![]() The sexism that the Radium Girls faced is tragic. While we are familiar with radium poisoning, it’s not common knowledge that it took many deaths and a decade of poisoning to acknowledge it as an illness. While I could continue to go on about the Radium Girls’ story, now is a good time to point out that you won’t find this in history books. Conveniently, this only happened once a male employee of the radium firm died. After trying to keep the dangers of radium quiet, the experts finally took the case seriously. They went as far as stealing the girls’ bones, which were still traced with radium prior to autopsies. The companies tried everything to keep the girls’ stories and activism quiet. The company was trying to drag the legal battle out for that reason, forcing the girls to settle the case. However, the remaining girls had been given only four more months to live. By 1927 their case was accepted by a lawyer. They were turned down by lawyers, who didn’t believe them or thought they were silly or unprepared. Dial painters continued to be employed all over. The Radium Girls filed reports but were only accused by the president of the company of trying to get financial aid for their medical bills. The company’s solution was to discourage women from licking the paint brushes. Their bones rotted from the inside out, breaking at the touch. Over 30 more women from the same factory died. Mollie eventually died at 24, and her cause of death was listed as syphilis. ![]() As did the other girls that were painters for the factory. Mollie Maggia, whose teeth began rotting. ” They had a green shine, almost as if it was coming from their bones.īy 1922, one girl got sick. The girls were glowing after their shifts at the factory, earning the nickname of “ ghost girls. The women, however, touched and ingested the chemical for hours every day. Yet the male factory workers wore aprons and only handled radium with tongs. ” The male manager told them that it wasn’t dangerous and not to be afraid. The factory workers told them that a small amount of radium was good for them and would make them look “rosy. When they couldn’t, they would lick the end of their paintbrush, a technique that became taught and encouraged. Women were wanted for this job, especially young women, because their hands were small enough to get the numbers precise. They were painted with a new chemical, which made the watches glow so that the soldiers could see them in the dark during the war. What made the job special was that it was one of the highest-paid jobs for women. The job consisted of painting watch dial faces. An “elite” job opening appeared, specifically targeted toward women. There were women working, however, they were never offered jobs that paid well. The United States had just joined World War I. The Radium Girls were a group of women in the late 1910s-early 1920s. My mind instantly flew to the Radium Girls. The store was perfectly light, but the clock looked like it was glowing. They pointed out a clock that was bright neon green. Recently I was strolling through a store with some friends.
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