Discovery and Impact of Radium

Discovery of Radium

• Discovered by Marie and Pierre Curie on April 20, 1902.
• Initially thought to have beneficial properties.
• Incorporated into a wide range of products: makeup, ceramics, health tonics, jewelry.

Misunderstanding of Radium's Effects

• Positive associations with radiation.
• Known for killing cancerous cells, but damage to healthy cells not fully understood.
• Radium's glow led to beliefs in magical health properties.

Radium in Consumer Products

• Marketed by quack doctors as invigorating and curative.
• Incorporated into food, water storage, makeup, toiletries.
• Products included radium plasters, ointments, syrup, suppositories.
• Radium spas offered exposure through baths and saunas.

Radium in War Efforts

• Used in paint to make it glow in the dark, useful for military applications.
• High demand during World War I for radium-coated dials on watches, control panels.

United States Radium Corporation

• Expanded to mix and apply radium-infused paint called "undark".
• Growth in business due to war demand.
• Plant in Orange, New Jersey specialized in dial painting.

Working Conditions for Dial Painters

• Workers, mostly women, painted dials with radium-infused paint.
• Licked brushes for precision due to lack of understanding of radium's dangers.
• Perceived as safe and a perk due to radium's health image.

Health Consequences

• Workers began falling ill in the late 1910s and 1920s.
• Symptoms: tooth pain, exhaustion, jawbone damage.
• Many ailments initially dismissed, misdiagnosed as syphilis.

Legal Battle and Awareness

• Grace Fryer and colleagues sued United States Radium Corporation in 1928.
• Delays by the corporation, but eventual settlement in favor of workers.
• Case highlighted dangers of radium, reduced demand for radium products.
• Pioneering case for workplace safety responsibilities.

Legacy of the Radium Girls

• Many suffered, but contributed to understanding radiation effects.
• Influenced safety precautions in nuclear research and other industries.
• Set precedent for employer responsibility for employee health and safety.