Faith | Does your face glow? The Bible tells of a man who did - and why

Do you glow in the dark?

So many Tri-Cities residents laugh about that, especially those who have lived in the Columbia Basin for most or all of their lifetime.

Why do others laugh?

For those in the know, it is a joke because it does not — indeed cannot — happen.

Possibly the laughter is due to fear. Our brains deal with negative emotions with nervous laughter. It could also be because someone once said that if they received a radiation dose from Hanford’s releases to the environment it would make them glow like spent fuel rods that were stored in the K Basins.

Pictures are worth a thousand words — or laughs. The glowing is just not true.

Even the Atomic Man, Mr. McCluskey, who received the highest radiation dose from Americium during an accident at Hanford’s Plutonium Finishing Plant did not glow in the dark. The glow is caused by excitation — absorption of radiation — by chemical species known as phosphors.

What exactly is radiation?

It is energy emitted as waves or particles and can take the form of heat or light. There are different types of this energy that can pass through human tissue or be stopped by different materials like lead shielding, or even paper.

The World Health Organization and the Environmental Protection Agency says radiation can interfere with cellular activity in the human body.

High doses can cause effects like nausea, hair loss, or skin redness. The effects of long-term, chronic exposure to high levels of radiation, can include an increased likelihood of cancer, local radiation burns, and even death. Medical radiation therapy can result in fatigue, skin sores, small intestine inflammation, and low blood counts among other effects.

Does the radiation from natural terrestrial sources such as radon from rocks or soil make us glow? Absolutely not.

What about radiation from medical, dental, or airline travel?

Dials on clocks and watches in the 1920’s to 1940’s were painted to produce a glow in the dark luminescence with a phosphor mixed with radium.

The risk of radium used in watches and clocks was not to the user, but to those who painted the numerals on the clocks, as they ingested some radium when putting the paintbrushes in their mouths to get a better tip. This process was replaced in the 1970’s with non-toxic, tritium-based luminous material used until the mid-1990’s.

One person in the Bible whose face did glow was that of Moses after he had been in the presence of the Lord God.

But whenever he (Moses) went into the Tent of Meeting to speak with the LORD, he would remove the veil until he came out again. Then he would give the people whatever instructions the LORD had given him, and the people of Israel would see the radiant glow of his face. So he would put the veil over his face until he returned to speak with the LORD. (Exodus 34:34-35 NLT)

Do you glow from having been in the presence of the Lord?

Glowing in the dark after radiation exposure is a myth, but it is still a Hanford joke encouraged by erroneous published items and general ignorance. The laughing helps us cope with fear of the unknown effects of radiation.

Check out a simple book at one of the local libraries to learn more about radiation, or Google websites associated with the Environmental Protection Agency and radiation basics to overcome that fear.

Then you can laugh at the sheer absurdity of people glowing in the dark.