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46 Radium
examined, it is believed desirable to describe briefly the methods employed
in their work.
The packages containing the radium that is sent to the Bureau of
Standards for examination and measurement come by registered mad
or express. They are delivered to the shipping room and then brought
to the packing room of the radium section, where the packages are opened
by the employees. Approximately one-third of the radium received is
in sealed glass tubes from I to 2 centimeters in length and about 2 millimeters
in diameter, ami the remainder is in sealed metal needles from
lyi to 2]/> centimeters in length and about 1J/2 to 2j4 millimeters in
diameter. The persons who do the unpacking stand behind cast-iron
screens which are placed upon a table at the height of the chest so as to
protect the workers as much as possible. 'Tbis use of the cast-iron screens
was instituted a short time prior to the beginning of this study and was
continued during the lime of the study. The hands and arms of the
workers are extended around the screens. The applicators containing
the radium are removed from the containers in which they arrive and
examined closely. To avoid any contamination of the surface of the
applicator which may have been acquired during the process of manufacture,
the preparations are washed thoroughly with soap and water
by means of a small brush and dried with cotton held in forceps. They
arc then put in larger glass containers, marked for identification purposes,
and placed in wooden boxes about 6 inches long, 3 inches wide.
and 3 inches high, with a lead lining about one-half inch thick. During
this process the preparations are handled entirely with forceps. (See
Plate I.) The boxes containing the radium are carried in a fiber bucket
to the safe where all this material is kept.
Radium that is being sent out from the Bureau of Standards is
handled in a similar way. The unpacking and packing of radium require
the services of two or three |>ersons for about one hour daily.
The chief exposures and sources of exposures to radiation during
unpacking and packing appear to be—
I. Exposure of hands, arms. neck, and head. In unpacking and
packing, the use of rubber or lead-rubber gloves has not proved satisfactory.
The sense of touch alone can not be relied upon; hence it is
necessary to see the package and radium containers, and consequently
there is also an exposure of the head and neck.
2. Sometimes radium tubes are received in a broken or leaky condition.
In such cases, when the package is opened, exposure involving
the breathing of radium emanation is very considerable. In case of
broken or leaky tubes the radioactive gas is spread through the room.
Unless there is proper ventilation of the room by means of electric fans
after such occurrences, persons working in the room are exposed to
radiation for a considerable time, and from within the lungs as well as
from without.
When ready to undertake the measurements on a given tube of
radium, the following is the process through which the worker must
go: He must visit the safe where all the radium is kept, open the door,
and, according to a check list, remove the lead-lined wooden boxes containing
the preparations desired. (See Plate I.) The boxes are then
carried to a smaller safe in an adjoining room, from which the preparations
are taken one at a time for actual measurement. The individual