IMAGES IN THE DARK: THE CHANGING PERCEPTION OF RADIATION IN THE SOCIAL REALM

The discovery of x-rays late in the 19^th century, followed by the discovery and identification of “radioactivity” heading into the 20^th century, ushered in a new era for humans. Many considered radiation a “mystical” and “enchanting” energy. “Radium illustrates a certain power, the power of God, which penetrates everything and is as invisible and imperceptible as the power of radium” (Katharina Rempel, 1916). “Sometimes we returned in the evening after dinner for another survey of our domain. Our precious products [of radium extraction and concentration], for which we had no shelter, were arranged on tables and boards; from all sides we could see their slightly luminous silhouettes, and these gleamings, which seemed suspended in the darkness, stirred us with ever new emotion and enchantment” (M. Curie 1923, 104).

It wasn’t long after the discovery of polonium and radium, by the Henri Becquerel and Marie and Pierre Curie, that a medicinal use for the novel material was envisioned. This served to enhance the image of a “healing substance” by society. Shortly after, many products, from bottled water to cooking equipment, were created and marketed for their healing properties because they also contained a portion of this new, radioactive material. One such use of radium was as an ingredient in paint for watch dials. The radium caused a glow allowing the painted numbers on the dial to be seen at night; especially useful for the military during WWI. Slowly, however, the women painting these dials became ill with dental problems, tumors and carcinomas, and bone necrosis, then they started dying. Eventually it became evident that the cause for the deaths was the exposure to radium. Women “pointed” their paintbrushes with their lips incidentally ingesting small amounts of radium each time. They became known in the news as the “women doomed to die” because of the surety of their impending fate. As sympathy for the women gained, the image of radiation or radioactivity in society also changed.