The Radium Girls: Shining a Light on a Hidden Tragedy

Do you know this infamous tragedy of the radium girls?

During World War I, luminous watch dials became popular. U.S. factories started hiring young girls to paint the radium on the dials. Without any precautions, they used their bare hands, even their lips, to dip the paintbrush into shape. Until something horrifying happened—who took measure? Their employers used to instruct them, " Lip, dip, and paint.”

A new discovery, that shines in the dark, is named ‘Undark,’ the marketing was so fancy, even I would have loved to work there until…

“Radium jaw” later became the term used to describe their conditions. The girls working there started to show symptoms of severe pain, anemia, bone fractures, and necrosis of the jaw. Amelia Mollie Maggia—one of the radium girls working for the USRC factory in New Jersey—had a toothache that led to her teeth being hollowed out. Her jaw bones were eaten from the inside, making them completely hollow. She later, in 1922, died a painful death. Many other girls followed the same fate, working in the glamorous industry of glow.

Later, five women—Grace Fryer, Edna Hussman, Katherine Schaub, Quinta McDonald, and Albina Larice—took the initiative to sue USRC. But with the $10,000 and an extra yearly pension of $600, the compensation was not worth it if all of them similarly lost their lives due to the poison.

I had goosebumps when I found out that there were cosmetics companies named Radior and Tho-Radia. Until 1962, they continued using radium directly in cosmetics.

That’s for today. Let’s chat tomorrow!

Thanks

Jessie.