Essay

The Radium Girls were young female factory workers in the United States during the 1910s and 1920s who were employed to paint watch dials with glow-in-the-dark radium paint.

The Job:

They worked for companies like the U.S. Radium Corporation and Radium Dial Company.

The paint used was a radium-based compound called Undark.

The women were told the paint was harmless.

They were instructed to use a technique called "lip-pointing"—sharpening their paintbrushes with their lips to make fine tips, unknowingly ingesting small amounts of radium every time.

Health Effects:

Radium is radioactive and extremely dangerous when ingested.

Over time, the women began suffering horrifying health issues:

Jaw necrosis (called "radium jaw")

Bone fractures

Anemia

Cancer

Many of them died in pain, and doctors were initially baffled by their symptoms.

The Fight for Justice:

The companies denied responsibility and claimed the women had syphilis to discredit them.

Despite severe illness, some of the Radium Girls fought legal battles against their employers.

A key case was Grace Fryer v. U.S. Radium Corporation in 1927.

The women won the case, and it led to:

New labor safety standards

Birth of occupational disease labor law

Greater regulation of radioactive materials

Legacy:

The Radium Girls are remembered as pioneers in the fight for workers' rights.

Their case changed workplace safety laws in the U.S. and influenced radiation protection standards around the world.