Although the famous scientist Marie Curry died in 1934, her body and belongings still emit radiation.

Not only won two Nobel Prizes for her pioneering work on radioactivity, but also recognized as the “mother of modern physics”, Marie Curie, unfortunately, did not recover from her research on the radioactive elements polonium and radium. While these researches provided him with a lasting scientific legacy, the same substances also had a lasting effect on his body.

Curie was not only the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, but also the only woman to win in two different fields. In 1896, French physicist Henri Becquerel discovered that uranium salts emit rays similar to X-rays in their ability to pass through objects. This discovery inspired Curie to use Becquerel’s findings as part of his research thesis. She began her work with her husband, Pierre Curie, and discovered two new radioactive elements, radium and polonium, in 1898. These results led the Curies to receive half the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903. The other half was given to Becquerel.

Later, in 1911, after many personal tragedies (Pierre Curie died suddenly in 1906), Curie was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for isolating pure radium. He would continue to devote his research to the chemistry of radioactive materials and their applications in medicine. In fact, without Curie’s work, our cancer treatments probably wouldn’t have been as advanced as they are today. But despite the precautions she took, Curie’s regular and prolonged contact with these substances came at a price.

Maire Curry

Marie Curie died on July 4, 1934, from aplastic anemia caused by her work with radiation. Despite its name, aplastic anemia is more than just a normal anemia, it is a rare blood condition that occurs when the bone marrow is unable to produce enough new blood cells for your body to function properly. When Curie died, her body was so radioactive that it had to be placed in a lead-lined coffin for burial. However, no one knew about it until 1995, when his coffin was exhumed.

At the time, the French authorities wanted to move the Curies to the Panthéon, the national mausoleum, for their contributions to science and symbols of French history. The officials responsible for the excavation contacted the French radiation protection agency over concerns about residual radiation and asked for help protecting the workers at the cemetery.

As the diggers approached their tomb, they detected normal levels of radiation in the air, and these levels rose (though not by a large amount) as the tomb was opened. Marie Curie’s coffin looked like it was made of wood at first, but when opened, they found it was lined with 2.5 millimeters of lead.

Subsequent examination of Curie’s body revealed that it was remarkably well preserved, with only minor levels of alpha and beta contamination detected. According to the Journal of the British Society for the History of Radiology, this was likely because Curie took steps to limit radiation exposure later in life.

Marie Curry’s still radioactive notebook.

However, the same cannot be said for other items. 100 years after his death, many of his belongings remain extremely radioactive, including his furniture, cookbooks, clothes, and lab notes. Some of these are actually stored in lead-lined boxes at the Bibliothèque National in Paris, France. Visitors requesting access to these objects are required to sign a liability waiver and wear protective gear to prevent exposure to radium-226.

Considering that this isotope has a half-life of about 1,600 years, it can be predicted that important documents will remain a pernicious reminder of a strong legacy for a long time to come.