Radium chemicals and cause radioluminescence. Radium, in the form of radium chloride, was discovered by Marie and Pierre Curie in 1898. They extracted the radium compound from uraninite and published the discovery at the French Academy of Sciences five days later. Radium was isolated in its metallic state by Marie Curie and André-Louis Debierne through the electrolysis of radium chloride in 1911. In nature, radium is found in uranium and (to a lesser extent) thorium ores in trace amounts as small as a seventh of a gram per ton of uraninite. Radium is not necessary for living organisms, and adverse health
Radium dials 186 keV gamma emission 3% of the time. Also, Ra is rarely present without other transuranic elements or decay products, which may emit beta or gamma radiation. Therefore, the radiation hazards from radium paint may not be entirely removed by the varnish, case or container. Care should be taken to prevent the inhalation or ingestion of flakes or dust which may contain radioactive materials. Radium dials have been shown to have dose rates near the face of in excess of 10uSv / hr, which would deliver a dose equivalent to one days background exposure in around 20 minutes. This dose