However, another of Bailey's guarantees, that "Radithor is harmless in every respect," proved false. Radithor is one of the few radioactive quack cures that can be unambiguously linked to someone's death.

Prior to being emptied, the bottle pictured at left contained one-half ounce of Radithor - triple distilled water guaranteed to contain at least 1 microcurie each of Ra-226 and Ra-228. The manufacturer of the product, William J. Bailey, offered $1,000 to anyone who could prove the product contained less than the stated amount. No one ever did.

The Radithor Laboratories Company in Los Angeles seems to have been a separate corporate entity that was licensed to sell Radithor. Their address was 802 Spring Arcade Building on Spring/S. Broadway. The references I have for them date from 1927 and 1928.

A Federal Trade Commission order filed against Bailey Radium Laboratories (Inc.) was probably the final nail in the coffin for Radithor. On December 19, 1931 Bailey was ordered to "cease and desist from various representations theretofore made by them as to the therapeutic value of Radithor and from representing that the product Radithor is harmless." Bailey refrained from contesting the charges following the personal testimony of Eben Byers (delivered shortly before his death).

Bailey Radium Laboratories, the corporation through which William Bailey produced and distributed Radithor, was located at 336 Main Street in East Orange, New Jersey. They seem to have operated from 1925 until 1930 or early 1931 (they were listed in the Orange City Directory from 1926 to 1929). One of their booklets indicated that they also had they had an office at 27 Front Street East in Toronto. My home town.