Letters to the Editor
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Dear Editor ,
I read with interest the article on The Legacy of Radium Contamination in the Winter 2022 edition of Radiation Protection Today . By coincidence I was reading The Radium Girls , having picked it up in an Oxfam bookshop . It was interesting to learn about the lack of awareness at the time of the effects of ingesting radium and the almost complete absence of radiation protection considerations . With hindsight it is shocking to think there was even a widespread misconception that exposure had beneficial effects . The book not only gives an insight into how radium was handled at the time ,
but more importantly demonstrates how women , particularly young women , were treated . It is a good example of society ’ s attitude to women at the time , as well as shedding light on how companies covered up and dismissed any concerns . The book describes in some detail the working conditions , the medical interventions taken to try to alleviate the women ' s symptoms and the struggle they had to get radium poisoning recognised . This battle and the awarding of compensation was too late for many of them . I would recommend this book for those who want an historical insight into society ’ s attitudes , many of which continued until relatively recently . For those interested the ISBN is 978-1-4711-5388-4 .
I have just picked up the novel Marie Curie at the same Oxfam shop , so will read that with interest .
Sharan Packer
Full review of the book available here
SRP
The ' Radiation Protection Today ' Editorial Team ( most of it ) finally meets in person In years gone by , a major SRP project such as launching a new publication would never have happened without in-person meetings . Not so nowadays , with the widespread use of virtual meetings , and this photo marks the first time the Editorial Team for Radiation Protection Today finally got to meet face-to-face . It was taken at this year ' s Annual Conference in Aberdeen in April . L to R : Steph Bloomer , Sarah Hunak , Neil Seymour , Oliver Caunt , Jennifer Humphries , Trevor Jones ( Editor ), Gary Teague , Sheila Liddle and Immediate Past President , Jim Thurston .
4 Radiation Protection Today www . srp-rpt . uk