topic Re: The Radium Girls: in Wellness

The Radium Girls:

SXMGirl — Sun, 18 Aug 2019 16:40:40 GMT

America's Darkest Lost Secret In History.

If you get an opportunity, this is an excellent, scary, and maddening account of what happened to many of our young women who worked in the radium factory in NJ during WWI. Saw this on FB and was published through Science 101. This was the first case where the courts held a company responsbile for the health of their employees. Eye-opening.

Re: The Radium Girls:

proudlyfromNJ — Sun, 18 Aug 2019 16:48:50 GMT

@SXMGirl wrote:
America's Darkest Lost Secret In History.

If you get an opportunity, this is an excellent, scary, and maddening account of what happened to many of our young women who worked in the radium factory in NJ during WWI. Saw this on FB and was published through Science 101. This was the first case where the courts held a company responsbile for the health of their employees. Eye-opening.

@SXMGirl. Yes, I’ve read about this. Horrible

Re: The Radium Girls:

Nightowlz — Sun, 18 Aug 2019 16:49:38 GMT

I had never heard of them until I saw a documentary on TV about them.

How awful they did not know the harm it would cause. They painted their nails, face etc with it. Can't believe the Chemists did not tell them.

Re: The Radium Girls:

patbz — Sun, 18 Aug 2019 17:25:24 GMT

I read this book last year and found it very informative. Probably around 1950, as a child I remember my Dad talking about the danger of radium poisoning to "diall painters" ( not only was it dangerous but the common practice of licking the tip of the tiny paint brushes to make perfect numbers didn't help).

Re: The Radium Girls:

tucsongal — Sun, 18 Aug 2019 17:31:27 GMT

I would also recommend “Code Girls” and The Hello Girls”. The authors of all three books were at our book festival a year or two ago, it was very interesting to hear them.

Re: The Radium Girls:

spiderw — Sun, 18 Aug 2019 17:43:26 GMT

A friend recommended Radium Girls and I have it on my book list. I know it will most likely anger me as I believe this type of situation happened a heck of a lot and much hidden from the public. So much comes to light after the damage is done and then it becomes a fight to hold those involved accountable and be punished.

Re: The Radium Girls:

akaburtonfan — Mon, 19 Aug 2019 01:38:15 GMT

I recently read the book The Radium Girls. It was horrifying to read what these girls went through because of corporate greed. By the end of the book I was very angry.

It a well written book and I highly recommend reading it.

Re: The Radium Girls:

DrKelli — Mon, 19 Aug 2019 13:18:07 GMT

This book was so good. I actually used it for research when I was doing my doctoral dissertation.

Re: The Radium Girls:

sfnative — Mon, 19 Aug 2019 22:19:19 GMT

Yes, indeed. Also, for those who might wish to take a different look at things, though made decades ago, the movie, "Madame Curie," is a good watch. Though TCM hasn't shown it in a while, it may be on their 'Watch List."

Coming at things from a different angle, the largest of my surgical training facilities, spends about 50% of it's time training ortho Residents and 30% combo of general surgery/anesthesiology Residents, which nearly always requires the use of fluoroscopy or C-arms. Most of the time we used large C-arms, but with ortho upper extremety work, small C-arms were brought in. Though we had lead (aprons) for all to wear, I recall the Head of Hand once saying, half jokingly, that they were all going to die of leukemia. I spoke to him after one particularly brutal 4 hour training in order for him to explain his remark. Seems they just don't don lead all the time. Period. This means they're knowingly exposing themselves to ionizing radiation almost on a daily basis. Well, I had a meeting with my staff to insure that everyone in our spaces dons lead whether they like it or not. And, guess what, some of the docs from ortho did complain! Geez!

Re: The Radium Girls:

Sooner — Tue, 20 Aug 2019 03:37:48 GMT

Any guesses what people won't be able to understand what we used 50 years from now?

One of my big guesses is things in makeup. Like the lead powder that was used by Queen Elizabeth 1 (I think it was her--one of the Queens).

Re: The Radium Girls:

DrKelli — Tue, 20 Aug 2019 14:29:56 GMT

@sfnative , I had to have a nuclear medicine test when I was having gall bladder problems and I noticed the tech didn't even have a dosimeter (I had worked at a nuclear defense plant for many years) and he said 'Oh yeah, I forgot it today". I almost fell off the table.

Re: The Radium Girls:

twinkies — Thu, 22 Aug 2019 19:44:41 GMT

I am also reading this book . It is so interesting and yet scary . Just to think their lives meant nothing to the corporation they worked for scaresme . Yes it is about corporate greed , Those brave girls who endured the fatal illnesses and yet fought for their rights . Just think of all the pilots who were exposed to radium painted dials in the plnes so they could see them in the dark flying at night. .The ships at war and on the ocean depended on radium painted directional dials and monitors lit up by radium paint . I am sure that at flea markets you can still find old watches the light up florescent green. Do you remember those? We did not know how dangerous that was then .

cathy from ma