In the late 1910s, Radium was considered the ‘wonder element of the age.’ It was found in everything, from chocolate to toothpaste to cosmetics; its increased popularity was due to both its recent discovery and the fact that it was advertised as a ‘health tonic’. Where it was mostly found was in factories across the United States, where young women were hired to paint watch dials with radium paint, giving it luminous properties which were perfect for the soldiers fighting in the trenches of WW1. The girls were taught a technique called ‘lip pointing’ where they used their lips to shape the brush, and every time they consequently ingested a small amount of radium paint. Their employers assured them that it was completely safe and the radium would even improve their complexion through time.
Long story short, their employers were wrong.
You see, radium 226 has a half life of 1,600 years (meaning it takes more than 1,000 years to decay into another element). When ingested, since it has two free valence electrons just like calcium, the body mistakes it for calcium and deposits it directly into the skeleton, especially near or around the jaw. Once deposited, it releases numerous waves of alpha radiation (due to its decaying) which rip apart the surrounding tissue and crash through nearby DNA cells, essentially eating the body from the inside out.
Many workers complained of either aching and discomfort around the jaw area or a sore tooth and after brief examinations some doctors described their jaws looking as though they had been eaten by moths. Teeth began to fall out and as the symptoms intensified, portions of the jaw would start coming away without the help of any surgical tools, crumbling into dust in the doctor’s hand. This phenomenon later came to be known as ‘Radium Jaw’. Their bones became weak and soon even walking could cause them life threatening injuries. The worst part? Many women were pregnant during that time and due to the radium crossing the placental barrier easily, there were numerous miscarriages, stillbirths and babies born with severe deformities across the country.
Out of the 4000 women employed to work in radium factories at the height of its industry several hundred, if not more, had to suffer through the complications of radium poisoning, which for most was an indirect murder (both for themselves and their children). Thousands more suffered the long term effects of being exposed to radium firsthand.
When women tried to reach out for help and make their story known, companies launched massive campaigns to discredit them, prioritising their own economic interests over the lives of thousands of women and attempting to cover up the inevitable truth of workplace poisoning. This tragedy was the ignition needed for several landmark legal battles which consequently changed U.S labor laws and reformed occupational safety.
The story of the radium girls is a tragedy hidden behind falsified medical records and their company’s weak egos, who could not bear to accept the ugly truth that would bring them to their downfall.
So ladies, the next time you find yourself glowing at work: and I mean literally glowing, seek medical help, because you just might have the wrong alkaline earth metal deposited into your skeleton.
