The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-12-20
TOPEKA ErATB JOURNAL
INFORM ALTON
BUREAU
FREDERIC j. HASEiN. Dir cc.or.
waatsnston. u. C.
A SHORTAGE or rApIUnf.

|
| Washington, D. c. Dec. 11.-War.
according the government experts, has
resulted in a serious depletion of our
| supply of the most valuable substance
| on earth-radium. Reports that
great new deposit had been discovered
| in Colorado proved to be utterly un-
founded.
Radium has been used extensively
as a material of war, not as might be
| supposed, in treating sick and wound
ed soldiers, but in the form of luml-
nous paint on gun sights. aviators' in
strumefts, and the ubiquitous officers
wrist watch.
| The greater part of the radium now
being extracted is used in making lu-
geological survey. The amount Of
radium that adotns the face of one
of these watches is inconceivably
small. Radium costs about 500 a
milIogram, and a watch dial carries
10 cents worth. But 100000 luminous
| watches are manufactured yearly by
one firm alone. Add to the thousands
of luminous watches placed on the
market the many other instruments
| which must be visible in pitch dark
ness. and which draw heavily on the
radium supply, and a large proportion
| of the three and three-quarter ounces
| of radium in existence is accounted
| for.
As a result of this reckless use of
radium there is little available for
surgery. which is generally acknowl-
| edged as the field in which radium
| can render its greatest service. This
| situation will in q short time be
| changed. The cessation of fighting
has lessened the speed of airplane
construction with its attending de-
mands on luminous paint.
| Also. mesothorium, an element SIM
| liar to radium, has been called into
use. Unlike radium, which is the pro-
| duct Of ores, mesothorium is extracted
| from kind of sand. 1t was reported
recently that mesothobium had been
! discovered in the United. States As
matter of fact the radioactive prop
stood in Brazil twelve years ago, and
biologists of the United States have
long been aware of its existence in
| this country.
The man who discovered the ex-
| istence Of mesothorium in sand in
Brazil wished to keep his discovery
secret in order to monopolize the
| profits. His scheme was to ship the
| sand to German buyers, sending it as
| ship became damaged and was in
danger of sinking. When the cap
| tain ordered the ballast thrown out,
the cargo owner who was aboard OBJ
|
| be sacrificed. His attitude aroused
suspicion. The ship and ballast were
| saved, but, unfortunately for the
owner of the precious sand. his bal
| last was examined and his secret
spread broadcast, with the result that
the Brazilian government took a hand
, in exploiting its newly found resource.
Mesothorium is extremely like
radium in character and effect. 1t
| haa re full iv, hi :,
| and in two thousand years that
power would diminish only one half
Mesothorium. on the other hand,
takes year to gain its full strength.
| at which time it is powerful as
radium. but in five and one-half
years its strength is almost gone. AS
the life of the average luminous-dial
| watch is less than five and one-half
years, mesothorium is a satisfactory
] substitute for radium for this pur-
| pose.
| 1t is an interesting fact that the
radium on dial would really last for
nearly two thousand years. 1t would
not be recognizable, however, after a
few years. as the zinc sulphide. which
| Is mixed with the radium to enable it
to give forth its light. would gradually
disappear. The radium deposits on
worn out watches and Instruments
could be used again If there were any
way of collecting a sufficient number
|
| and expense of separating 1t.
Detecting the presence of radium is
| comparatively simple. 1t is done by
a small but complicated instrument
which indicates the proportion of
/ radium in a piece of ore. Not all ore
| containing radium is worth the trouble
! of extracting the element. Radium is
present in all carnotite ores. but the
amount, biologists are fond of explain
| ing, is often as slight as the amount
| of gold in the water Of the ocean.
Both radium and gold are there. but
to extract them at profit is impos-
sible.
Even when ore rich enough in
radium to warrant excavation is
| located, the cost of separating the
| radium is great. For one part of
radium in this ore there are 100000
parts of other substances. and it takes
eight carloads of chemicals to treat
| one ton of ore. The ore is treated
with acid to dissolve theuranium and
venadium present. From the acid
| solution, the radium is precipitated.
and then collected in much smaller
bulk. dissolved and precipitated again
several times until 1t is reduced to q
form of salts. 1t is usually kept and
used in this form, stored in a casing of
lead to protect articles in the vicinity
from the effects of the rays.
The chief medical uses of radium
SO far tested have been in treating
cancer. tumors. and birthmarks. Some
cures have been effected, some cases
have been helped only. Even If
radium only allevIates the pain of can
GER it is. in the opinion of many doc
tors. a blessing. A plausible explana-
ton of the apparent failure of radium
to have any notable effect on some
cancer cases Is that radium was tried
as a last resort when the disease was
So far advanced that nothing could
cure it, and when the general physical
condition of the patient was so weak
ened that it could not respond to the
treatment
One drawback in the exploitation
of radium as a cancer cure is the fact
that ordinarily cancer is a poor mans
disease, caused by undernourishment,
| oyeryynrE or some other abuse of the