Question

Why is radium used for therapy of cancer instead it was the reason of Pierre curie's death due to exposure of radium for a long time?

Answer 1

Dear student,



it is because at that time (time of invention) there was no any safety measures ...which leads to death of pierre curie.

The damaging effects of ionising radiation were not known at the time of her work, which had been carried out without the safety measures later developed. She had carried test tubes containing radioactive isotopes in her pocket,and she stored them in her desk drawer, remarking on the faint lighy that the substances gave off in the dark.Curie was also exposed to X-rays from unshielded equipment while serving as a radiologist in field hospitals during the war.Although her many decades of exposure to radiation caused chronic illnesses (including near-blindness due to cataracts) and ultimately her death, she never really acknowledged the health risks of radiation exposure.

but if we use radium safely prescribed by doctors ,it can cure cancel without affecting badly..