(L. radius, ray) Discovered by Marie and Pierre Curie in 1898 in pitchblende (uraninite) from Bohemia. Found in small amounts in carnotite sands of Colorado, and to a greater extent in Zaire and Canada. Present in uranium minerals found in Ontario, New Mexico, Utah and Australia. Recovery is costly, but an ample supply exists from commercial production from 1940 to 1960. Radium is over 1,000,000 times as radioactive as the same mass of uranium.
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alkaline earth metal, white but tarnishes black upon exposure to air, luminesces, decomposes in water, emits radioactive radon gas, disintegrated radioactively until it reaches stable lead, radiological hazard, alpha, beta and gamma emitter, exoposure to radium can cause cancer and other body disorders
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radioactive gas emitted used for cancer treatment, self-luminous paints, neutron source, medicine