Tuesday, May 16, 2017

THE RADIUM GIRLS : THE DARK STORY OF AMERICA'S SHINING WOMEN
by Kate Moore

Radium used to be considered "the greatest find in history." At the beginning of the nineteenth century, scientists had discovered that it could destroy tumors. So, because radium saved lives it was assumed that it would be beneficial to health. The medical establishment was enthralled with it. Radium was claimed to cure hay fever, gout, cancer, give vitality to the elderly, and pretty much anything else. The sky was the limit. Everyone who was able wanted to be involved in some aspect of the radium craze.
America entered the war in April 1917 and dial-painting factories became vital and were in demand. Hundreds of girls were hired to paint watch faces using radium powder. They used very fine camel-hair brushes that would become gritty. In order to remedy that situation, the girls would put the brushes in their mouths. It was called lip-pointing. They were told that they had nothing to worry about, that it was neither dangerous nor harmful. The girls wore no protective gear and the radium dust was everywhere. This luminous chemical covered their bodies from head to toe and in total darkness they glowed.
By 1919 the war was over but the factories were busy as ever. The girls were still employed working as hard and as fast as they could to produce what was needed. They all loved their job until they began to not feel so good. Some mysterious illness was affecting them and both the doctors and the dentists were puzzled. Soon enough they could no longer work as their bodies deteriorated. They complained to the companies but they turned a blind eye to them saying that it was their imagination and the radium was not causing their problems. They were lying. In 1925 and 1927 the company had their doctors conduct medical tests on the girls. The results were terrifying. The girls were radioactive and were never told. While several of the girls ended up dying the strong ones held on and filed a lawsuit. Their case made history and enthralled the world.
The Radium Girls is quite a story. The author is British and she discovered these women by googling "great plays for women." Kate Moore ended up directing a play called These Shining Lives in London and realized that she had to write a book to let others know about these women who suffered so much and yet had strength and courage to keep fighting. Her research took her to the cities where the factories were. She was able to visit the homes where the girls had lived and interviewed relatives. She was lucky to find their diaries, letters, and court testimonies, plus spent days poring through microfilmed records in libraries. Kate even went to their graves.
Many people might not want to read the horrifying aspects of what happened to each and every one of these girls. It's not a pretty picture. I could not put this book down. It's definitely a page-turner and even though it can be gruesome, it's an important-read. Kate Moore was the right person to tell this story and to bring it to the forefront.
Highly recommended.