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X-Ray Protection Advances, Radium Protection Still Lags, 1902–13

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Strengthening International Regimes

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in International Relations ((PSIR))

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Abstract

By World War I, radiation therapy would expand dramatically as physicians began to use effects on deeper-lying tissues in clinical practice. Awareness of deep effects also greatly expanded public and professional fears, as did the confirmation of X-ray-induced carcinoma. Physicians reacted by claiming exclusive control over the diagnostic and therapeutic use of X-rays, but nonphysicians in the medical radiological community recognized that physician control alone could not avoid harm or satisfy the public. Protection and measurement techniques were essential. Real and imagined public concerns prompted professional societies, starting in Germany and Britain, to actively promote protection measures. A broad array of measuring and protective devices became commercially available. With their introduction, scientific and medical radiology would draw closer together in principle, but the laboratory physicist and the medical clinician continued to use different methods and units of X-ray measurement. Economic considerations and scientific concerns would force more uniformity in radium measurements, which by 1913 were internationally comparable to within a few parts per thousand. The laboratory and the clinic were virtually on a par in measuring capabilities, but radium protection would remain a haphazard affair, with public and professional enthusiasm for the benefits of radium and radium emanation outweighing isolated voices of concern.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Zur Einführung. Strahlenth. 1912;1:2.: “Die Mitarbeit der Röntgenphysiker und Röntgentechniker soll den Röntgentherapeuten instand setzen, sich die exakten Grundlagen der forschenden Naturwissenschaft für seine medizinische Praxis nutzbar zu machen. Nur unter genauester Berücksichtigung der Naturgesetze konnen Methoden ersonnen werden, die für die medizinische Wissenschaft praktischen Wert erlangen.”

  2. 2.

    Hernamen-Johnson F (M.D.). Secondary X-radiations: Their Uses and Possibilities in Medicine. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Medicine. 1911;5. Electrotherapeutic Section 87–111, session of 16 February 1912.

  3. 3.

    Thomson JJ. (Cavendish Professor of Experimental Physics, Cambridge; Professor of Physics, Royal Institution). Röntgen Rays in Therapeutics: A Suggestion from a Physicist. The British Medical Journal 1910;2:512–4 an address to the Section of Radiology and Medical Electricity of the British Medical Association, July 1910.

  4. 4.

    Oudin B, Darier (Paris). Über Veränderungen an der Haut und den Eingeweiden nach Durchleuchtung mit X-Strahlen. Monat Prak Derm. 1897 Nov 1;25:417–45.

  5. 5.

    Seldin M. (Dr. Med., Bobruisk, Russland). Über die Wirkung der Röntgen und Radiumstrahlen auf innere Organe und den Gesamtorganismus der Tiere. Fortschr Röntgenstr. 1904;7:322–39, submitted as an Inaugural Dissertation in March 1904 for the Medical Faculty at the University of Königsberg. Damage to the stomach and intestines was first demonstrated by Regaud C, Nogier T, Laccasagne A. Sur les effets redoutables des irradiations étendues de l’abdomen et sur les lésions du tube digestif determinées par les rayons de Röntgen. Arch Elec Med. 1912;21:321–34, communication présentée au Congrès de l’Association française pour l’Avancement des Sciences à Nimes, en août 1912. It should be noted, however, that by 1912 much harder X-rays were in use (those of Regaud, et al., were filtered through 2 mm of aluminum) and many of the earlier reports may have been spurious.

  6. 6.

    Despeignes V. (Ancien chef des travaux à la Faculté de médecine de Lyon). Observation concernant un cas Cancer de l’estomac, traités par les rayons Röntgens. Lyon Medical 1896;82:428–30 and 503–6.

  7. 7.

    Gasmann A. (aus der dermatologischen Universitätsklinik des Herrn. Prof. Jadassohn in Bern). Zur Histologie der Röntgenulcera. Fortschr Röntgenstr. 1898;2:199–207.

  8. 8.

    Fatigue among radium workers was later regarded as the result of effects on the blood, see Gudzent F (Assistent der I.Medizinischen Klinik), Halberstaedter L (Assistenten des Instituts). Über berufliche Schädigungen durch radio aktive Substanzen. Deut med Wschr. 1914;40:633–5. aus dem Radiuminstitut für biologisch-therapeutische. Forschung der Charité in Berlin (Direktor: Geheimrat His).

  9. 9.

    Albers-Schönberg (Dr. med). Ueber eine bisher unbekannte Wirkung der Röntgenstrahlen auf den Organismus der Tiere. München Med Wschr. 1903 Oct 27;50:1859–60.

  10. 10.

    The routine character of this procedure is evident from a later statement of Holzknecht. Dieser schweren Schädigung [sterility] müssen auch alle Patienten verfallen, deren Skrotum mit üblichen therapeutischen Dosen (Ekzem) beschickt wird. Discussion at the German Röntgen Society, Verh Deut Rönt Ges. 1905;1 at 239.

  11. 11.

    Senn N (M. D., surgeon). The Therapeutical Value of the Röntgen Ray in the Treatment of Pseudoleukemia. The New York Medical Journal. 1903 Apr 18;77:665–8.

  12. 12.

    For effects on the spleen and lymph nodes, see Heineke H (Assistent der chirurgischen Klinik in Leipzig). Ueber die Einwirkung der Röntgenstrahlen auf Tiere. Munchen Med Wschr. 1903;50:2090–2 and Ueber die Einwirkung der Röntgenstrahlen auf innere Organe. 1904;51:785–6. For effects on the blood and on bone marrow, see Aubertin C, Beaujard E. Action des rayons X sur le sang et les organes hématopoiétiques. C R Soc Biol (Paris). 1905 Feb 4;58:217–9, laboratoires de MM. Béclère et Blum.

  13. 13.

    Perthes G (aus dem chirurgische-poliklinischen Institut der Universität Leipzig). Fortschr. Röntgenstr. Versuch einer Bestimmung der Durchlässigkeit menschlicher Gewebe für Röntgenstrahlen mit Rücksicht auf die Bedeutung der Durchlässigkeit der Gewebe für die Radiotherapie. 1904;8:12–25.

  14. 14.

    See, for example, Holzknecht. Die Lösung des Problems in der Tiefe, gleich viel und mehr Röntgenlicht zu applizieren, wie an der Oberfläche (Homogen- und Zentralbestrahlung). Verh Deut Rant Ges. 1903;4:73–4.

  15. 15.

    For a hint of how quickly deep therapy developed, see the following: on leukemia and other blood diseases, the review by Krause P (Privatdozent, Breslau). Zur Röntgenbestrahlung von Bluterkrankungen (Leukaemie, Pseudoleukaemie, Lymphomatosis, perniciose Anemie, Polycythaemia mit Milztumor). Fortschr Röntgenstr. 1904;8:209–35; on uterine fibromas and other gynecological ailments, see the annual reports by Albers-Schönberg H. Röntgentherapie in der Gynäkologie (the title varies slightly). Verh Deut Rönt Ges. 5 (1909)–8 (1912).

  16. 16.

    11. Hesse O (Assistent der Kgl. medizin. Univ.-Poliklinik in Bonn, Direktor Prof. Dr. Paul Krause). Das Röntgenkarzinom. Fortschr Röntgenstr. 1911;17:82–92, which is presumably an abbreviated version of his Symptomatologie, Pathogenese und Therapie des Röntgenkarzinoms. Leipzig: J. A. Barth; 1911. Krause reported the same figures in his “Zur Kenntnis der Schädigung der Haut durch Röntgenstrahlen.” 3. Beitrag zur Kenntnis des Röntgenkarzinoms. Verb Deut Rönt Ges. 1911;7:101–4. The fifty-four cases did not include malignancies that developed after treatment of lupus vulgaris, which was thought to develop frequently into carcinoma, see Belot J (chef du service d'électrothérapie et de radiologie du docteur Brocq à l’hôpital Saint-Louis). La radiothérapie ne donne pas les cancers. Bull Soc Radial Med (Paris). 1910;2:34–44.

  17. 17.

    Walter B (Hamburg). “Bericht über die Röntgenausstellung des 2.” Internationalen Kongresses für medizinische Elektrologie und Radiologie in Bern, 1–6 September 1902. Fortschr Röntgenstr. 1902;6:56–8. Italian manufacturers also showed “influence” machines at this exposition.

  18. 18.

    The quotation is from Charles Allen Porter (M.D.), a surgeon who reported on many operations and skin grafts he had done on 47 cases of chronic dermatitis in The Pathology and Surgical Treatment of Chronic X-Ray Dermatitis. Transactions of the American Roentgen Ray Society 1908;101–70, at 159.

  19. 19.

    Krause, note 15.

  20. 20.

    Brown FT (M.D.), Osgood AT (M.D.). X-rays and Sterility. The American Journal of Surgery (New York). 1905;18:179–82. All of those examined who had done extensive X-ray work for more than three years showed no spermatozoa in the seminal fluid, but none had suffered obvious effects on the scrotum.

  21. 21.

    Bergonié J, Tribondeau L. Actions des rayons X sur le testicule du rat blanc. C R Soc Biol (Paris). 57 (Réunion biologique de Bordeaux, séance du 8 novembre 1904):400–2.; ibid. (séance du 6 décembre 1904) 592–5; and C. R. Soc Biol. (Paris). 58 (Réunion biologique de Bordeaux, séance du 17 janvier 1905) 154–8. See also Frieben (Dr., aus dem Röntgen-institut und Institut für medizinische Diagnostik von Dr. Albers-Schönberg und Dr. Frieben, Hamburg). Hodenveränderungen bei Tieren nach Röntgenbestrahlungen. München Med Wschr. 1903;502:2295.

  22. 22.

    Bergonié J, Tribondeau L, Recamier D. Action des rayons X sur l’ovaire de la lapine. C R Soc Biol (Paris). 58 (Réunion biologique de Bordeaux, séance du 17 février 1905):284–6 and Halberstaedter L (Assistenarzt der dermatologischen Universitlitsklinik zu Breslau, Dir. Geheimrat Prof. Dr. Neisser). Die Einwirkung der Röntgenstrahlen auf Ovarien. Berlin Klin Wschr. 1905 Jan 16;421:64–6. Halberstaedter got the same results with radium bromide as with X-rays.

  23. 23.

    Rapport sur les conditions légales de l’emploi médicale des rayons Röntgen, au nom d’une Commission de MM. Brouardel, Debove, Gariel, Gueniot, Hanriot, Motet, C. Perier, Pouchet et Chauffard, rapporteur. Bull Acad Med (Paris). 1906;55:50–64 and the subsequent discussion, 76–95, at 55: “Ainsi azoospermiechez l’homme, stérilization chez la femme, telles sont deux des plus redoutables revelations que nous apportent des expériences toutes récentes, et n’est-on pas en droit de dire qu’ici la Röntgenisation déborde par ses conséquences le cadres des intérèts individuels? qu’elle touche directement à la plus grave peut-être de toutes ces questions sociales, à la reproduction de l’espèce?” The Commission had been set up in response to a proposal by Debove, who was concerned with the “peril social” posed by the sterility of women, Sur l’emploi des rayons Röntgen. Bull Acad Med (Paris). 1905;53:486, séance du 23 mai 1905.

  24. 24.

    Philipp (Aus Dr. Philipps Röntgeninstitut in Bonn). Die Röntgenbestrahlung der Hoden des Mannes. Fortschr Röntgenstr. 1904;8:114–9: “Was aber diese Versuche für den Arzt Besonders lockend machen musste, war die Aussicht, eventuell hierdurch ein langersehntes soziales Heilmittel zu gewinnen, in der Form einer bequemen und schmerzlosen Sterilisierungs­ methode,” at 116. Dr. Philipp described two successful male sterilizations.

  25. 25.

    Hennecart (prakt. Arzt). Nécessité d’une législation spéciale pour les Rayons Röntgen. Verh Deut Rant Ges. 1905;1:205–9. Hennecart was especially concerned that women might seek sterilization and that existing laws did not prohibit it:

    “N’est-ce pas un de leurs devoirs les plus essentiels de favoriser tout ce qui peut contribuer à la richesse de leur pays, au développement de sa population?….Je suppose le cas suivant, qui serait le plus commun. Une femme saine est soumise sur sa demande ou sur son contentement, a l’action des Rayons Röntgen dans le but de supprimer sa fonction de réproduction. Il ne s’en suit aucun accident (Röntgendermite). Elle devient à jamais stérile. Cette femme, le ou les opérateur (médicins ou non-médicins) sont-ils possibles d'une peine quelconque?” (at 206). Hennecart then surveyed the existing French legislation and concluded that the answer was no.

  26. 26.

    See Editorials. Archives of the Roentgen Ray. 1903 Sep;8:63–4.

  27. 27.

    Mr. Wilson of the London Hospital. Journal of the Röntgen Society. 1911 Apr;7:48–9. Mr. Wilson was a “lay worker,” a fact that may have made this announcement more modest than the usual.

  28. 28.

    For the expectation of government intervention, see for example Levy-Dorn M (Berlin). Schutzmassregeln gegen Röntgenstrahlen und ihre Dosierung. Deut med Wschr. 1903;292:921–4 and Dean AE. Les victimes de la radiodermite en Angleterre. Arch Elec Med. 1908;16:484–7, at 486. For the shortage of personnel, especially in radioscopy, see Reid AD. Presidential Address: Survey of the Year’s Work in Electrotherapeutics. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Medicine Electrotherapeutical Section. 1911;51:1–8, at 5: “The inducement at present offered to medical men to take up this work, which under the best conditions is one of danger to health, is at present totally inadequate, and we are conscious of the fact that at present very few names are known to us as entering this branch. Several of the small hospitals find it impossible to get medical men to undertake the charge of their departments, and undoubtedly there will be not only a shortage but a dearth of men who will be willing to run the risk of devoting their lives to radiology.”

  29. 29.

    Notes. Journal of the Röntgen Society. 1906 Dec;III(10):48.

  30. 30.

    For one effort that produced hyperplasia but no real·tumor, see Rowntree CW (Hunterian Professor at the Royal College of Surgeons and Surgical Registrar at the Middlesex Hospital). X ray carcinoma, and an experimental inquiry into the conditions which precede its onset (Hunterian Lecture at the Royal College of Surgeons, 17 March. 1909). Lancet. 1909 Mar 20;1:821–4. Experimental success in producing a-neoplasm was first reported by Marie P, Clunet J, Raulot-Lapointe G. Contribution à l’étude du développement des tumeurs malignes sur les ulcères de Röntgen. Bull Ass Franc Cancer. 1910;3:404–26.

  31. 31.

    “Der Röntgenkongress erklart: Die Untersuchung und Behandlung mit Röntgenstrahlen ist eine rein ärztliche Leistung.Dem muss in der allgemeinen und der Medizinalgesetzgebung Rechnung getragen werden. Auch diejenigen Ärzte, die Röntgenuntersuchungen von anderen machen lassen, müssen dies beachten,” see Verh Deut Rönt Ges. 1905;1:240. The proposal for this resolution originated with Hennecart, note 25, who suggested it because he thought that physicians would not perform an immoral act like sterilization: “Le souci de notre dignité professionnelle et de notre bon renom auprès de la clientèle est un frein suffisamment puissant.” From the discussion of the resolution, it can be inferred that this view was not unanimously held.

  32. 32.

    “Considerant:

    Que l’emploi médical des rayons Röntgen peut déterminer des accidents graves;

    Que certaines pratiques peuvent créer un danger social;

    Que seules les docteurs en médecine, officier de santé ou dentistes diplômés (en ce qui concerne la pratique odontologique) sont capables d'interpréter les résultats obtenus au point de vue diagnostic et du traitement des maladies:

    L’Académie est d’avis que

    L’application médicale des rayons Röntgen, par des personnes non pourvues des diplômes ci-dessus, constitue

    un acte d’exercice illégal de la médecine,” note 23, at 64, with approval voted at 95. The alternative resolution, which failed to gain any significant support in the discussion, is at 81:

    “L’Académie est d’avis:

    1. Qu’un enseignement soit institué pour la pratique des rayons Röntgen; .

    2. Que nul ne puisse, sans un diplôme spécial et san le contrôle médicale, faire l’application des rayons Röntgen;

    3. Que les positions officielles acquises et justifiées par des travaux antérieurs soient respectées.”

    Efforts to limit medical radiology to physicians had begun earlier in France, see Béclère A. Antoine Béclère. Paris: J. B. Balliere; 1972:58–60.

  33. 33.

    See the reference to this resolution, passed unanimously in Hall-Edwards J. On X-ray Dermatitis and Its Prevention. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Medicine, Electrotherapeutical Section. 1908 Nov 20;2:11–34 at 25.

  34. 34.

    The change in the journal occurred with the November 1903 issue, when a nonphysician (Ernest Payne, M. A. and A. I. E. E.) was dropped as an editor, leaving a physician J. Hall-Edwards (L. R. C. P. (Edinburgh) and F. R. P. S.) in charge. At the same time the title was changed to Archives of the Röntgen Ray and Allied Phenomena (namely, phototherapy, electrotherapy, and thermotherapy) and an editorial announced the intention “to safeguard as far as possible the interests of the medical profession,” Archives of the Roentgen Ray. 1903;8:95. The Electrotherapeutic Section of the British Medical Association was formed in July 1903, see the Programme of Annual Meeting. A supplement to British Medical Journal. 1903;175.

  35. 35.

    The Journal of the Röntgen Society appeared in July 1904 with the explanation that the Archives, which before November 1903 had been “the only journal in which the transactions of the Röntgen Society of London are officially reported,” no longer had a member of the Society as an editor.

  36. 36.

    This development had begun before the discovery of deep effects, as physician electrotherapists sought control of the American X-ray Journal. In 1902, a “publisher’s announcement” declared that the journal would “devote its columns to the education of the medical profession in X-Ray and Electro­Therapeutical Practice.” This announcement followed the sale of the journal by its founder, Heber Robarts (M. D., M. E.) to T. Proctor Hall (Ph. D., M. D.), see The American X-Ray Journal. 11(1902):1114–5. The official version of this story, told in the anonymous The American Röntgen Ray Society, 1900–1950. Springfield, Illinois: Charles C. Thomas, 1964:5–6 and sanctioned in Ruth and Edward Brecher. The Rays: A History of Radiology in the United States and Canada. Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins, 1969, at 304, would have it that Robarts was “euchred” out of his journal by the electrotherapists, but the contemporary evidence indicates that Robarts himself would have been counted among the electrotherapists, see H. R. Injurious Forces from X-ray Tubes. The American X-Ray Journal. 1902;1049–50. The Transactions of the American Röntgen Ray Society first appeared in 1903 with a report of the third annual meeting (10 and 11 December 1902).

  37. 37.

    In 1908, the English physician who had proposed the resolution for physician control at the Electrotherapeutic Society commented on the failure to obtain a legal prohibition, “Parliament as a whole is not at all friendly to the medical profession, and it considers that profession is capable of taking care of itself.” At the same time, he admitted, “the X-rays, at any rate in the provinces, are not very much used by the quacks. I think that quacks have been frightened by them,” see Hall-Edwards, note 33, at 25.

  38. 38.

    This point was made forcefully by Paul Reynier during the debate on medical control at the French Academy of Medicine. In introducing the alternative resolution quoted in note 32, he exclaimed: “Croyez-vous qu’il suffise de dire que la radiologie sera du ressort exclusivement médical pour éviter [les accidents]? Hélas! trop de procès où des médecins ont été condamnés à des dommages et intérêts pour brûlures sont là pour démontrer qu’il ne suffit pas d’être médecin pour manier sans accident ces terribles rayons!” Generally, the reply was that physicians should nevertheless be in charge because they had diplomas and licenses, see Debove, note 23, at 92 and “Dangers of X Rays,” reprinted from The Family Doctor of 5 September 1903 in Archives of the Roentgen Ray. 1903 Oct;8:84.

  39. 39.

    Albers-Schönberg H. Technische Neuerungen. Fortschr Röntgenstr. 1903;7:137–49.

  40. 40.

    For the introduction of lead-impregnated rubber, see Holzknecht G, Grünfeld R (aus dem Röntgenlaboratorium des k. k. allgemeinen Krankenhauses in Wien). Ein neues Material zum Schutz der gesunden Haut gegen Röntgenlicht und über radiologische Schutzmassnahmen im Allgemeinen. München Med Wschr. 1903 Jul 14;502:1202–5.

  41. 41.

    Butcher, WD. The Röntgen Congress at Berlin. Journal of the Röntgen Society. 1905 Jul;2:6–10.

  42. 42.

    Levy-Dorn, note 28.

  43. 43.

    See the French Academy’s report, note 23, at 52: “l’examen radioscopique est le plus économique des procédés (et pour la pratique hospitalière un tel avantage est capital).”

  44. 44.

    Walter B (Hamburg). Über den Schutz des Untersuchers gegen sekundäre Röntgenstrahlen. Verh Deut Rönt Ges. 1910;6:51–7.

  45. 45.

    For evidence of this assumption, see the drawings in Kienböck R (aus dem Röntgen-Institut im Sanatorium Fürth in Wien). Ueber die Einwirkung des Röntgen-Lichtes auf die Haut. Wien Klin Wschr. 1900 Dec 13;13:1153–66 and the comments on the dangers of secondary radiation from the glass walls of the tube in B. Walter, note 44. Many tube boxes before World War I appear to have been built without backs, probably to facilitate cooling and to avoid what was considered an unnecessary expenditure.

  46. 46.

    The Section passed a resolution in 1908 calling for a committee to consider protection measures and to formulate rules, see the discussion following Hall-Edwards, note 33, at 31. This proposal was to be brought before the council of the Royal Society of Medicine at its next meeting, but there is no indication in the succeeding Proceedings of the Section that the committee was created.

  47. 47.

    Forsterling (Mars, Niederrhein). Wachtumsstarungen nach Röntgenbestrahlung and Krukenberg (Elberfeld). Gehirnschädigung durch Röntgenbestrahlung. Verh Deut Rönt Ges. 1909;5:68–75. In England, there were similar concerns, precipitated by a decision of the Education Committee of the London County Council requiring X-ray treatment of ringworm in school children, see Dawson Turner (M. D.), letter to The Times (30 March 1909); “The Röntgen Ray Treatment of Ringworm,” Lancet. 15 1909 May 15;1:1399–1400; J. M. H. Macleod (M. A. St. And; M. D. Aberd; M. R. C. P. Lond; Physician for Diseases of the Skin, Victoria Hospital for Sick Children, Chelsea; Assistant Physician for Skin Diseases, Charing Cross Hospital; Lecturer on Dermatology, London School of Tropical Medicine), “The X Ray Treatment of Ringworm of the Scalp With Special Reference to the Risks of Dermatitis and the Suggested Injury to the Brain,” ibid.:1373–7; H. G. Adamson (M. D. Lond; M. R. C. P. Lond; Physician for Diseases of the Skin, St. Bartholomew’s Hospital), “A Simplified Method of X Ray Application for the Cure of Ringworm of the Scalp: Kienböck’s Method,” ibid.:1378–1; Dawson F. D. Turner (B. A., M. D., F. R. C. P. Edin., F. R. S. E., Lecturer on Medical Physics, Surgeons’ Hall, Edin.; Examiner in Physics, R. C. P. Edin. and R. C. P. Lond. and University of Edinburgh) and George TJ (L. R. C. P., L. R. C. S. Edin., Carnegie Assistant to Lecturer in Physics, School of Medicine, Royal Colleges, Edin.). Some Experiments on the Effects of X Rays in Therapeutic Doses on the Growing Brains of Rabbits. British Medical Journal 1910;2:524–6, from the Section of Radiology and Medical Electricity, British Medical Association, July 1910.

  48. 48.

    Bericht des Sonderausschusses für die Sammelforschung über den Einfluss der Röntgenstrahlen auf das Körperwachstum. Verh Deut Rönt Ges. 1910;6:16–17: “ihre Möglichkeit ist doch vorhanden; deshalb darf Röntgentherapie nur von Ärtze, und zwar von genügend hierfür vorgebildeten, getrieben werden; in der Hand eines jedes Laien und Unkundigen ist sie ein sehr gefährliches Wagnis, das irreparable Schädigungen stiften kann.”

  49. 49.

    For the proposal of the theses, see Gocht (Halle a. S.). Röntgenschädigungen. Verh Deut Rant Ges. 1909;5:72–3. For their adoption, see the Bericht der Kommission zur Beratung der Thesen Bezüglich Röntgenverbrennungen. Verh Deut Rönt Ges. 1910;6:15–16.

  50. 50.

    The “Sonderausschuss zur Schaffung eines Merkblattes für Schutzregeln” distributed a draft Merkblatt to the 1912 Congress of the German Röntgen Society, but no discussion was held because the committee had not yet reached full agreement, see the report of the Chairman (A. Kohler), Verh Deut Rönt Ges. 1912;8:16. The Instruction Sheet was complete by 1913, when it was decided to print 10,000 copies, suitable for posting, that would be distributed free to manufacturers, see Verh Deut Rönt Ges. 1913;9:14. I am indebted to Mr. A. Hilpert, Geschaftsführer of the Fachnormenausschuss Radiologie, for providing a transcription of this Instruction Sheet from the original in his files.

  51. 51.

    Albers-Schönberg reported in 1913 that the Stuttgart Allgemeine Versicherungsgesellschaft had reclassified X-ray injuries to physicians and technicians as accidents (for which insurance would be made available) instead of treating them as occupational diseases (for which insurance would not have been available). The Council of the German Röntgen Society responded with approval and suggested that the premiums should be determined by considering radiology in the same danger class as surgery, see Verh Deut Rönt Ges. 1913;9:15. During the War, Albers­Schönberg emphasized the importance of carrying liability insurance for damage to patients, see Albers-Schönberg (Prof.), Lorenz (Dr.) (aus dem Röntgeninstitut des Allgemeinen Krankenhauses St. Georg in Hamburg). Die Schutzmittel für Aerzte und Personal bei der Arbeit mit Röntgenstrahlen. Deut med Wschr. 1915;411:301–5.

  52. 52.

    Review TR. Types of Regulation | The Regulatory Review [Internet]. www.theregreview.org. 2016 [cited 2023 Jun 23]. Available from: https://www.theregreview.org/2016/04/05/pritchett-types-of-regulation/.

  53. 53.

    Butcher, note 41, reported (at 10): “In only one of the Röntgen-ray institutions which I visited did I see any instruments used for therapeutic dosage.” Similarly, an American physician who had visited Germany reported in 1906, “they do not pay so much attention to the dosage of the ray,” M. K. Kassabian in the discussion following Williams EG (M. D., Richmond, Virginia). The Regulation and Measurement of the Therapeutic Dose of the Röntgen Ray. Transmission of American Roentgen Ray Society. 1906:84–95.

  54. 54.

    Holzknecht G. Eine neue einfache Dosierungsmethode in der Röntgentherapie. Wien Klin Wschr. 1902;15:1180–1 with discussion, or Eine neue, einfache Dosierungsmethode in der Radiotherapie (Das Chromoradiometer). Wien Klin Rund. 1902;16:685–7. For a biography of Holzknecht, who died of radiation injuries in 1931, see Kienböck R. Holzknecht semper vivus. Strahlenth. 1937;58:497–8.

  55. 55.

    One source says the chromoradiometer was a fused mixture of hydrogen chloride and sodium carbonate, see Hudson JC. Röntgen-Ray Dosimetry. In: Glasser O. The Science of Radiology. Springfield, Illinois: Charles C. Thomas; 1933.

  56. 56.

    Sabouraud R (Chef du laboratoire de la Ville de Paris à l'hôpital Saint-Louis), Noiré H (adjoint au laboratoire). Traitements des teignes tondantes par les rayons X à l’École Lailler (Hôpital Saint-Louis). Presse Med. 1904;12:825–7.

  57. 57.

    For the dependence on temperature and humidity, see Bordier H (Professeur agrégé à la Faculté de médecine de Lyon), Galimard J (Préparateur de chimie à la Faculté de médecine de Lyon). Actions des rayons X sur les platino cyanures et en particuliers sur celui de baryum. Cause de leur régénération. Conséquences pratiques de cette étude. Arch Elec Med. 1905;13:323–6. For the effect of the available light, see Regaud, Nogier T. Estimation différente des doses de rayons X suivant les divers modes d’éclairage du chromoradiometre. Arch Elec Med. 1911;19:458–60, Communication au Congrès de l'A. F. A. S., Section d’ Électricité Médicale, août, 1911.

  58. 58.

    Bordier H (Lyon). Radiometric Methods. Arch Rönt Ray. 1906;11:4–13 at 9. The four Bordier tints corresponded to the following: (1) epilation after twenty days; (2) erythema; (3) true dermatitis; (4) ulceration and necrosis.

  59. 59.

    Kienböck R (Privatdozent, aus dem Radiologischen Institut der Allgemeinen Poliklinik in Wien). Über Dosimeter und das Quantimetrische Verfahren. Fortschr Röntgenstr. 1905;9:276–95.

  60. 60.

    For iodine in chloroform, see Freund L. Ein neues radiometrisches Verfahren (Vorläufige Mitteilung). Wien Klin Wschr. 1904;17:417–8. vorgetragen in der Sitzung der k. k. Gesellschaft der Aerzte in Wien am 8 April 1904; for the precipitation of calomel, see G. Schwarz, Fortschr. Röntgenstr., 10 (1906–07) 251, in a report on the 25 May 1907 session of the k. k. Gesellschaft der Artze in Wien; for the decrease of selenium resistance, see Athanasiadis G (Athen, Physik. Laboratorium d. Univers.). Wirkung der Röntgenstrahlen auf den elektrischen Widerstand des Selens. Ann Phys. 1908;27:890–6.

  61. 61.

    D’Arsonval. Dispositif permettant de se rendre identiques les tubes à rayons X. C R Acad Sci (Paris). 1904;138:1142–5 and Walter (Assistent a. Physkal. Staats-Labor. Hamburg). Über die Messung der Intensität der Röntgen strahlen. Verh Deut Rönt Ges. 1905;1:126–34.

  62. 62.

    Köhler A (Wiesbaden). Über Dosierung in der Röntgentherapie und Vorgänge im Innern der Röntgenrohre. Fortschr Röntgenstr. 1907;11:1–12.

  63. 63.

    For the earliest of these clinical devices, see Béclère A (Médecin de l'hôpital Saint-Antoine). La mesure indirecte du pouvoir de pénétration des rayons de Röntgen à l’aide du spintermètre. Arch Elec Med. 1900 Apr 15;8:153–7.

  64. 64.

    Klingelfuss (Basel). Die Einrichtung zur Messung der Röntgenstrahlen mit de Sklermoter. Fortschr Röntgenst. 1910;16:64–65; Bergonié J. Mesure du degré radiochromomètrique par le voltmetre électrostatique dans l’utilisations en médicine des rayons de Röntgen. Acad Soc (Paris). 1907;144:28–9, presentée par M. d’Arsonval; and Bauer H. Über einige konstruktive Neuerungen. Verh Deut Rönt Ges. 1909;2:122–6, especially 125–26 and Das Qualimeter. Verh Deut Rönt Ges. 1911;7:137–9 with discussion.

  65. 65.

    Beck. Zum Selbstschutz bei der Röntgenuntersuchung. Fortschr Röntgenstr. 1902;6:268.

  66. 66.

    For the aluminum/silver instrument described, see Benoist L. Définition expérimentale des diverses sortes de rayons X par le radiochromomètre. C R Acad Sci (Paris). 1902;134:225–7, presentée par M. Lippmann; for other versions, see Walter B. Zwei Härteskalen für Röntgenröhren. 6. 1902;68–74 and Wehnelt A. Über eine Röntgenröhre mit veränderlichem Härtegrad und über einen neuen Härtemesser. Fortschr Röntgenstr. 1903;7:221–2.

  67. 67.

    The best of the pre-war reviews of clinical measurement techniques, discussed below, was Th. Christen (Dr. med. et phil., Privatdozent an der Univ. Bern), Messung und Dosierung, Ergänzungsband 28 of Fortschr. Röntgenstr. in a series that comprised the Archiv und Atlas der normalen und pathologischen Anatomie in typischen Röntgenbildern. Hamburg: Lucas Gräfe und Sillem, 1913.

  68. 68.

    Lord Blythswood, Scoble W. A Test of Kienböck’s Quantimeter. J Rönt Soc. 1906;3:36–8 and The Relation Between the Measurements from a Focus Tube, with a View to Determine Which are Proportional to the Intensity of the Röntgen Rays. J Rönt Soc. 1907;3:53–67, with discussion. Scoble concluded that ionization methods were best, see his X-Ray Measurement: the Present Position. J Rönt, Soc. 1907;3:99–102, but this solution was not considered practical for the clinic, as discussed below.

  69. 69.

    Butcher WD. J Rönt Soc. 1907;3 at 62.

  70. 70.

    Kommission zur Festsetzung fester Normen für die Messung der Intensität der Röntgenstrahlen, Bericht. Verh Deut Ront Ges. 1907;3:15–26 read by the Rapporteur, Wertheim ­Salomonson (Professor of Radiography and Neuropathology at the University of Amsterdam), at the session of 31 March 1907. The report led to a proposed resolution, at 33 (it is not clear whether it passed): “Bei jeder Messung sollen Daten angegeben werden, die die Stärke der Röntgenstrahlen charakterisieren.”

    Die Intensität soll in der Weise angegeben werden, dass die Dosis reproduzierbar sei.

    Alle gangbaren Messmethoden, sowohl die direkten als auch die indirekten können dafür gebraucht werden.

    Eine bestimmte Methode lässt sich zur Zeit noch nicht empfehlen.

    Falls eine photographische, photometrische oder ähnliche Methode benutzt wird, so sollen die Messungsergebnisse womöglich mit der Wirkung einer Hefnerkerze verglichen werden.”

    This last point, which referred to the standard amyl acetate lamp used in measuring illumination, went unheeded, the Commission was renamed the Sonderausschuss für wissenschaftliche und praktische Messmethoden, and it was disbanded, without reporting again, at the eighth congress (1912). The Commission had been created at the first congress in 1905 in response to a proposal by Friedrich Dessauer, see Verh Deut Rönt Ges. 1905;1:238.

  71. 71.

    See the “Rapport sur les conditions légales…,” note 23, at 60: “Le grand progrès actuel que fait chaque jour la radiothérapie, c'est d'apprendre à doser avec une rigueur de plus en plus précise la quantité et la qualité des rayons employés. De même qu'il y a une posologie médicamenteuse, il existe aujourd'hui une véritable posologie radiologique.

    N'est-il pas évident que seul le médecin peut examiner et trancher ces questions si délicates, et que ce n'est qu'à cette condition que la radiothérapie peut être une méthode scientifique dans ses procédés, efficace dans ces résultats.”

  72. 72.

    See, for example, Holland CT (M. R. C. S., L. R. C. P.). Presidential Address. J Rönt Soc. 1904 Dec;1:25–37, at 36: “At the same time these articles in the daily press are calculated to do harm, as many of the general public reading them may be led to conclude that there is a danger of chronic dermatitis and cancer being caused by having an X-ray examination made, or by being treated with X-rays….It may be definitely stated that no harm whatever can follow from a properly conducted examination, and I think one is justified in saying that the treatment by X-rays in skilled hands is also harmless” Or, see Phillips GES. Presidential Address. J Rönt Soc. 1910 Jan;6:1–14, at 4: “The public are still a little nervous as to X-ray burn. Apart from the fact that a satisfactory remedy seems to have been found, I take it we are agreed that ‘burning’, in these days, is due either to the ignorance or carelessness of the operator. It would perhaps be well, therefore, if an authoritative and reassuring statement upon the matter were issued by the Council of this Society.”

  73. 73.

    For these technical developments, see Knox R (M.D.). Recent Improvements in Radiographic Technique. J Rönt Soc. 1910 Oct;6:110–3 and Butcher WD. The Amsterdam Congress, Presidential Address. J Ront Soc. 1909 Jan;5:1–8.

  74. 74.

    See, for example, the “Bericht,” note 70.

  75. 75.

    This problem had been pointed out even before the discovery of characteristic X-rays, see Walter B. Über das Röntgensche Absorptionsgesetz und seine Erklärung. Fortschr Röntgenstr. 1904;8:297–303.

  76. 76.

    Pirie H (M. D., B. Sc.). Practical Observations on Everyday X-ray and Electrical Work. J Rönt Soc. 1910 Oct;6:105–10. Or see c. Phillips ES (F. R. S. E.). The Measurement of Radioactivity and X-Rays. J Rönt Soc. 1907 Apr;3:89–99., at 93: “…I gather that the need for a very precise method of comparing X-rays is not so pressing as some appear to think. At least one medical practitioner has pointed out that the errors due to matching the tint of a Sabouraud disc are small relatively [sic] to those arising from the idiosyncracy of the patient. Cases of X ray burn are now happily rare and it therefore seems that added to a good practical experience, the methods of Kienböck and others are accurate as far as they go. While I agree that more convenient means should be looked for, a greater degree of accuracy does not appear to be required than is already attainable at the present time.”

  77. 77.

    Von Jaksch R (Hofrat, Professor, Prague). Über Metallfilter. Verh Deut Rönt Ges. 1912;8:71–6, with discussion.

  78. 78.

    Belot J (chef du service d’ Électrologie et de Radiologie à l'Hôpital Saint-Louis). La Filtration En Radiothérapie. Arch Elec Med. 1910;18:648–61.

  79. 79.

    Regaud C, Nogier T (Agrégés à la Faculté de Médecine de Lyon). Les effets produits sur la peau par les hautes doses de rayons x selectionnées par filtration à travers 3 et 4 millimètres d’aluminium. Applications à la Röntgentherapie. Arch Elec Med. 1913;22:49–66 and 97–128, at 103: “Il est donc évident que les unités H que nous mesurons à Lyon sont très différentes de celles que mesurent nos confrères à Paris.”

  80. 80.

    Gauss CJ, Lembcke H (Freiburg i. B.). Röntgentiefentherapie, ihre theoretischen Grundlagen, ihre praktischen Anwendung und ihre klinischen Erfolge an der Freiburger Universitätsfrauenklinik, 1. Sonderband zu Strahlenth., mit einem Vorwort von Prof. Dr. B. Krönig. Berlin/Wien: Urban and Schwarzenberg; 1912.

  81. 81.

    See the discussion of dosimeters in Verh Deut Rönt Ges. 1914;10:187–91 and Rundschreiben der Sonderkommission für Dosimetervergleich. Fortschr Röntgenstr. 1915;23:69–70 and the comments of Meyer, at 75–76.

  82. 82.

    Some experiments showed no effect of quality so long as the absorbed doses were the same, see for example Guilleminot, “Actions biologiques comparées des radiations du radium et des radiations de Röntgen. Loi d'efficacité biochimique des radiations,” Comptes Rendus Et Communications IIIe Congres International De La Physiotherapie. Paris: Masson; 1911:674–84. Others showed that the harder rays had greater effect for equal absorbed doses, see for example Meyer H, Ritter H. Experimentelle Untersuchungen zur biologischen Strahlenwirkung. Verh Deut Rönt Ges. 1912;8:126–35, with discussion. Still others thought that different cells reacted differently to radiation of different qualities, see Regaud and Nogier, note 79.

  83. 83.

    Christen, note 67. For an obituary of Christen by Bernhard Walter, see Fortschr Röntgenstr. 1921;28:391–2.

  84. 84.

    See especially the instruments designed by Villard P. Instruments de mesure à lecture directe pour les rayons X. Arch Elec Med. 1908;16:692–9 and his “Radioscléromètre,” ibid.:236–35.

  85. 85.

    Thomson JJ (M. A, F. R. S., Cavendish Professor of Experimental Physics, Cambridge), Rutherford E (M. A., Trinity College, Cambridge, 1851 Exhibition Scholar, New Zealand University). On the Passage of Electricity through Gases Exposed to Röntgen Rays. Phil Mag. 1896 Nov;11:392–407, read before Section A of the British Association, 1896.

  86. 86.

    See the complaints about this public attitude in Moulin CM (Consulting Surgeon to the London Hospital, Vice President of the Royal College of Surgeons). The Treatment of Malignant Growths by Radium. J Rönt Soc. 1911 Jul;7:67–75. In the discussion, J. MacKenzie Davidson, a medical radiologist who was knighted in 1911, commented (at 73): “It is very unfortunate that the public have an idea that radium does cure cancer. I think by ‘trying’ radium people often end their existence a little sooner than they would otherwise do.”

  87. 87.

    The London Radium Institute began operations in 1911, see its First Report, 14 August 1911–31 December 1912. Brit Med J. 1913 Jan 25. The Pasteur Institute and the University of Paris agreed to build the Curie Institute in 1912, but it was not operational until after World War I. The Radiumhemmet in Stockholm opened before the War.

  88. 88.

    This death is mentioned, without a name or further reference, in the report to the French Academy of Medicine, note 23.

  89. 89.

    Rutherford E. The Radioactivity of Thorium. J Rönt Soc. 1911 Apr;7:23–30.

  90. 90.

    “At last supplies of pure radium salts are coming to hand both of home manufacturers and from abroad; the price is high, about £20 per milligramme, but it is something that it is obtainable at any price…,” J Rönt Soc. 1911 Jan;7:16. In 1923, the price fell to around £15 per milligramme, see the South African Mining and Engineering Journal, 17 February 1923, BARP Clipping File IV at the Library of the British Institute of Radiology. See also Thomson, note 3, who indicated that the price in 1903 had been 8s. per milligram, and said of the subsequent rise to £20 per milligram, “there is no doubt that this enormous rise in price has been due to the widespread belief that radium had been found to be a cure for cancer…”.

  91. 91.

    For reviews of radium therapy, see Oudin P (Paris). État actuel de la radiumthérapie. Comptes rendus des séances du 3e Congrès International d’ Électrologie et de Radiologie Médicale, Milan, 5–9 September 1906. 1906; Lille: Camille Robbe:113–27; Loewenthal, S. ed. Grundriss der Radiumthérapie und der biologischen Radiumforschung. Wiesbaden: J. F. Bergmann; 1912; and Lazarus P. Handbuch der Radium-Biologie und Therapie, einschliesslich der anderen Radioaktiven Elemente. Wiesbaden: J. F. Bergmann; 1913.

  92. 92.

    See, for examples of this vast literature, Elster J, Geitel H. Beobachtungen des atmosphärischen Potentialgefälles und der ultravioletten Sonnenstrahlung. Ann Phys. 1893;48:338–73, and Mache H. Beiträge zur Kenntnis der atmosphärischen Elektrizität XXI: Über die Genesis der Ionen in der Atmosphäre,. Sitzungsber Akad Wiss (Wien), Abt IIa. 1905;114:1377–88. Elster, Geitel and Mache turned their electroscopes to use in measuring radioactivity as well.

  93. 93.

    Errors occurred, for example, when practitioners introduced a sample into an electroscope without taking account of the consequent change of the electroscope’s capacity, see for example the criticism of Herr Saubermann (an advocate of radium emanation in therapy) in Mache H, Meyer S. Über die Radioaktivität der Quellen der böhmischen Bädergruppe: Karlsbad, Marienbad, Teplitz-Schönau-Dux, Franzensbad sowie von St. Joachimsthal. Sitzungsber Acad Wiss (Wien), Abt IIa,. 1905;114:355–85., vorgelegt in der Sitzung am 16 Februar 1905, at 376; and also S. Russ’ criticism of W. S. Lazarus­Barlow’s (M. D., F. R. C. P.) claim to have discovered substances that would retard the leak of an electroscope, in the discussion following the latter’s Radioactivity and Animal Tissues. J Rönt Soc. 1910 Apr;6:33–51, at 40. For reviews of the therapeutic uses of radium emanation, see Lowenthal and Lazarus, note 91, and also Lachmann (Bad Landeck i. Schl.). Die Radiumemanation in der Balneologie. Strahlenth. 1913;2:153–69.

  94. 94.

    The unit was introduced by Mache H (aus dem II. physikalischen Institute der k. k. Universität in Wien). Über die Radioaktivität der Gasteiner Thermen. Sitzungsber Acad Wiss (Wien), Abt IIa. 1904;113:1329–52.

  95. 95.

    Curie P, Laborde A. Sur la radioactivité des gaz, qui se dégagent de l’eau des sources thermales. C R Acad Sci (Paris). 1904;138:1150–3, transmise par M. Potier.

  96. 96.

    This “spreading difficulty” would generate many proposals and debates over the next twenty years, but for one of its earlier manifestations see Wien W (Physikalische Institut, Würzburg). Über die Energie der Kathodenstrahlen im Verhältnis zur Energie der Röntgen und Sekundärstrahlen. aus der Willner Festschrift mit einigen Zusätzen, Ann Phys. 1905;18:991–1007, received 27 November 1905. Wien suggested that the pulses were stored up in an atom until there was sufficient energy to trigger the expulsion of an electron, and that the secondary electron got some of its energy from the atom rather than from the X-ray pulse.

  97. 97.

    The earliest of the efforts to measure the heating effect of absorbed X-rays was Dorn E. Ueber die erwärmende Wirkung der Röntgenstrahlen. Ann Phys. 1897;63:160–76, Halle, 8 August 1897 (Die Ergebnisse sind der Naturforschenden Gesellschaft zu Halle am 8. Mai d.J. mitgetheilt). Especially well-known and often-cited was Rutherford E (M. A., B. Sc., Macdonald Professor of Physics, McGill University, Montreal). Energy of Röntgen and Becquerel Rays, and the Energy required to produce an Ion in Gases. Phil Trans. 1901;196A:25–59, communicated by Professor J. J. Thomson, received 15 June 1900 and read 21 June 1900. Others, however, had difficulty finding any heating, see Leininger F (Würzburg, Physikal.-Institut). Notiz fiber Energiemessungen der Röntgenstrahlen. Phys Z. 1900;2:691–3., eingegangen 3 August 1901. Moreover, the notion of a “trigger” effect, as in Wien, note 96, cast doubt on using the heating effect as a measure of the energy of X-rays since some of the heat would have been due to energy originating in the atom.

  98. 98.

    “Interim Report of the Standards’ Committee” presented in January 1908. Journal of the Röntgen Society. 1908 Feb;4:27–36. The suggestion that X-rays be standardized by comparison with radium had been made by Phillips CES. The Need for a Radio-active Standard. Journal of the Röntgen Society. 1906 Apr;2:79–90 and 92–102. The Council of the Röntgen Society formed a committee “of men sufficiently well known in the scientific world to carry weight,” including ten people from the scientific community, four from the medical community and two who are not readily identifiable, see Journal of the Röntgen Society. 3 (1906) 16 and 48. The suggestion for the Committee had been made originally by Butcher WD. The Means of Accurate Measurement in X-ray Work. Journal of the Röntgen Society. 1905 Apr;1:74–87 with discussion. For the deposit of the-standard at the National Physical Laboratory, see Journal of the Röntgen Society. 1909 Jan;5:20 and W. Deane Butcher’s comments during the session “Radiometrie, Terminologie,” 13 September 1910 at the Congrès International pour l’ Étude de la Radiologie et d'Electricité, Comptes rendus, volume 1.

  99. 99.

    Curie. Sur le poids atomique du radium. C R Acad Sci (Paris). 1907;145:422–5 and Brill O. Über die Fortschritte der chemischen Forschung auf dem Gebiete der Radioactivität,. Verh Ges Deut Naturf Artz. 1909;81:124–49, at 132ff.

  100. 100.

    The 20 percent figure is mentioned in E. Rutherford, Radium­normalmasse und deren Verwendung bei radioaktiven Messungen, tr. B. Finkelstein. Leipzig: Akademische Verlagsgesellschaft, 1911, at 13. This booklet apparently never appeared in English and is not included in Chadwick J. The Collected Papers of Lord Rutherford of Nelson. London: George Allen and Unwin; 1962. Curie’s sample is mentioned in a Rutherford letter to Stefan Meyer, 25 April 1911 (Rutherford Correspondence microfilms): “I forgot whether I told you that a small standard which Mme Curie sent me last year was about 9 per cent lower than my standard. She was cautious, however, in committing herself to its correctness on account of the uncertainty of weighing such small quantities.” The Rutherford Correspondence microfilms are on deposit with the Sources for the History of Quantum Physics at the American Institute of Physics (New York); the American Philosophical Society (Philadelphia); the University of California (Berkeley); and the Niels Bohr Institute (Copenhagen). The material contained in these microfilms is listed in Badash L. Rutherford Correspondence Catalogue. New York: American Institute of Physics; 1974.

  101. 101.

    Isaachsen D. Introduction Historique. In: Ch-Ed Guillaume, La Création du Bureau International des Poids et Mesures et Son Oeuvre. Paris: Gauthiers-Villars; 1927:1–31; British Association for the Advancement of Science. Reports of the Committee on Electrical Standards: A Record of the History of “Absolute Units” and of Lord Kelvin’s Work in Connexion with Cambridge: University Press; 1913.

  102. 102.

    Rutherford, note 100, at 44: “…dass niemand anders zu der wichtigen Arbeit, ein Radiumnormalmass herzustellen berufen sei, als Mme Curie, die Entdeckerin des Radiums …”.

  103. 103.

    Ibid.

  104. 104.

    Rutherford E (Manchester). Rapport sur les étalons de Radium; Danne J (Paris), Sur la nécessité de créer un étalon international de Radium; Lenard P (Heidelberg), Sur les mesures et les unités radioactives and Becker A (Heidelberg), Sur l'émanomètr; all in the 380. Résumés des communications, Congrès international de Radiologie et d’Électricité, Bruxelles, 13, 14 and 15 September 1910. Radium. 1910;7:221–47.

  105. 105.

    Statuts de la Commission de étalon. Radium. 1910;7:65 (feuilles de couverture). The members of the International Radium Standards Committee were M. Curie and A. Debierne for France, H. Geitel and O. Hahn for Germany, St. Meyer and E. von Schweidler for Austria, B. Boltwood for the United States, E. Rutherford and F. Soddy for Britain, and A. S. Eve for Canada. Geitel’s appeal to include Elster, his constant collaborator, on the basis “dass er sich als Hälfte von Elster und Geitel fühle,” was rejected on the grounds that only two from each country were permitted, see Stefan Meyer to Rutherford, 29 September 1910 (Rutherford Correspondence microfilms), note 100, though this requirement does not appear in the statutes.

  106. 106.

    See Reid R. Marie Curie. New York: New American Library; 1974. The encouragement to Meyer is in the letter quoted in note 100: “In case Mme Curie is unable to complete her work, it will be of great importance to have another standard ready to put in its place.”

  107. 107.

    Hahn, St. Meyer, v. Schweidler E. Bericht über die Versammlung der internationalen Radiumstandardkomission in Paris vom 25. bis 28. März 1912. Radium Biol Heilk. 1912;1:354–6 and Rutherford E (F. R. S.), Chadwick J. (B. Sc.) A Balance Method for Comparison of Quantities of Radium and Some of Its Applications. Proceedings of the Physical Society. 1912;24:141–51, received 21 February 1912, read 23 February 1912.

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Serwer, D. (2024). X-Ray Protection Advances, Radium Protection Still Lags, 1902–13. In: Strengthening International Regimes. Palgrave Studies in International Relations. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-53724-0_3

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