Georgia Radon Solutions

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Take action against radon With expert advice from UGA Extension

Here’s a wild bit of science history: Marie Curie’s tomb is still radioactive.

Curie, the legendary scientist who discovered radium and polonium, worked day and night with these newly discovered elements — without any protection. At the time, no one fully understood the dangers of radiation. She carried test tubes in her pockets, handled radioactive materials with bare hands, and even slept near samples.

The result? Her body became so irradiated that when she was laid to rest in the Panthéon in Paris in 1995, her coffin had to be encased in 3 centimeters of lead to shield the public from radiation. To this day, her remains, clothes, and even handwritten notebooks are considered highly radioactive. Researchers who want to access her archived materials must wear protective gear and sign a waiver.

Why was she so “radioactive”?
Because radium and polonium, especially in their pure forms, emit powerful alpha and gamma radiation. Long-term exposure causes serious cell damage, cancer and other health complications — all things we now know but didn’t back then. Curie unknowingly absorbed this radiation over decades of groundbreaking research.

She paid the price with her health, ultimately dying from aplastic anemia, likely caused by radiation exposure. But her discoveries changed science forever, laying the foundation for cancer treatments, nuclear energy and radiology.

She was quite literally glowing with brilliance — and danger.

Get your test kit from radon.uga.edu.

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