Origins of Radioactive Girl part deux

10 May 2010

Last time I told you about the alleged origins of health physicists. The origins of Radioactive Girl are not shrouded in quite the mystery. In the late 1990's, I was a mild-mannered lake biologist, working for the University of South Florida and Hillsborough County on a collaborative website called the "Hillsborough County Lake Atlas."

When I called about the position, 'Lake Atlas biologist wanted,' I asked where Lake Atlas was. The boss found this humorous, but hired me anyway. Their biologist(one of two) had quit after just one day on the job. I was a better fit- what was not to love? I got to go to work in my bathing suit, use interesting technology that I'd never tried before, and jump in and out of lakes all day, then write about it all online. It was in many ways my dream job. It was also part time and temporary. When the job ended, I was moping about the office lamenting about my impending unemployment. No doubt tired of my whining, my administrative assistant asked, "How about being a Health Physicist? The University is looking for one."

"Let me see," I said, and hopped on a computer to Google Health Physicist. As it turns out, the university particularly liked biologists as health physicists, because most of the research labs using radioisotopes were in Biology or Medicine. The University was hiring for two positions; I got one. Reyes, a former medical student, got the other. Thus my career as Radioactive Girl was born. I was given a meter- a Ludlum 2401-P pocket-sized, handheld GM detector (above), but no super powers. Yet! Nighty-night,

-Radioactive Girl 2010

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