A Deadly Glow: The Case of the Radium Girls
Tanvir Bhamra
March 2025
Let’s set the scene:
it’s the early 1920s, the world is still at war, and industries are booming, including one that promised an ethereal glow with a brand new material–radium. Recently discovered by Marie Curie and her husband Pierre in 1898, it was quickly implemented into everyday items in society. The miracle element produced a glow that was seen as an opportunity to evolve the dials on clocks and watches, a paint mixture containing zinc sulphide and radium was made to make the hands and numbers visible in the dark. And who was responsible for applying this glow-in-the-dark magic? Young, working-class women, unaware that the very paint they handled would slowly poison them.[2]
They were employed at factories like the United States Radium Corporation (USRC), sitting in rows, carefully painting tiny numbers on the dials. At the same time, they were encouraged to practice “lip-pointing,” a technique where the tip of the paintbrush was pressed against their lips to keep the strokes fine and precise. The process would often involve the women ingesting a little of the radium-infused paint, and when concerns were brought to their supervisors about the side effects, they were met with claims of it being harmless and even beneficial to health.[2] This is something the vast majority thought as well. A small amount of radium was believed to be a miracle medicine, having been used in commercial products like facial creams and water.[1]
Radium, like all radioactive elements, emits ionizing radiation–an invisible force that can wreak havoc on the human body at a cellular level. When the Radium Girls ingested tiny amounts of radium daily through the instructed technique, the substance didn’t just pass through their bodies–it became part of them.[2] Radium behaves similarly to calcium, with the body mistaking the two and absorbing it into the bones, slowly destroying tissue from the inside out. The results were horrifying: necrosis of the jaw (deterioration of jaw bones), anemia, and cancers.[1] Even Marie Curie, the scientist who discovered radium, fell victim to its deadly effects, dying from aplastic anemia (lack of new blood cells being produced), a condition caused by prolonged exposure to radiation. At the time, little was understood about the dangers of radiation, but the tragic deaths of the Radium Girls helped expose its devastating impact.
One by one, the girls started showing symptoms and falling sick. First, it was the teeth–painfully crumbling and falling out. This was followed by aching bones, mysterious tumors, and deteriorating bodies. The USRC had known prior, maybe not to the full extent, but they at least knew radium was dangerous and had even warned their male scientists to wear protective gear while the women were left in the dark, with the only remaining light source coming from their own bodies.[3]
In 1922, Amelia (Mollie) Maggia, one of the first known victims of radium poisoning, suffered a horrific and mysterious illness that began with a toothache and quickly escalated into agonizing ulcers, bone decay, and excruciating pain. Her jaw had even fallen into her dentist’s hands with no tools needed. By September, the relentless disease had spread to her throat, causing her to die at the mere young age of 24. Her death was falsely labeled as syphilis, a misdiagnosis the company later used to discredit the growing concerns about radium’s dangers. Meanwhile, more of her colleagues including Grace Fryer were beginning to suffer similar symptoms, but their employer, the USRC, refused to take responsibility, even going as far as to fund studies that denied any link between their work and deteriorating health.[3]
Despite being dismissed and ignored, the women fought back, determined to hold the company accountable. Grace Fryer led the legal battle, securing a lawyer after years of rejections, but the statute of limitations and lack of legal recognition for radium poisoning made the case an uphill climb.[3] Eventually, in 1927, the women settled out of court, but their story gained national attention, inspiring another group of dial painters in Illinois, led by Catherine Wolfe Donohue, to continue the fight. Even as she wasted away from a massive tumor, Donohue testified from her deathbed in 1938 ultimately winning justice and helping to establish workplace safety laws that still protect workers today.[1] The Radium Girls’ suffering was immeasurable, but their bravery changed labor rights forever; Their legacy serves as a powerful reminder that perseverance and courage can ignite lasting change, ensuring safer workplaces for future generations.
References
[1] Balkansky, A. (2019, March 19). Radium Girls: Living Dead Women. Library of Congress Blogs. https://blogs.loc.gov/headlinesandheroes/2019/03/radium-girls-living-dead-women/
[2] Bryan-Quamina, G. (2023, April 11). The Radium Girls. Science Museum Group. https://blog.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/the-radium-girls/
[3] Moore, K. (2017, May 5). The Forgotten Story Of The Radium Girls, Whose Deaths Saved Thousands Of Workers’ Lives. https://www.afacwa.org/the_forgotten_story_of_the_radium_girls_whose_deaths_saved_thousands_of_workers_lives
