty bombs." Between 19, as part of the U.S. While radium use had fallen, in the 1990s terrorism prompted new security concerns about radioactive sources of all types. If we do detect radium, we will provide more detailed information about our findings. The NRC's regulations are designed to keep radium exposure very low-far below the level where we might expect to see health effects. It is important to keep in mind that the presence of radium by itself does not mean there would be health effects-even if it is above the NRC radiation limit. The NRC and its Agreement State partners regulate these sources to ensure they are used in a way that protects public health and safety. However, radium is still being used today in certain applications, such as industrial radiography. Most uses of radium have been replaced by other radioactive materials or radiation generating devices. Radium needles and other forms were implanted into cancerous tumors to arrest the cancerous growth. Radium was fashioned into various sizes and types of sealed sources, many of which were called "needles" because of their shape. It was used in sealed and unsealed sources for cancer therapy. Radium was used in numerous medical applications during the 20 th century as well. Manufacturers used radium until the early 1970s in self-luminous paints for watches, aircraft switches, clocks, and instrument dials. When they were found to have adverse health effects, such products soon became unpopular, and authorities in many countries prohibited them. At the beginning of the 20 th century, radium was a popular additive in consumer products such as toothpaste, hair creams, and even food items because of its supposed beneficial health properties. The half-life of radium is approximately 1,600 years.įollowing its discovery over 100 years ago, radium has been used in numerous industrial and consumer applications. The time required for the intensity to decrease by one-half is referred to as the half-life. The intensity of radiation from radioactive materials decreases over time. Radium is produced by the radioactive decay of uranium. Radium is a radioactive substance found in nature.
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