Origins of Radioactive Girl

You may have noticed that I sign my posts "Radioactive Girl." Where does the name come from? First of all, it is a blatent theft of a name from Bart Simpson's (Matt Groening) favorite super hero comic book, Radioactive Man and Fallout Boy. Only I am a girl! In 1998 or so, I first dressed up as Radioactive Girl, for Halloween. Despite the theft, I come by the name honestly, in a fashion. I am by profession a Health Physicist or Radiation Safety Officer.

What is a Health Physicist, you may ask? I know I did, when I first encountered the name. A Health Physicist looks out for the safety of radiation workers, in a manufacturing or nuclear power plant, in research laboratories, or in a medical center- anywhere ionizing radiation is used. The history is just as obscure. One version says that the field was created with the Manhattan Project. The Manhattan Project, the secret name for the creation of the first atomic bomb, was expected to use large quantities of radioactive isotopes, and people were hired to protect the health of those working with the materials. Previously we learned that overexposure to ionizing radiation in the form of radium and X-rays could cause burns and cancer in humans. The job title was chosen because "radiation protection" might arose unwanted interest.

Perhaps a more historically accurate coinage comes from Paul Frame, who ought to know:

History of the term "Health Physics"

According to Paul Frame ^[4]:

"The term Health Physics is believed to have originated in the Metallurgical Laboratory at the University of Chicago in 1942, but the exact origin is unknown. The term was possibly coined by Robert Stone or Arthur Compton, since Stone was the head of the Health Division and Arthur Compton was the head of the Metallurgical Laboratory. The first task of the Health Physics Section was to design shielding for reactor CP-1 that Enrico Fermi was constructing, so the original HPs were mostly physicists trying to solve health-related problems. The explanation given by Robert Stone was that '...the term Health Physics has been used on the Plutonium Project to define that field in which physical methods are used to determine the existence of hazards to the health of personnel.'

Night-night.

Radioactive Girl 2010