Mound Laboratory participation in the Kelley-Koett Instrument Company radium accident

At 11:20 A.M. Tuesday, July 24, 1951, a radium capsule containing 49.6 milligrams of radium became open to the atmosphere t the Kelley-Koett instrument Company, 930 York Street, Cincinnati, Ohio. This radium was contained in a platinum tube and was used for the purpose of calibrating radiation detection instruments. At the time of the accident, the actual chemical composition of the radium salt was not known. On Tuesday morning, July 31, 1951, Mr. W.A. Bigler and Mr. R.A. Miller of the Monsanto Chemical Company, Mound Laboratory, Miamisburg, ohio were sent to the Kelley-Koett Instrument Company for the purpose of recovering as much of the radium as possible and to help in the reduction of the health hazard. This paper details the activities undertaken to survey and decontaminate the area.