Episode 5: Radium Girls Part 1

The Bygone Society Show

There was a time, exactly 100 years ago, when the naturally occurring radioactive metal — radium — was thought to be a medical marvel that promised restored health, the eradication of cancer and a youthful glow to boot.

Its safety was tested by scientists, its use cases vouched and recommended by doctors. And yet nothing could have been further from the truth.

Today’s story is a cautionary tale against “the end-all and be-all cure.” It shines a light on corporate greed, and exposes the dangers in blind trust.

It’s a tale as old as time. And yet, we still find ourselves trusting, believing. Maybe because it’s easier to believe stories that make you feel safe.

This is not that story.

I’m Kate Naglieri. Welcome to The Bygone Society Show.

Show notes:
The Radium Girls: And Illinois Tragedy
https://www.nprillinois.org/equity-justice/2018-01-25/the-radium-girls-an-illinois-tragedy

Brittanica (radium chemical element)
https://www.britannica.com/science/radium

The Radium Girls: A Tale of Workplace Safety
https://sites.law.duq.edu/juris/2019/12/01/the-radium-girls-a-tale-of-workplace-safety/

The National Bureau of Standards and the Radium Dial Painters
https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/jres/126/jres.126.051.pdf

Mae Keane, One of the Last Radium 'Radium Girls' Dies at 107
https://www.npr.org/2014/12/28/373510029/saved-by-a-bad-taste-one-of-the-last-radium-girls-dies-at-107

Radium City documentary (available on Vimeo)

Washington State Department of Health – Office of Radiation Protection - Radium-226 (Ra-226) Fact Sheet

The Hartford Republican news clipping (1926)
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86069313/1920-10-22/ed-1/seq-3/#words=Radium%2B%2Bradium%2B%2Bradium%2B

Research, writing and hosting by Kate Naglieri
Production and sound by Jamie Eichhorn
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