Stranger than Fiction: The Radium Girls

Between 1917 and 1926 the U.S. Radium Corporation employed 70 females from New Jersey - they were young women trying to earn a living - some as young as 14, but their bodies would become so poisoned in the workplace, that over 50 of them died and even today, nearly a century later, the radiation levels from their graves still causes the needle to jump on a Geiger counter. Samantha Bailie reports:

“My beautiful radium,” Marie Curie called the chemical element that she and husband Pierre discovered in 1898, and as they shared their unearthing with scientists, and the element was discovered to be capable of destroying human tissue, it started to be used to fight constipation, fever, gout - and even cancer. As the rich got wind of this miracle substance and learned of its perceived merits, the well-heeled booked themselves in to spas and clinics where they received all sorts of pampering treatments, like mud baths with radium as the unique selling point. 

Not surprisingly - gram for gram, Atomic Number 88 had become the most expensive matter in the world and as news spread throughout the land - everything could be purchased with added Ra - from radium water crocks, which stored water inside a radium coated bucket and claimed to cure everything from wrinkles to erectile dysfunction to children’s nightlights and cosmetics such as face powders, lipsticks and face creams which claimed to brighten the skin!

 “radium will put rosy cheeks on you,” they were told….

With radium the stuff of the moment and noticing how it glowed - unsurprisingly, the Army in the U.S. set up radium dialing painting studios and hired young girls and women to paint the numerals on watch faces. Girls in New Jersey were delighted when lots of jobs became available in their town of Orange - especially when they discovered that they’d be paid $0.27 per watch face - which typically worked out around three times that of the factories in the town  - and the work was easy and sociable. The ‘painters’ sat in rows, dipping fine brushes into the radium, then pointed the camelhair brushes by pulling them through their pursed, moistened lips.

When America entered the war in early 1917, the dials were then being painted for military use and the girls felt really proud that they were supporting the war effort. Morale was high in the dial-painting studio, the girls were earning great money and loved to have a carry-on during breaks - experimenting with this glow-in-the-dark substance. Everything they touched glowed: their clothes would glow in the dark on the way home, if they blew their nose their handkerchiefs would glow - they were walking glowworms.

Of course, being young, they decided to use some of the radium when going out dancing - one girl painted her teeth to impress her boyfriend, some painted their nails, while others would paint their faces - there was nothing to worry about after all - sure “radium will put rosy cheeks on you,” they were told, and the fact they knew the well-to-do used it for its beauty benefits made the girls feel very lucky to have access to such potions. Little did these young women know that this seemingly innocuous paint, which was branded under the name Undark would have dreadful effects.

one by one they gave birth to stillborn babies. While other girls on the line began to lose their teeth

As the girls continued to work faster and faster and they pointed the radium filled brush tips in their mouths before every stroke quicker and quicker, two of the girls - Hazel Vincent and Marguerite Carlough began to complain to each other that they were exhausted and had no energy - no matter how much sleep they would get and as they worked, they found themselves starting to struggle to stay awake. Some of their friends on the production line were pregnant, but one by one they gave birth to stillborn babies.

While other girls on the line began to lose their teeth - some with whole mouths of rotten teeth that had to be removed. As the girls started to share stories and chat about their complaints, they noticed they had a lot in common - for instance, when they had teeth removed, the gums didn't heal - instead the hole filled with ulcers and their jawbones seemed unusually fragile upon touching. Other girls noticed their skin was paper-thin and would tear if they so much as lightly itched it. 

Between 1917 and 1926, 70 females from New Jersey were hired by the U.S. Radium Corporation and more than 50 of these young women would die as a direct result of the radium paint poisoning that was effectively eating their bodies from the inside out. Interestingly, the inventor of the paint - Dr. von Sochocky himself died from exposure to radioactive material in 1928. 

The general public may not have known about the dangers of radium but some people did - and they sat back and did nothing! Scientists within the U.S. Radium Corporation were well aware that the key ingredient in Undark was one million times more active than uranium (they had distributed literature to the medical community describing its ‘injurious effects’) - and they always ensured that they were never exposed to it. Yes, while the scientists and big-shots were using lead screens, masks and tongs to handle the substance, they were allowing school-age children to swallow radium on a daily basis! 

The U.S. Radium Corporation told the medical community about the dangers of radium but doctors were making a fortune - prescribing it for everything from the common cold to cancer. Radium had become a huge marketing force - not only in the U.S. but the world over and U.S. Radium was a defence contractor with bigwig contacts and deep pockets - so financial interests were protected ahead of the health of some small-town girls. U.S. Radium would do whatever it took to keep their dirty little secret to themselves. 

A local dentist began to get suspicious - he noticed his patients all had similar effects and they all worked in the same place. He reported that when trying to pull a tooth on one girl - her whole jaw came away!  He was certain radium had something to do with it. 

not examined by specialists, but by toxicologists who were on the payroll for - yes, you’ve guessed it - U.S. Radium!

When the ladies started to explore the notion that their jobs were causing these problems, university “specialists” were hired to examine them. Girls were examined and deemed healthy - but they all knew they were anything but – further research however discovered that they were not examined by specialists, but by toxicologists who were on the payroll for - yes, you’ve guessed it - U.S. Radium!

Studies into the factory’s working conditions, discovered that all work surfaces were glowing and all the girls had developed strange blood conditions - however, before the report could see the light of day, it was doctored and stated all the females were very healthy - in fact, backed by medical professionals on their payroll, the company rejected the hypothesis that these women were sick from exposure to radium.

To add insult to injury, the company intimated that the majority of the girls were sexually promiscuous and had contracted syphilis - anything to discredit the ladies claims. Some were not even sexually active however this did not stop doctors standing by their claims and tarnishing these poor girls reputations. 

One girl - Grace Fryer was distraught that her name was dragged through the mud and looked for a lawyer to defend her. Shockingly it took her 2 years to locate anyone brave enough to stand against U.S. Radium - and the trial dragged on and on for many months.     

When four other girls backed Fryer, the media got interested and nicknamed them, ‘The Radium Girls’. Sadly at their first court appearance they were so weak they couldn't even lift their arms to take their oath! By the second hearing they were all too ill to attend and the case was adjourned as many of the U.S. Radium executives were holidaying in Europe. As they weren't expected to live much longer, the ladies settled out of court for the equivalent of £100,000 today and had all their medical and legal expenses taken care of. They would also receive $600 per year annuity for as long as they lived. The last of the girls only made it to two years after the settlement. 

The legal exposure of what happened to these ladies made a huge impact on industrial safety standards - the right to individual employees to sue for damages from corporations due to labour abuse was also established as a direct result from the Radium Girls’ case.

What happened U.S. Radium? Well, they continued making these watches with radium paint, but after the new worker safety laws were brought in, not one factory ever again suffered from radium related illnesses - this is how easy it would have been for these young women’s lives to have been kept safe. It is difficult to comprehend even now that were many supposeably good people within the industry who knew the dangers but did nothing and choose instead to take the buck and remain silent. 

As for the radium girls sadly, only a few survived and even they didn’t get a chance to enjoy their hard-earned victory for long.