The Radium Girls | Morbid | Podcast

When Marie and Pierre Curie discovered radium in 1898, the chemical element was quickly adopted by manufacturers for its luminescent properties that would go on to be used in, among other things, the painting of clock faces, watches, and instrument panels, allowing them to be seen in the dark. At the time, the introduction of radioluminescent materials into manufacturing was hailed as a scientific solution to an age-old frustration, but it didn’t take long before that solution was shown to have terrible consequences.
As a radioactive element, radium is highly toxic to humans, particularly when ingested or inhaled. While it seemed unlikely that anyone would ingest or inhale the radium used to paint a clockface, this fact posed a serious problem for the largely female factory workers whose job it was to paint the dials. These “Radium Girls,” as they would come to be known, not only spent most of their day in close proximity to the paint, but also employed a technique in which they frequently wet their paintbrushes with their mouths, consuming small amounts of radium in the process.
Throughout the first half of the twentieth century, hundreds of young women working in at least three radium dial factories in the United States suffered deadly radiation poisoning as a result of working so closely with radium, all without any safety protocols and completely unaware of the dangers. After dozens of deaths, a group of factory workers successfully sued their employers for damages, exposing the widespread disregard for worker safety. While the suits were generally a major victory for the American labor movement, it was ultimately hard-won and little comfort to those who would die within a few years.
Thank you to the incredible Dave White of Bring Me the Axe Podcast for research!
References
Camden Courier-Post. 1928. "Woman radium victim offers living body to aid in search for cure." Courier-Post, May 29: 1.
eGov Newswire. 2021. "Menedez leads colleagues in introducing senate resolution to honor the lives and legacy of the 'Radium Girls'." eGov Newswire, June 26.
Evening Courier. 1927. "Radium poison victims want damage suit limits raised." Evening Courier, July 19: 2.
Galant, Debbie. 1996. "Living with a radium nightmare." New York Times, September 29: NJ1.
Lang, Daniel. 1959. "A most valuable accident." New Yorker, April 24: 49.
McAndrew, Tara McClellan. 2018. The Radium Girls: An Illinois Tragedy. January 25. Accessed July 8, 2024. www.nprillinoi....
Moore, Kate. 2017. The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women. New York, NY: Sourcebooks.
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. n.d. Radium Girls: The Story of US Radium’s Superfund Site. Environmental Preservation Snapshot, Orange, NJ: New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
New York Times. 1928. "Finds no bar to suit by radium victims." New York Times, May 23: 11.
Prisco, Jacopo. 2017. "Radium Girls: The dark times of luminous watches." CNN, December 19.
United Press. 1928. "Woman, dying by degrees, tells of symptoms of radium posioning." Courier-News, May 16: 6.
-. 1928. "3 more are victims of radiun poisoning." Evening Courier, May 22: 1.
Connect with Wondery
wondery.com/shows
/ wonderymedia
/ wonderymedia
/ wonderymedia
#wondery #morbid #podcast #truecrime #truestory

[@phoenixashes0013]

The Radium Girls novel is long but absolutely worth getting absorbed in. Good balance of technical terms and telling a comprehensive story

[@LlamaLlamaMamaJamaac]

It’s one of my favorite books… but damn some of the death stories. I’d heard the story before but the detail the author went into-and how she really brought these women to life before describing some of the most horrific deaths I’ve ever heard, I was SOBBING. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing-they absolutely deserve to have their stories told! And she told them so well

[@seeitwithme1412]

Oh my god I love how Alaina told this story. I could not stop listening. Ash's comments very funny. But so sad and the pictures were so scary. This is one of favorite videos yet😢

[@LlamaLlamaMamaJamaac]

A couple years ago my daughter (who had heard parts of the book on my Audible) chose this story to do a presentation on in her science class. She asked me if anyone was ever held CRIMINALLY accountable… I was so sad to say no. Because they should have

[@AbelGomez-l7e]

“I have a new creepy story for y’all when my mom was little she would go to anson and see the lights where you park your car and see lights go by but heres the real story behind those lights”. The Anson Ghost Lights are found by turning right at Alsupps toward the graveyard just outside of town. Turn right down a dirt road that travels along the cemetery. Then, at the crossroads, turn the car around so it faces the main road, turn off the engine, and flash the headlights three times. In a few minutes, the white light slowly begins to travel down the road toward you. It sometimes sways, dances, or changes size or color. The phenomenon only happens on clear nights in warm weather. Legend has it that the lights are a ghost of an 1800s woman who lived nearby with her three boys. She sent them out to chop wood, telling them to flash the lantern three times if they had any trouble. When she saw the three flashes, she ran out, but was too late-the boys had been murdered. Now, the flashing of the headlights three times is believed to bring the spirit, hoping to find her boys.

[@bretthenry8969]

I’ve never heard this tragic piece of history. I now know where the saying “you look radiant” and “you’re glowing” comes from. Unfortunately we haven’t learned from the past. Reminds me of DuPont today. Wonderfully told by Alaina and Ash.

[@Brezzy369]

Great job!! 👍 ive heard this before but yall are the best 😘😘😘🩵🩵🩵

[@Deadweight42]

Listening to this on my night walk to get me some arazona tea slay thanks for making your podcast !

[@sashaball6298]

I was taught the radium girls in MIDDLE SCHOOL!! it was so cool

[@everythingisblahsome]

I’m convinced Botox is the new radium.

[@cheriescallan3782]

Look into the lip filler and cheek fillers women are using 😢it doesn't dissolve. It just spreads.

[@melissaking6019]

It's appalling how these women were poisoned on the job and they weren't warned of the danger. Their treatment by the corporate heads after the radium attacked their bodies is despicable. It's another example of women in the early 20th century workplace being exploited for profit and corporate greed at any cost. I hope Alaina and Ash do an episode on the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire in 1911. The lack of a moral or ethical compass by corporate greed should be taught in all schools.

[@AshleyJohnson-bh3oj]

This makes me want to rewatch the Netflix show

[@feliciacooper6263]

I wish we could watch them present the story!

[@jeannenegron2711]

What's the name of the book?

[@jeannenegron2711]

Great episode. It makes you furious! It's all about the mighty dollar.

[@jeannenegron2711]

Sorry, the all mighty. I think I was so angry listening to this episode 😢

[@jennyb2663]

A local acting group dd this play a couple years ago. I never heard about this until then 😮😭😭😭

[@KerrieKruegner]

Six hundred dollars for every year of their lives when they’re at deaths door How generous?!?!!

[@thatmombielife]

These poor ladies. How awful. 😢

[@LanaDean-m7v]

Thus is an old episode right?

[@kandyharris2195]

Were men ever hired for this job ? 🤔

[@LlamaLlamaMamaJamaac]

Not dial painting, but in the labs making the ingredients for the paint. They had lead aprons, ventilation, and porcelain tongs so they wouldn’t have to handle the element that they absolutely knew was toxic. According to Kate Moore (the author of the book) the youngest dial painter was 11 years old… these were literal girls and women in their early 20s. The work was thought to be better suited to their delicate hands and artistic aptitude and shit. 😡

[@feliciacooper6263]

The lady that lived to be 104- the radium prob killed all her cancerous tumors.. maybe…

[@GeorgianaOnline]

Zydrate comes in a little glass vial…

[@mikeoxmallasfuck]

a little glass vile?

[@DomingoJuárez-o3c]

Quero yebar este careras como 3

[@kimmoore223]

Hey I’m first

[@kimmoore223]

I’ve NEVER BEEN SO LUCKY lol I love you weirdos

[@rachjenksful]

Never been here so early 😂❤ love from Wales ladies

[@kimmoore223]

Nashville here