It’s not uncommon to refer to women who appear vivaciously full of life as having a glow about them. For the nearly 300 women who worked for the United States Radium Corporation in the years before, during and after World War I, they literally did glow in the dark after their shifts painting watches and military clock dials. Without exception, these women were told that the recently discovered element of radium was safe and harmless. The women didn’t seem to mind the work: On Fridays, some wore ball gowns to their shifts so they could glitter at weekend dances, while others sprinkled the glowing green paint in their hair, painted their nails and even brushed their teeth with the radioactive material.
When the first factory women started dying, no one believed radium was the cause, despite the fact that by the early 1920s, dozens of these young women workers had developed enormous tumors and a complete disintegration of their teeth and jaws. For decades, the women fought against the financial and corporate powers of the United States Radium Corporation, earning little compensation for their illnesses and even less justice for their suffering. In the end, however, their persistence led to the establishment of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which now operates nationally in the United States to protect workers.
Author Kate Moore, who chronicles the lives of The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women in her New York Times bestselling book, will speak at a ticketed event at Lynden Sculpture Garden at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 11. More information can be found at boswellbooks.com.
Stay on top of the news of the day
Subscribe to our free, daily e-newsletter to get Milwaukee's latest local news, restaurants, music, arts and entertainment and events delivered right to your inbox every weekday, plus a bonus Week in Review email on Saturdays.
