Marie Curie’s archives in France were known to be still radioactive. In the Bibliotheque Nationale procedures have been put in place to protect the researcher. //www.bnf.fr/en/tools/a.welcome_to_the_bnf.html
Through Twitter it was realized that the Wellcome Library also held items belonging to Marie Curie, primarily a lab notebook and letters that had not been examined. This discovery prompted a review of other contemporary items held in the Wellcome Archives. After staff at Aurora (https://aurorahp.co.uk/) checked these targeted collections, no other radioactive items were found. Protection advisers from Aurora trained the Conservation Department staff in the safe handling of the contaminated materials.
Marie Curie’s letters were much less contaminated than her notebook. The main contamination risk is due to the deterioration of the notebook cover, allowing tiny pieces to flake off. The notebook is held within a corrugated clamshell box sleeve and the two letters are laminated in a Mylar sleeve. Protective clothing needs to be worn when the items are consulted.
Protocols were devised to ensure safe retrieval of the material from the Wellcome Library stacks. A Geiger counter is used to measure the amount of radiation encountered after each use.