ABSTRACT
In the first two to three years following the medical use of X-rays and radium, there was almost a complete lack of radiation protection, due to an ignorance of the hazards involved. Radium burns to the hands also occurred due to lack of proper precautions when handling sources and those who exposed their hands for diagnostic purposes of a radiumgraph, as distinct from an X-ray radiograph, would have received a significant radiation dose. With remote afterloading the radiation hazard is eliminated except for remote afterloading machines where a small amount of exposure is obtained due to preparation of iridium-192 seed or ribbon sources, such as with the microSelectron-LDR remote afterloader. With the development of radon brachytherapy in the 1920s, it became advantageous for hospitals to have their own radon production plants and many designs were invented for what was always a potential radiation hazard.
