Radium Girls

A short clip of the documentary Radium City

[@KarbineKyle]

I collect radioactive sources, and I have A LOT of them. I always use a Geiger-Müller counter. I have many sources that contain Ra-226. I wouldn't be surprised if at least one of my many Ra-226 doped instruments were made by one of the Radium Girls. Some of them still glow, quite faintly, in the pitch dark. It's really cool, yet really eerie at the same time. Radium is TENORN (Technologically Enhanced Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material). It's nothing to mess around with. It's in group 2 on the periodic table, so it's chemically similar to calcium. That's why it can be so dangerous. Exposure from old instruments, especially if they're sealed don't pose much danger. However, getting Ra-226 inside of you, especially via inhalation is the most dangerous route, since it emits alpha particles (helium-4 nuclei). Alpha radiation is harmless externally, but internally, it's 20X more dangerous than beta (electrons) and gamma/X-radiation (photons). Alpha has a Q-factor of 20. And alpha, beta, and gamma radiation is also emitted from the many short-lived decay isotopes of Ra-226, too. It's horrible, because the corporations knew, but didn't care. No ethical standards or regard for human life whatsoever. Just greed. They could've taken proper precautions, and prevented this, but they didn't, because money.

[@aragontwinkll1107]

They didnt cause they didnt know u idiot keep collecting

[@sunnydayzie1202]

@@aragontwinkll1107 wrong. They did know

[@giannamarie3097]

@@aragontwinkll1107 They were 100% fucking aware dumb ass.

[@lillianhudson5695]

@@aragontwinkll1107 they were fully aware and the radium in the items he/she collects are sealed therefore it's safe to collect 🤷‍♀️ who's the idiot??

[@TechReviewTom]

aragon twinkll how is he an idiot when he clearly displays intelligence and all youve done is communicate criticism.

[@livesmart9481]

Because of these girls, today we have laws to protect us at work place.

[@sampielouw]

Heroes and I don't mean Marvel

[@sonnynelson131]

And the triangle shirtwaist fire

[@saraghhh]

Except now company owners are skirting these laws by opening up factories in countries where they don’t exist. The same thing is still being perpetrated by Americans, just largely in other countries.

[@1974dormouse]

lol that’s a good one

[@Katherine_xs]

👏🏼👏🏼

[@wk1810]

The last surviving Radium Girl died in 2014 at the age of 102 or 107. She had worked only 1 month at the factory, yet suffered her entire life from various illnesses and several cancers.

[@ljmcdonald2703]

Wow that's amazing she lived to her 100s shame about the many afflictions she had endured because of radium exposure

[@justmedonnamarie7753]

I read that she only worked for a week because she was fired after refusing to put the brush in her mouth.

[@daisy_11.11]

@@justmedonnamarie7753 yes one week

[@Catsss1017]

I thought she worked for one week for a refusing to put radium in her mouth which mean she didn’t really suffer from radium

[@christinarodriguez7843]

She was one of the last living girls but not the last. Google it

[@melloangelwolf8611]

Between radium, dutch boy lead paint, arsenic wallpaper its a question how anyone even survived this era

[@defaultusername123]

Asbestos, leaded gasoline, DDT, so much crazy nasty stuff back then boy. Really is amazing how so many survived “unscathed”

[@jamelljones5639]

It is such a shame that none of them knew they unwittingly poison themselves by believing their employer told them the product was safe.

[@moonwalkerangel7008]

Well Radium was used in a lot of products but then and many people thought it had health benefits. This was before we knew about the real dangers of radioactivity.

[@demsakawalkinglatetermabor7ion]

Look up the history of mercury use and those who worked with it getting mad hatter disease, Danbury shakes et cetera. It affected millions and was used for centuries.

[@terrallputnam7979]

I worked on a Radium Dial Inc. Clean up in 1985. The plant had closed in the late 1970s. The ladies went home for Christmas and when they returned to work in January, the plant was closed, locked and posted keep out. Some of the ladies that worked in the plant came and talked with us about the plant while we performed radiation surveys on the walls. The plant was decontaminated and torn down and all the waste was packaged and shipped to Washington, State for burial. HBO supposedly filmed a special with us dressed out in Respirators and paper suits cleaning up the place. The entire town was contaminated including rooftops, gutters and sewers. Too Sad! R.I.P. Radium Girls

[@argentosebastian]

What is the procedure for decontamination?

[@donalumani9801]

The one in Connecticut is still standing

[@michelledavis6271]

@@donalumani9801 they shipped the soil to indiana

[@noorrougelewis6704]

I can't believe they remained open all the way into the 70's

[@c1oudsky]

i imagine it'd be pretty scary to return to your work after holidays to see it all closed down, with keep out sings that say the territory is highly dangerous to visit. And remember yourself going in there daily in regular clothes.

[@HelcaraxeUlairi]

Wow, I just finished the Radium Girls book. Seeing Peg's family, hearing their stories about her and Chuck and his wagon. It's incredible to hear this and to see them.

[@ki162]

Our high school just performed the Radium Girls play. It is a heart wrenching story, but I would recommend any high school theater perform this one.

[@brenmanock]

These poor girls dying before their time. 😢 I’m so sorry. My moms era.

[@centerfold8]

How sad her sister died and they couldn’t even speak out then. So many lives stolen

[@donaldopajcini]

The fact that that company not only told the workers radium was good for a lot of different things. But also the people buying the products. Its shocking how long it took before anything was done. And how little they paid these workers. This factory didn't care about the workers at all. But also at the same time if I had worked there I wouldn't ever put anything glowing in my mouth or body.

[@kristiskinner8542]

How little? That pay wasnt considered that "little" back then. The lady even said she went from $5 at the store she worked at all the way up to $17.50 at the factory. It wasnt just that company either. Radium water was a patented medicine a "healing tonic", a real energy drink in the early 1900s & was available for at least a decade or so before it was pulled from the market. We consume small amounts of radium everytime we eat bananas, avocados, broccoli etc. Potassium naturally has a small amount of radioactive element. Same as with some fruits/juices like apples & grapes we injest small amounts of arsenic that occurs naturally in the soil that gets absorbed. And no factory or really any other type of business cares that much about its employees- (especially not when it comes to profits) no matter what type of public image they try to portray. And we're talking the first half of the 20th century. Hell child labor laws werent even enacted until 1938 & this was a entry level job that required no education, specialized training etc. That would have been a dream job for some women in that day & age

[@toastedtarts4044]

Since we know about radioactivity now, i feel like it’s easy to say that, but back then they didn’t know

[@pamelaclary6805]

That ending of your comment is easy said now that you've learned the outcome for those women.

[@debbieflaherty1975]

The lucky ones were “dismissed”.

[@incredingo]

when i was a kid in the 60's most wrist watches still used it around the dial. i might even still have a couple of those in the house somewhere. they were made using safer methods then but still available until nearly 70's. alarm clocks usually had the marks on the dials with it

[@kristiskinner8542]

I was a kid in the 80s, but I remember my grandparents had some of those little clocks with the glowing dials

[@kayekaye7930]

Yeah, I was born in the 60's. We had alarm clocks that would glow in the dark. I remember one breaking and I touched all the greenish paint,...it always facinated me as a child.

[@mohsinkhan3688]

Hi sir

[@kayleeg1019]

Damn, this is a cruel world...

[@bender7565]

It was the 80's, no internet and I read every book I could find on the Radium Girls, both of them. Amazing history here, nice avatar.

[@libertyann439]

Wow I never knew there were survivors.

[@Arieswithhydrocephalus]

The last died in the past 10 years and was over 100 years old

[@prolefeed9371]

One woman was over 100 but she had suffered many health problems. And she had only worked at the factory a day or two!

[@ashchan30]

Me neither

[@joes.4149]

Yup the radium helped them live past 100.

[@lauriehollister9428]

The hell these ladies went through. Its disgusting

[@EJ-dz6gd]

Ammunition factory workers in WWI were mixing nitroglycerin and cotton with their bare hands. Famously known as the canary girls - HM Gretna was the largest factory which stretched 9 miles . Any errors such as dropping a hair pin could cause them to blow themselves up. They didn’t know the dangers and like radium caused teeth to fall out and severe hair loss.

[@AnnaHerrick]

I am a baby boomer and everyone needs to see this video!

[@AnnaHerrick]

Night Slasher I take no offense. I am proud of who I am and my age shows only experience! No way close to senile!

[@irishcountrygirl78]

@@koralina6610 l bet you say that to everyone, even kids. Saying it to an actual Boomer doesn't make it sound any more intelligent. Go Tik Tok, this docu is for grown ups 👍

[@annamaemadison8534]

Ok boomer

[@annamaemadison8534]

The movie came out 2 years ago idk why they posted the trailers now?

[@justarandomsovietofficerwi2023]

Your generation is responsible for this.

[@elizabethchristine6413]

Just starting reading the book. This is nuts

[@kg89808]

I just finished reading it. Just terrible! Watch a doc on Netflix called The Bleeding Edge. $$$$ supercedes human life back then and sadly it's still going on today. Humanity is going down the drain.

[@UnDark1]

kg 808 - Just read the book as well. I grew up in West Orange and heard stories about the superfund sites and the dial workers but never delved deeper. Now I know why they used to stress that everyone have a Radon detector and people should stay out of Orange. Turns out the old Radithor building is right across from the Orange public library. And the USRC factory is now a public park.

[@imenea7520]

@@kg89808 Thanks for the reference, I'll defo check it out.

[@killingeve5]

What’s the book called

[@CalmKit]

UnDark thé site in Orange, NJ is still vacant. Finally declared clean by the EPA in 2006. But they are still monitoring the ground water there. The factory closed in 1926.

[@armedgunman8988]

These old footage with the old hissing sound coming out of it is creepy enough in itself.

[@katieg213]

Lol right

[@Angell_Lee]

Heart breaking

[@purpledancer4914]

We never know, we went to school and worked in asbestos schools and lead water fountains.

[@estrellarodriguez7154]

@@purpledancer4914 Unfortunately, many still go to schools with leaded pipes and absestos :(

[@joes.4149]

They reached 100 years like the radium dealers promised 😮

[@crystalitogallo]

Cover-ups, denial, people getting hurt on purpose because there's money involved, lies. Sounds like now.

[@jesuscadena5673]

These women were spared not like other unfortunate beautiful women that endured so much pain

[@dauraktv]

A lot of men are like that dad. Work hard to help a loved one but end up giving up through lack of perseverance and the daily duties of life. I hope to never be like that. Put the loved ones first, and do anything to make it happen. I wish he had tried harder.

[@TheXone7]

God bless the souls of those girls. I hope they are all in Heaven now.

[@wk1810]

17$ a week? when she was making 5$ at the shop? I guess she didn't think that was odd, nor when she saw (or heard of) the men deliver the radium wearing hasmet (I think that's what they're called) suits.

[@DeeRio9546]

You have to remember it was WW1 people were in poverty, most jobs outside of factory jobs or this weren't guaranteed. That extra $12 provided savings and security. Many people used that extra money for extra food or to take care of family who lost their jobs.

[@wk1810]

@@DeeRio9546 sad, wasn't it, how most were exploited during that time? Shame on those who were part of the cover-up (doctors, lawyers, management, etc)! When my mother was 14 (1944), her mother forced her to get work ("get a job or don't come home!" were her mother's words to her). Well, she started applying at the factories and at one place the manager wanted her to take her blouse off for a "physical check-up". She said "no, thank you" and walked out. She told me she was afraid to go home and tell her mother she hadn't found a job, but was more afraid of being raped. Anyway, she did find a job at another factory. Actually, I believe that's where she met my father in 1949.

[@aleckcain4142]

Hazmat=hazardous material

[@nameunknown007]

Yes, it is sad what happened to these girls. But what I don't understand is - they sold these products to Navy etc government agencies. That means they clearly didn't know the side-effects. Like how can they fool government agencies, god! That means even government agencies didn't care? Did they really deliver the radium wearing hazmat suits I wonder. In another video it seems they only started investigating when one of the men got serious symptoms, up until then these girls were just disposable.

[@giusvablacxshirt3939]

@@nameunknown007 nahhh the effect of the product were known to the Radium Corp. But the way it was used on the products wasnt THAT dangerous for the customers. Usually they painted numbers on clocks, watches, alarms and other mechanical devices, so the customers body wasnt fully exposed to the radium. But the girls were handling it fresh, touching it, ingesting it, inhaling it(one of the most short term toxic ways to assimilate it). The " safe " radium exposure is 1 microcurie per year, the girls were exposed to 1000 per year, and the ones that was using it as make up even more.

[@mariannemarkus]

Omg amazing story 💕

[@iquitnonewnamesleft2774]

This is so sad.

[@pattskatoey3139]

I wish you had the full documentary of this.It is the only one I’ve watched where those who worked there talk about it. I’d like to dip all of those who knew about it’s affects and did not warn those young ladies into a vat of radium.

[@matthewfarmer6830]

I saw the movie that was base on them girls on Netflix. Good story/documentary.

[@DallasCityGurl]

What I cannot understand is why they wanted the women to wet the paint brushes in their mouth instead of using a wet sponge or rag? Even when the company suspected the paint was toxic radioactive.

[@astra9150]

Pretty sure that saved them from wasting radium which cost the company money. I read the book, they tried using other methods but saw they were losing money and told the girls to go back to putting it in their mouths. Of course, when the lawsuits started coming in, they pretended as if they told the girls not to put the brushes in their mouths and they refused to listen.

[@morganthompson-reid2948]

I feel like you started this account soley to share this video. Thank you.

[@johnrichards8846]

Where can I find the whole documentary Radium City from 1987? Can someone tell me where to find it or upload it

[@NUTTER8291]

So sad RIP lady's xx

[@MyPhone-od4kd]

this only shows even how rich you are justice will always come and get you

[@johnrichards8846]

Where can I get the whole documentary?

[@johnrichards8846]

Can someone upload the documentary Radium City or tell me the link?

[@BeanieScooter]

Where do the writings on the KZbin videos come from??? Most of the words don't match what is actually said. Ugh

[@dauraktv]

Makes you wonder about pesticide. The old stuff that is now illegal would last for years and years in a river of moving water. The current stuff lasts for months…. What does exposure it to do to us?

[@leahdivergent]

Roundup. It's everywhere that is causes cancer

[@jessicanoneyah9938]

Capitalism at its finest. Money over people every time.

[@InkanSpider]

Money sure fucked up their health, but they were paid about three times as much as they would have been in a normal factory. You gain some and you lose some

[@MaryJane-bz5zq]

@@InkanSpider Tons of stupid people, yet rarely I read something that dumb. Use your brain next time my dude.

[@Beeaaa08]

@@MaryJane-bz5zq right. What an incredibly ignorant thing to say.

[@MarttiSuomivuori]

Let's imagine that there was no radiation disease in the Soviet Union or Communist China. Let's dream and believe.

[@tball5677]

Easy snowflake

[@Emil-lf3no]

for what she was exposed to she looked rather healthy

[@CalmKit]

Emil98 her face has an odd configuration probably due to radium

[@muckinyoface]

Emil98 with the shortened proportion of her chin and jawline, it’s a safe bet that she suffered from ‘radium jaw‘ and lost a significant amount of bone mass in that area.

[@susanlloyd7395]

Look at her jaw

[@roadmaster720]

@@CalmKit i seen that also.the radium no doubt caused her some lost bone mass in her jaws and face. mrs. rossitier looked like her eyes were dark also.

[@CalmKit]

History of worker protection in the US: eh.net/encyclopedia/history-of-workplace-safety-in-the-united-states-1880-1970/

[@Shelilah41]

So sad 😞

[@glorygracek.1841]

You know, the sad part is....in a way this is still happening now. And Doctors are still lying about stuff. And like the one doctor sais to the father, some doctors speak out and either lose their job, or get bullied and stalked, called liers etc. And most people still follow whatever they say without questions, because they say everthing is ok.

[@jaydipbiswas4387]

Where can I find this documentary?

[@johnrichards8846]

Did you ever find the whole documentary Radium City from 1987?

[@ValleyoftheRogue]

Vimeo has it for sale ($1.99) or for rent (99 cents). The filmmakers have it there to view. Years ago, it was on KZbin for free, but not anymore.

[@Sweetpinkkittennn]

Does this radium powder still exists?

[@BetsyH]

I have a clock that is painted with radium. It's sealed very well and none of the radium has come off, still not happy having it and will find a place to dispose of it carefully.

[@tiffanyvarelli8834]

Keep it for the memory of these women & so their story can remain to be told with the evidence

[@leahdivergent]

You want to sell it?

[@maxmedema]

Which of the girls is this?

[@AnitaLauren]

Yes i would love to know as well

[@Lisa_In_Canada]

The girl in the photo, in the white dress w Chuck was Peg Looney. The photo is also in the book Radium Girls :)

[@bekahbrooks9010]

This is just a snippet of a documentary you can find on KZbin called Radium Girls

[@brynn2653]

Marie Becker Rossiter is the woman being interviewed.

[@TheDarkDutchman]

@@bekahbrooks9010 Do you have Link to the precise video? Because there are a lot of them and most a really bad in different ways.

[@hydrolito]

Another similar case in video The Goiania Tragedy.

[@joannhopkins1396]

What a sad ...ugly....heart breaking BS is this ! Im so sorry ! ! !

[@nileist6666]

???? Why are you sorry? Did you have any involvement??? Fake pity

[@jimmyjames6566]

Seems to show how corrupt business are..Even now

[@thefrustratedneetaspirant7777]

I know this is dangerous but I want to try that radiating look once in my life ....is their any safe way to do it?

[@donalumani9801]

Try it go ahead lol you will be missing a jaw buddy

[@katieg213]

Look into SFX makeup. I'm sure there's glow in the dark crap that won't make you lose your lower jaw lol

[@moonwalkerangel7008]

UV/black light/ Glow in the dark face paints. Kat Sketch did a make up look inspired by the Radium girls with the glow in the dark paint.

[@The_Man_Who_Sold_the_World.]

@@donalumani9801 bet

[@tinachandler3091]

You can tell the damage she has on her jaw and face

[@ValleyoftheRogue]

Wrong. There is little wrong with her face and jaw. You haven't seen the movie. Her legs were all but destroyed as a result of radium exposure.

[@tinachandler3091]

@@ValleyoftheRogue I’ve seen X-rays and the sample of the reconstruction of the jaw. I know that the legs and hips were literally eaten away. What horrible pain

[@ValleyoftheRogue]

You have seen her x-rays? I doubt it. How did you get them? I have my doubts you have seen them. It was her legs, not her jaw, that were destroyed. You don't want to admit you didn't see Radium City. Almost nobody here saw that film. Her face was relatively undamaged. She was in her eighties, for crying out loud, so of course her face would change as she aged. Marie Rossiter had one of her legs amputated not long before she died, and a steel bar placed in the other one. They weren't "eaten away" but swollen almost beyond recognition.

[@tinachandler3091]

@@ValleyoftheRogue i was just speaking of the image and the actual replica of the jaw pieces in one of these medical museums, I forget which one.. I did read the book, if I got the person wrong, then sorry. If you went to any kind of medical or nursing school this is part of the studies into OSHA

[@Carterofmars]

Very, very sad.

[@user-lg6cv5to2h]

So sad what happened to these woman😢

[@emily-clark]

Jesus Christ !!!

[@nichellecross20]

This broke my heart

[@dauraktv]

Covid was quite annoying, but seeing this makes me glad we were all overly safe(whether or not it is what it is)

[@anzajamaa5001]

Yet people took experimental vaccine that has not been tested properly and are used a trial guinea pig with no right to sue the manufacturer. Sounds familiar ?

[@SantaFishes101]

when the people in the comments are pointing out her chin...and ur chin looks like that naturally :P ... this is so messed up, though. always question when things don't add up...it's incredible the evil that money can inspire. :(

[@CalmKit]

You knew her?

[@CalmKit]

The first part of the comment made an assumption that was her natural jaw....look at her early pictures...her jaw looked nothing like that naturally.

[@ValleyoftheRogue]

It is not Marie's chin or jaw that was affected-it was her legs which were completely destroyed because of cancer. Her deformed legs are revealed later in the film when she is filmed in long shot. I was amazed they were not amputated.

[@ValleyoftheRogue]

@@CalmKit Her jaw was okay. It was her legs that were basically destroyed. It is shocking to see.

[@debbieflaherty1975]

Were their children born with any issues?

[@moonwalkerangel7008]

I am not sure, usually exposure to Radium or any radioactive elements especially in large doses can cause sterilisation and infertility. Then again Marie Sklodowska Curie and Pierre Curie had two children so I am not sure.

[@ValleyoftheRogue]

It is in the documentary.

[@ljmcdonald2703]

Charlotte Nevins- Purcell one of the girls had a baby who was born weighing just 2 1/2 lbs

[@nicolaspadron3167]

Greed. Like cigarettes.

[@moonwalkerangel7008]

Well cigarettes don't just contain toxic chemicals. They also contain a radioactive elements. Polonium.

[@cornellynch730]

At least they still alive

[@MOONSLIFE36]

Was going to be married in June but died in Aug before the month of June. Huh ?????

[@emilyh5553]

Probably June of the following year.

[@PandoraBellitate]

Definitely June of the following year. Wasn't this obvious?

[@simply_sarah04]

She says 'the following June' 😉

[@katieg213]

Most engagements last a full year in order to have plenty of time for the dress and all that.

[@ED80s]

June of the following year

[@lynnlegault9297]

Terrible....horrific

[@Malu-gu5rm]

0:25 1:46 3:32 5:05

[@USMCSDI]

I used to eat asbestos when I was a kid and I made it