Research Project

 In my research project I want to study the effects that the radium age of the 1920's had on the environment within California, specifically Los Angeles. I chose this topic because it is something that I have found very fascinating for several years now and ties into one of my hobbies which is watch repair. Watches and clocks from this period were often painted with glow in the dark luminous material made of radium and it had devastating affects on those who had worked in the factories painting the dials. Almost all of those who came into contact with radium in the factories suffered from radioactive poisoning due to them ingesting the radium. 

Overall, there was a huge enthusiasm for radium and radioactivity in general in the 1920's which undoubtedly led its way into plaguing the environment. Radium lasts for a very long time and it was used in everyday materials from watches and clocks to even makeup and butter! Along with this it was also used in military equipment well into the 1970's. I want to find out how the radium during the radium age was disposed of, what effect it had on the environment, and what effects we are still feeling today, one hundred years later. 

This extremely deadly and long lasting element had disastrous effects on the humans who ingested it or came into frequent contact with it. I want to see the devastation that it caused to the surrounding environments in particular because that is something that I don't think is talked about too much while researching and reading about it. I always find topics and articles on the effects that radium has on the human body and the history of it in that regard, but when it comes to the environment I feel that that aspect of the radium age is ignored or not prioritized when I think that it is something that should be looked into more. 

I have looked into different sources ranging in length on the general background knowledge and information of radium such as: https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2018-12/documents/significant_discoveries_history_radiation_protection-worksheet_rp_1.pdf to other  scholarly research such as "Removing and Disposing of Radium from Well Water" by Kenneth Mangelson and Richard Lauch which highlights the science behind the radioactive element's effects on water in a naturally occurring situation and which practices can be used to remove the toxic element from water supply. I find that this information could be useful in removing radium from the environment due to man made materials which led to pollution. 

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