Review of "The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women" by Kate Moore

As early as World War I 'glow in the dark' gauges and watch dials became vital to soldiers. These were manufactured by painting the faces of the devices with compounds containing the radioactive element radium.




Clock with radium dial

At the time, the dangers of fissionable elements was unknown, and - in fact - radium was touted as a boon to good looks and good health.


Radium was touted as a boon to health

After the war - in the 1920s - large factories sprang up to feed the growing demand for the gauges, watches, and 'wellness products' containing radium. The two companies at the center of this story are the United States Radium Corporation (USRC) of New Jersey, and the Radium Dial Company of Ottawa, Illinois.


Building that housed the United States Radium Corporation

The factories paid well, and young women flocked to work there. During training, the girls were told to put the delicate paintbrushes in their mouths between applications - to form a fine tip. This 'lip, dip, paint.....lip, dip, paint' went on all day, every day - for weeks, months, years. Sadly, the girls were slowly poisoning themselves with radium - but they didn't know it.


Women painting dial faces with radium


Women were told to 'lip, dip, paint'

Unlike nuclear fallout, which causes severe radiation burns (and often death) rather quickly, radium works subtly and slowly. Because radium is chemically similar to calcium, it replaces that element in the bones. The radium builds up over time, until the bones literally fall apart. Moreover, the radioactivity emitted damages other tissues and organs.

As a result, several years after they started working at the watch factories, the 'radium girls' began to fall ill, exhibiting some of the most horrendous symptoms imaginable. Often, the women would lose their teeth first, then their jaw bones would rot - resulting in holes in the palate and face.


Sketch of radium damage to the jaw


Woman whose jaw was damaged by radium

Frequently, the victims developed limps, and - in one case - a woman's legs became permanently crossed, so she couldn't walk. Tumors might develop, sometimes so large that the patient was confined to bed - in unendurable pain.

The autopsy of one dead victim showed fractured ribs, holes in the skull, and necrosis (cell death) in the skull vault, pelvis, and many other bones. In fact, there were widespread skeletal changes throughout the body.

Some radium girls - if they were able to conceive - suffered miscarriages. And those women who had children were often too sick and weak to care for them.


Radium girls couldn't care for their children

In addition, there was always the danger of secondary infections, like pneumonia. Sadly, radium poisoning is not curable and - especially back then - effective treatments were unknown. Thus many of these women died terrible deaths. And most of them were in their twenties!




Radium poisoning was a death sentence

Perhaps the worst thing of all, the companies knew radium was dangerous and hid this fact from everyone. In fact, company honchos out and out lied, advertising radium as healthful....'it'll put roses in your cheeks.'


Advertisement for radium face cream

"The Radium Girls" focuses on several young women who fought back against the watch companies, suing for compensation and medical bills. In an author's note, Kate Moore explains that previous books on the subject focused on the legal and scientific aspects of the cases. Moore, on the other hand, wanted to showcase "real women standing up for their rights with strength, dignity, and courage" - and she does an admirable job.



Moore thoroughly researched her subject, and unearthed many details about the lives of the affected women. The author captures their excitement at landing 'good jobs'' in the watch plants; the fashionable clothes they purchased with their salaries; the men they dated - and the fun they had. The girls were thrilled that their clothing, covered with radium-containing dust, would shine in the night.....making a spectacular impression on everyone around.



Some adventurous gals even decorated their nails and lips with the radium paint. In retrospect, of course, this was a terrible idea! Moore goes on to write about the young ladies' betrothals and marriages..... and then the inevitable devastation to parents, siblings, husbands (and sometimes children) when their bodies fell apart.

When some of the victims banded together to file lawsuits against USRC and Radium Dial, the legal machinations by the factories - who adamantly denied responsibility for the girls' illnesses - were so devious, underhanded, and downright disgusting that the factory owners deserve a place in the lowest depths of hell (figuratively speaking).


Victims of radium poisoning supported each other

The radium companies co-opted dentists, doctors, lawyers, so-called experts, factory managers, and so on - to cheat, lie, and steal. In one case, a physician swiped the jawbone of a girl being autopsied, so it couldn't be tested for radium poisoning. When the companies were found liable in court - and ordered to pay compensation to the sick women - they appealed again and again and again....in one case, all the way to the Supreme Court. Of course all this dragged on for many years, and it seems the radium companies were hoping the women would die.



This book was very distressing to read - so disturbing In fact, that I had to take periodic breaks. The dismissive and uncaring stance of the guilty parties is almost incomprehensible, and they did it all for profit! And later on, when the companies were ordered to clean up the defunct factory sites, which seethed with radioactivity, they refused (or contributed a token few dollars). Unbelievable!

Since this is history, I don't think it's a spoiler to say that the valiant battle of the brave women outlined in this story resulted in changes to the laws, and stronger safeguards for employees in the workplace.



This is a sad but fascinating story. The book is thorough, well-written, and compelling, and I'd highly recommend it to anyone interested in the subject. 

Rating: 4.5 stars