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RADIUM GIRLS

By RadJab

  • RADIUM DISCOVERED

    RADIUM DISCOVERED
    •Radium is isolated by Marie Curie and husband Pierre Curie
    •Curie was the first female to win two Nobel Prizes (physics & chemistry)
    •Curie later died from radium – the radioactive element she dedicated her life to

  • RADIUM CRAZE - THE MAGICAL CURE

    RADIUM CRAZE - THE MAGICAL CURE
    •In the early 1900s radium starts to be used in everything from ointments, tonics, elixirs, toothpaste, and cosmetics, to children's toys, aircraft instrument dials, and clock/watch dials.
    •It is believed to be a treatment for cancer and a cure for many other diseases from fatigue, headaches, constipation, and impotence to anemia, arthritis, asthma, and diabetes.
    •Luckily, many of the quack products don’t even contain radium.

  • UNITED STATES RADIUM CORPORATION (USRC) IS BORN

    UNITED STATES RADIUM CORPORATION (USRC) IS BORN
    •Founded in New York City by Dr. Sabin Arnold von Sochocky and Dr. George S. Willis as the Radium Luminous Material Corporation (renamed USRC in 1921 after von Sochocky was forced from presidency).
    •Produce uranium from carnotite ore and eventually move to the business of producing radioluminescent paint.
    •Run dial painting factory in Orange, New Jersey from 1917-1926.

  • SEVERAL LARGE FAMILIES WORK FOR USRC

    SEVERAL LARGE FAMILIES WORK FOR USRC
    •Working at the radium plant is fun & very well-paid, which encourages other family members to apply.
    •Some girls wear their ball gowns to work on Friday so they will glow at the dance on the weekend.
    •They paint their nails with it, sprinkle it in their hair, and even put it on their teeth to “give their kiss a pop.”
    •They are instructed to lick the paintbrushes to get a better tip for painting the tiny numbers.
    •At the peak of operations, there are 300+ girls working

  • RADIUM GIRL MOLLIE MAGGIA GETS A TOOTHACHE

    RADIUM GIRL MOLLIE MAGGIA GETS A TOOTHACHE
    •In January, the dentist says Mollie's molar needs to come out, then a few weeks later the one next to it needs to come out.
    •The wounds from the pulled teeth won’t heal & blood and pus seep into her mouth.
    •She needs more teeth removed, then surgery to remove an abscess on her jaw.
    •Upon gentle prodding of her jaw in surgery, the whole bone crumbles, and he ends up removing her entire left jaw.

  • MOLLIE MAGGIA DIES – RADIUM JAW

    MOLLIE MAGGIA DIES – RADIUM JAW
    •In the months leading up to her death (September 12, 1922), Mollie loses the rest of her jaw and parts of her inner ear.
    •The tumors cut into her jugular vein, flooding her throat with blood and choking her to death.
    •By the time Mollie gets sick, many odd symptoms are popping up in the other girls.
    •USRC attributes her death to syphilis, which is believed because there is no experience with radiation sickness.

  • HARRISON MARTLAND DISCOVERS THE TRUTH

    HARRISON MARTLAND DISCOVERS THE TRUTH
    •Despite USRC’s attempts to hide their knowledge of radium dangers, and with more and more women becoming ill and dying, Harrison Martland, Medical Officer of Essex County, studies the issue.
    •Martland reopens the case of Mollie Maggia and has her body exhumed and autopsied.
    •As expected, Mollie’s corpse shows no sign of syphilis, but is clearly mangled by radiation.

  • GRACE FRYER LEADS CHARGE IN LAWSUIT AGAINST USRC

    GRACE FRYER LEADS CHARGE IN LAWSUIT AGAINST USRC
    •New Jersey attorney, Raymond Berry, takes their case after two years of trying to find a lawyer.
    •Grace Fryer, Edna Hussman, Katherine Schaub, Quinta McDonald, and Alvina Larice are part of the lawsuit.
    •Each girl asks for $250,000 in compensation.

  • CASE SETTLED

    CASE SETTLED
    •The girls are forced to settle out of court due to their progressing illnesses - each of the five receive $10,000 plus $600 every year they are alive, and coverage for all hospital and legal expenses. They all die within a few short years.
    •First court case where a company is made responsible for the declining health of its employees.
    •The dangers of radium are on display for the world to see, the lip-pointing technique is terminated, and handlers are given full protective gear.

  • STRONGER WORKER PROTECTION LAWS

    STRONGER WORKER PROTECTION LAWS
    •The 1930s bring much-needed changes in safety laws in the workplace.
    •The Radium Girls suffered greatly through severe and painful bone decay and necrosis, gum disease, cancers, and fatal anemia, but they paved the way for better health standards for workers and advancements in medicine and technology (i.e. development of arthritis and cancer treatments).
    •In 1938, the Food and Drug Administration bans the packaging of products containing radium, and radium paint is discontinued.