From 1946–53, at the Walter E. Fernald State School (originally known as the Massachusetts School for Idiotic Children) in Waltham, institutionalized boys who joined the “Science Club” were fed oatmeal enriched with radioactive calcium. Needless to say, neither the boys nor their parents were told at the time. The highest dose was 330 millirem. See also: “Studies in calcium metabolism; the fate of intravenously injected radiocalcium in human beings.”, J Clin Invest., Jan 1956.
Radiation levels (mrem) from various sources
6: Chest X-ray
9: Dental X-ray
10: Annual USA dose from consumer products
120: Abdominal X-ray
200: Head CT
300: Annual USA average dose from all natural sources
366: Annual USA average from all sources
640: Annual High Background Radiation Area (HBRA) of Yangjiang, China
00: Chest CT
20,000,000: Hourly dose for some Chernobyl workers
Source: Wikipedia. (Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.)
From the April 2011 issue of Happiness Pony. [PDF]