Hey, excuse me, but when you happen to be Adam Graham.

The very same and this is my old time radio snackwagon.

Welcome to the Old Time Radio snack Wagon, where we serve up a bite sized portion of old time radio.

And now here's your snack wagon host Adam Graham.

Today we are serving up a fascinating bit of science history.

For that, we return to The Army Hour, a syndicated radio series that highlighted the work of the US Army and provided human interest stories as well.

We played one of those last year.

This one will be a much more practical episode.

I don't have a specific date, but this would have come from the late nineteen fifties or early nineteen sixties.

Here now is a clip from episode one hundred and ninety of The Army Hour.

From the time of the first atomic bomb to the present day hydrogen weapons, people everywhere have been concerned about the amount of radioactive material which may or may not be in the air.

This has brought up the question what is the safe level of radioactivity in the human body.

This problem is now being explored by Army doctors and scientists who have developed a machine to count the amount of radioactivity which exists in every person and every living thing.

Let's see this machine in operation now as we go to the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in Washington and our Army Hour reporter Lieutenant Paul Wyman.

Here with me is the technician trained to operate this instrument, operating one of only three such machines in the world today, Sergeant Arnold Mansky, Sergeant Manski, this whole body counter appears to be about six feet in length.

Is that correct?

Well, Actually, the interior is six feet in length and the exterior is about eight feet.

It's about five feet in diameter outside, and it's about the inside it is about twenty two inches in diameter.

The outer portion that you're looking at is the actual shielding.

It's a piece of pre war battleship steel five and a half inches thick.

I was interested in hearing from you, Sergeant, are in regard to the fact that everybody from time they're born has some amounts of radioactivity in their body.

Yes, that's right.

Of course, there are different types of radiation than with this particular counter.

We major gamma radiation.

We actually have two sources of this today.

One is from naturally occurring radial elements that have been with us since time began.

The one of these that we count is these are.

Not harmful to the human body, are they?

Well, who is to say some people flame all radiation is harmful, or any radiation is harmful.

It is an extremely small amounts.

However, now, since the advent of the atomic bomb, we have had fallout products with us.

Also, then the.

Radioactivity has increased in the human body since the advent.

Of nuclear warfare, nuclear.

Testing in the world.

Absolutely, and that's the reason for having a detector of this kind.

I would imagine that's right.

Over a period of a number of years, we hope to be able to tell whether it is going up or going down or remaining the same.

We built out a history card on you.

A few moments, scholar, tenants, I might explain a little bit the reason for this.

A person's diet, for instance, is going to determine somewhat the amount of radioactivity in them is physical.

Build a number of the physical characteristics of the individual are going to determine the amount of radioactivity he has in him.

After we count you in a few moments, we will get to read the initial results off of the readout of the counter, and then your history card will be processed by IBM equipment to give us the final results of the activity in you.

This is to see how much radioactivity at present I have in my as system.

That's right, You have me all dressed here in a greenish gown.

Is there any reason for this?

Because these are actually surgical script suits.

Inasmuch as we have radioactivity in the air and in the dust around us, we try and eliminate this from our measurement.

If we were to put you in in street clothes, that we would be counting this dust and so forth that you had picked up on your clothing, and it would actually give us an erroneous answer far as radioactivity in you.

Sarte Manski, if you're ready, I am, so let's go.

I am now following Sergeant Manski up silver steel stairs leading to this whole body computer.

Now we'll bring the bring this fling out.

Lieutenant Roget Mansky has now pressed a relay a switch, and out of the end of the whole body counter, which is completely cylindrical, comes the half cylindrical relay belt type of conveyor belt, upon which I can see I will rest to be moved inside the whole body counter itself.

Now, if you'd remove your slippers, please, lieutenant, and get it on your back with your feet against the bottom of the counter.

And now I'm stepping into the cylindrical part of the counter.

Almost slipped, and I'm down into a prone position.

Which I'm handing you, Lieutenant, is what we like to call our panic button.

Some people do suffer from clausophobia.

In event that you feel the need to come up, just push the button and it'll bring your You can bring yourself right on out.

All right, well, panic button, Yes, I'm all said.

I am now being moved into this whole body counter which will count the radioactivity.

And my body.

You get the feeling that you're being moved into a large tunnel.

That really has now stopped.

And there's silence all around me.

Overhead, it's the top of the cylindrical part this whole body counter must be about two feet above me.

There's one small light above my head.

There is very little noise outside.

I can hear the click.

Very faintly of the machinery is in the process of counting the radiarchiddy in my body, but I can feel very little the murmur and occasional voice.

The technicians are working on the outside.

It's hard to believe that at this point machinery, relays, switches, dials all in progress.

Measuring the amount of radioactivity I have in my body.

I've just been told that I will be coming out by Sergeant manskianality the conveyor part is moving me out the whole body counter computer, and the radi activity in my body has thus been counted.

How is the radioactivity in my body?

Well, actually, you look quite normal.

You way quite close to what I do, Lieutenant, and I see that our gross counts are quite similar.

If you look down here on the recorder, I think you can see what you're actual recording with.

Eighty three mic micro theories of caesium program of potassium.

You say, that's normal for me in the United States.

That's right, And this is all used as part of all the other people who have gone through in order to establish the radioactive count in bodies of humans today.

Yes, sure, Sergeant Arnoldmanski.

Thank you very very much for taking me through this whole body computer.

And it's very gratifying to know that I am none.

This is Lieutenant Paul Wineman returning you to the Army Hour in New York City Welcome Back.

It was fascinating to hear this process play out.

The combination of the audio and the lieutenant's narration makes for an intriguing bit of radio.

Overall tone of the segment was reassuring, Yet there was still that one moment of disclosure where Sergeant Manski was asked about the safe level of radiation and responded, who is to say?

Which I have to admit is probably the part of the broadcast I'd have paid most attention to if I were listening at the time.

The frank statement says a lot about how we entered the atomic age, due perhaps to the necessity of war, We entered it abruptly, with a lot of unanswered questions, almost blind to the consequences.

In the sixty years plus since this episode, our understanding has progressed.

We have a better knowledge of how radiation works and potential side effects.

We have better methods of testing, and are also able to test for more types of radiation.

Yet, let's be clear, this episode represents science and action.

Science not with a capital s as established unalterable truth, but rather as a process of providing the best answers we have at the time while laying the groundwork for better knowledge and better answers in the future.

It's time for me to close up the Old Snackwagon, but don't worry.

We'll be back with another serving of old time radio goodness before you know it.

If you want to enjoy some of our longer form podcasts, you can feast away at my website at Great Detectives dot net.

Your emails are also welcome at Adam at snackwagon dot net.

The Old Time Radio Snackwagon comes to you from Boise, Idaho.

Your host is Adam Graham.

Sound production is by Rhyn's Media LLC.

You can listen to past episodes of the Old Time Radio Snackwagon as well as connect on social media at our website at snackwagon dot net.

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Until next time.

Goodbye,