Evening star., 1949-08-01
Hornet 'Sentries' Detect
Atomic Contamination
Insects Used to Indicate Leaks
From Uranium Furnaces
BY Thomas r. Henry

By Thomas r. Henry
Radioactive hornets and mosquitoes are
sciences latest recruits.
Hornet sentries have been placed in strate-
gc positions around the great isotope plant
OF the Atomic Energy Commission at Oak
Ridge, Tenn, to detect any contamination
of the air by exploding atoms escaping from
the great uranium furnaces.
When the uranium atom splits in two un-
der bombardment by slow neutrons, two new
elements are created-the extremely rare
metals barlum and lanthanum 1t has been
found that the hornet, perhaps alone among
living things, absorbs barum from the at
mosphere
Many OF the rare metal atoms are radio.
active. Various detecting devices placed near
the hornet sentry boxes will record any in
crease IN the atomic explosions in the bodies
OF the insects and this may indicate a
dangerous accumulation of air contamina-
ton.
They probably will serve as indicators Of
rad1o-barium leaks long before any instru-
ment alone. according to the semiannual
report OF the Atomic Energy Commission.
Used to Trace Mosquitoes.
production OF radioactive mosquitoes as
q means OF tagging these insects and thus
tracing their range and migrations is re-
ported to the American Association for the
Advancement of Science by Drs c. c. Has
sett and D. w. Kenkins of the Army Chemi-
cal Center
Larvae of Aedes Aegyti, the species of
mosquito which carries yellow fever, were
raised in beakers of distilled water contain
ing radio active phosphorus. 1t was found
tnat the insects, through the various stages
OF metamorphoss which they undergo,
accumulate enough of the exploding atoms
so that they can be detected anywhere they
ere caught
The method is similar in principle to the
technique OF tracing bird migrations but
any mechanical means Of tagging mosqui-
toes obviously would be impossible.
In addition. the report points out study
OF the radioactive insects is expected to
shed much light on the living processes of
mosquitoes and how they carry and dis
perse the yellow fever virus.
Meanwhile an apparently successful treat
ment Tor one major hazard to the health
OF workers in atomic installations has been
found by Atomic Energy Commission scien-
tlsts' according to the semiannual report.
Rat Research Points Way.
Ihls Is the hazard OF plutonium poisoning.
very small amount of this synthetic ele-
ment, the basic material of the atomic bomb.
when absorbed in the body, will have effects
very similar to absorbed radum 1t lodges
IN the bones, where ordinarily it will remain
for years. 1t will cause serious blood and
bone diseases and, in some cases, cancers.
When small amounts of plutonium dust
were inhaled by rats each animal developed
form OF pneumonia and those which sur
vived eventually died of tumors of the lung
quite similar to human lung cancers.
Medical science had not found way Of
treating radium poisoning. The exploding
element cannot be gotten out of the bones
and victims have eventually died. The
plutonium research with rats, however, have
shown that a single dose of chromium, a
non-radoactive and non-toxic metal, if ad-
| ministered within an hour after plutonium
I exposure. causes very rapid elimination of
the poison.
The elimination continues for about ten
days after the chromium treatment. Even
when the metal is administered several days
after the poisoning it has been found to do
some good