Death of Douglas Crofut
Douglas Harris Crofut was an American radiographer who died as a result of radiation burns and radiation poisoning. His death was widely reported to have been the first of its kind in the US since the 1940’s, with the military testing of atomic bombs, and is notable for being the only US death attributable to an unknown source of radiation, along with being the only known case in the US of a suspected suicide undertaken via radiation exposure.
Personal life
Prior to injury, Crofut was a 38 year old unemployed Industrial radiographer who specialized in X-raying pipeline wields. Crofut was reported to have last worked with sources of radiation in October of 1980, when he was employed with a Houston pipeline inspection firm. Some of Crofut’s neighbors described him as a “loner”.Injury
On January 22, 1981, Crofut was brought to Okmulgee Memorial Hospital by his sister, who noticed that Crofut was suffering from radiation burns and external bleeding coming from Crofut’s left arm and torso. Crofut’s sister reported that the burns were of such severity that Crofut’s left nipple had been burnt away. Doctors determined that Crotfut had suffered a massive exposure to an unknown source of radiation. In late January, Crofut was transferred to another hospital due to his serious medical state as a result of his severe radiation burns.By mid-march of that year, Crofut appeared to show some signs of improvement. His medical status was upgraded to ‘fair’, and it was reported that skin grafts were being considered. However, doctors were uncertain of Crofut’s ultimate prognosis. It was believed that the radiation Crofut had received was “probably lethal”. Crofut's deep burns continued to worsen, requiring intermittent hospitalization over the next six months.
Officials reported that Crofut’s radiation injuries had “destroyed bone marrow, burned off his left nipple, and ate deep into his body like a cancer.”
Death
Crofut continued to undergo treatment for the burns to his chest and left arm in the months following his initial injury. On June 1, 1981, Crofut was admitted to a local hospital and placed into intensive care due to an ongoing infection, where he died.Due to the "extremely rare" circumstances of Crofut’s injury, his story was followed by the media, who reported his death to be “agonizing”. One doctor stated that Crofut’s “Cells were degenerating before our very eyes". Following his death, Crofut's attorney, Richard Gibbons, described the radiation burns as “grotesque” and “painful”, saying “the area that I looked at was the left side of his chest and it was the most of the left side from his belt line up above his breast. The meat was just completely eaten out and gone for a depth of at least 2 inches”. Gibbons said the radiation burns kept growing, finally “eating away until it got to a vital organ - probably his heart. The man was in such obvious pain.”
Karl Seyfrit, who was director of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission office in Arlington, VA at the time of Crofut’s death, stated that he knew of no other deaths directly attributable to a radioactive source, and Crofut was believed to be the first American to die of radiation injuries since the early days of atomic bomb experimentation.
Investigation
Shortly after Crofut first sought medical care, when it was determined that he had been exposed to a powerful source of radiation, Crofut’s injuries were investigated by the NRC. Initially, officials were concerned that other individuals may have been injured by the same source as Crofut. Both Crofut’s sister and ex-wife were tested, with neither showing signs of radiation poisoning.NRC tests performed on Crofut indicated that had been exposed to gamma rays, either from Iridium-192 or Cobalt-60. The estimated the dosage was believed to be 356 rads or 405 rads, respectively. The NRC believed that Crofut’s Injuries were consistent with radiation exposure occurring between Dec 15, 1980 and Jan 10, 1981.
One particularly unusual circumstance concerned the difficulty in determining the radioactive source which had caused Crofut’s injuries. The NRC discovered that on December 30, 1980, an industrial radiographic device had been reported stolen from a locked truck belonging to a pipe-line inspection company. This incident occurred at the residence of a second radiographer, only a half-mile away from Crofut’s home in Henryetta, OK. The stolen source contained a capsule of Iridium-192, such as that suspected of causing injury to Crofut. The NRC believed the device was unlikely item to have been intentionally stolen, citing that there was no known personal use for such a device, nor was there a market to sell it to.
Ultimately, the stolen Iridium-192 source turned up on the back porch of a third radiographer also living in Crofut’s neighborhood. Neither of the two other radiographers were believed to have been involved in the theft or Crofut’s injuries.
Crofut himself denied any knowledge of the stolen radiographic device, and a NRC spokesman stated that Crofut had never been employed by the company from whose truck the iridium disappeared, and that Crofut had not been directly tied to the theft.
No other potential sources of radiation were identified by the NRC, and ultimately the source of radiation which injured Crofut still remains unknown. The NRC investigation was eventually closed without drawing any conclusions.
An NRC official reportedly described the situation as “weird”, and “one with a lot of quirks in it that so far defy explanation.”
Suicide theory
Following Crofut’s injury and eventual death, a number of NRC investigators and other officials commented to the media that they suspected that Crofut may have intentionally self-inflicted his radiation injuries. Some investigators speculated that Crofut could have removed the iridium capsule from its heavy lead shielding and placed it into his shirt pocket for at least 5 minutes, receiving what ultimately proved to be a fatal dosage of radiation.The NRC further suggested a possible self-harm theory after looking into Crofut’s personal and professional background. One past example which was cited, occurred on December 13, 1979, when Crofut was fired from Tulsa Gamma Ray Inc. for alcohol intoxication. Crofut was reported to have been found intoxicated, kneeling over a radiation-emitting device and exposing himself to its hazardous rays. However, this incident was reported to have left Crofut with no documented injuries. On another occasion, a neighbor claimed that Crofut had been witnessed dousing gasoline over his body with a rag and then making an unsuccessful attempt to ignite himself with a match. Additionally, NRC officials believed Crofut to be an alcoholic who was deeply in debt and had difficulty keeping a job. Crofut was reported to have a record of 16 arrests between 1974 and 1980, with most being liquor law violations, such as public intoxication.