As Women’s History Month winds down, I wanted to bring attention to a group of women in the 1920s that made the workplace a safer place to work. The first half of the 20th century was a time of great change. The US Industrial age brought new opportunities for employment. Between 1917 and 1929, hundreds of young women were employed applying radium-activated paint to watches, aircraft controls, clocks and compass faces in factories, so that the instruments could glow in the dark. Hence, forever being referred to as Radium Girls. #Radiumgirls
The Radium Girls were female factory workers who contracted radiation poisoning from painting watch dials with a self-luminous paint and was made from powdered radium, gum-arabic and water. So having been told that the paint was harmless, these women ingested daily deadly amounts of radium. These women were instructed to make a “point” to their brush with their lips; giving it a fine tip, instead of using rags or a water rinse, which was more costly to the company. Some women even painted their fingernails, face, and teeth with this glowing substance.
Radiation sickness began
Dentists were among the first to see problems among dial painters. Dental pain, loose teeth, lesions, ulcers, and tooth extractions failing to heal were some of these conditions. These women later began to suffer from anemia, bone fractures, and necrosis of the jaw, a condition now known as radium jaw. The women also suffered from the suppression of menstruation, and sterility. Grace Fryer, a New Jersey plant worker, decided to sue, but it took two years to find a lawyer willing to take on U.S. radium industry.
Long Court Battle
Even after finding a lawyer, the litigation process moved slowly. With hundreds of women affected, only five factory workers – Grace Fryer, Edna Hussman, Katherine Schaub, sisters Quinta McDonald and Albina Larice (dubbed-the Radium Girls) joined the suit.
On their first court appearance in January 1928, two of the women were bedridden. Not one of the women were strong enough to raise their arms to take the oath. The media sensation this case caused, along with the legislation, established legal precedents . Triggering the enactment of the regulations governing labor safety standards and includes a baseline of “provable suffering”. We are safer in our work environments today because of the suffering, sacrifice and courage of these brave women.
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