The tragic story of the 'Radium Girls' and their fight for justice

In the years leading up to World War I, radium became a popular material for use in the manufacturing of watches and other instruments that required glowing dials.

It was applied to the dials by a technique known as "lip-pointing". To do this, the women used small brushes to apply the radium-laced paint to the dials.

In particular, the women were instructed to use their lips to shape the brush into a point.

As a tragic result, they ingested small amounts of radium with each stroke.

At the time, radium was believed to have numerous health benefits, and it was widely touted as a cure for various ailments.

However, it was also highly radioactive, and the women who worked with it began to suffer from a variety of health problems.

This included severe anemia, bone fractures, and cancer.

Despite the mounting evidence that radium was dangerous, the companies that employed the women continued to downplay the risks and refused to take any meaningful steps to protect their workers.

In fact, they actively misled the women about the dangers of the substance.

Instead, they assured them that it was completely safe.

As the health problems of the radium girls became more severe, they began to organize and fight back.

Specifically, they formed a group known as the Radium Girls' Club. Together, they worked tirelessly to raise awareness about the dangers of radium and to demand justice for the harm that had been done to them.

Their efforts finally paid off in 1927, when a group of five of the women sued their former employer, the United States Radium Corporation, for damages.

The case received national attention, and the women became known as the "Radium Girls" in the press.

The trial was a long. It took about three years, since it took two years to find an attorney willing to take the case.

However, the women finally won in 1928. The court awarded them a settlement of $10,000 each, which was a significant amount of money at the time.

But more importantly, the case also helped to raise awareness about the dangers of radium.

It would also spur the development of safety standards in the workplace.

Sadly, many of the radium girls did not live to see justice done. By the time the case was settled, many of them had already succumbed to the ravages of radium poisoning.

However, their fight for justice inspired countless others, and it helped to lay the groundwork for the modern labor and workplace safety movements.

Today, their story serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of fighting for justice and standing up to powerful corporations that put profit ahead of human lives.

Their bravery and determination continue to inspire generations of activists and advocates who work to protect the rights and safety of workers everywhere.