The Radium Girls

I was really excited to see this was actually a book. My first introduction to this story was in the form of the show Mysteries at the Museum on the travel channel. I’m a sucker for anything based in fact and history so I found out there was also a movie that my mom and I watched it was there I learned of the book so I got it on audible. The book is written by Kate Moore.

Well into the 1920s, the dangers of radium were not known to the public, although some executives and scientists in the industry were increasingly aware and protected themselves in the factories where the women worked. Especially deadly to the dial-painters, they were instructed to point (lick) their paintbrush tips while painting the numbers on the dials. They were not warned about dangers and did not suspect problems until they began to suffer severe symptoms, including anemia, radium jaw (deterioration of their jaw bones), and deadly cancerous tumors.

Five sickened former dial-painters in New Jersey sued the U.S. Radium Corporation beginning in 1927, but their case was hampered by a two-year statute of limitations. After the women testified in January and April 1928, the U.S. Radium Corporation was granted an adjournment until September. The delay provoked a backlash of newspaper criticism.On June 4, 1928, the New Jersey women accepted an out-of-court settlement.

I absolutely loved this book! It’s not terribly long I had it on audible so I was able to listen to it in a day. It runs 15 hours long on audible I’ve listened to longer. It’s a great book if your interested in history.