Radium Girls: The Women Who Changed U.S. Workplace Safety

Have you heard of the Radium Girls? Their fight for justice wasn’t just about saving their own lives—it changed labor laws across the United States. In this story, we’ll dive into their history, the hardships they endured, the legal battles they fought, and how their courage led to safer workplaces for generations.

This remarkable tale was recently brought to light by a scientist on Instagram who decoded the full story, reminding us of the bravery of these young women who stood up against powerful industries.

Radium: The Wonder Element

In the early 1920s, radium was considered a wonder element. It appeared in everything—in toothpaste, paints, and even advertised as a health tonic. Why? For its glowing, warming properties and its reputation as a miraculous cure for cancer.

Its popularity quickly found a commercial use in luminous watches, especially during wartime. By 1917, factories in America began producing military watches and hired young women to paint the tiny numbers on the dials.

To get a fine point, they were instructed to put the radium-filled paintbrush in their mouths. Over time, the fine dust from the paint clung to their hair, clothes, and skin—making them glow faintly in the dark.

Soon, they became known as the “ghost girls.” Many wore their best clothes so they would shine brighter after work, and some even applied the paint to their teeth for extra sparkle. All the while, they had no idea of the dangerous effects this radioactive substance would have on their bodies.

Silent Suffering: The Toll of Radium Exposure

With every use of the “lip-pointing” technique, the women unknowingly swallowed tiny amounts of radium paint. Employers assured them it was perfectly safe—some even claimed it was good for their health and skin. In reality, the element they were ingesting was slowly poisoning their bodies.

Once ingested, radium is biochemically mistaken for calcium by the body due to their similar chemical properties, particularly their shared divalent cationic nature (both possessing two valence electrons). As a result, radium is incorporated into bone tissue, leading to internal radiation exposure and cumulative cellular damage. Once embedded, the radium releases alpha radiation, damaging nearby cells and altering DNA.

Over time, factory workers began complaining of jaw pain and discomfort in their mouths, which left doctors puzzled. It didn’t stop there—teeth began loosening and falling out, leaving behind pieces of bone that looked as if they’d been eaten by moths. The condition became so common among the dial painters that it was later known as “radium jaw.”

The situation grew worse when jaws started breaking away even without surgical tools. Their bones became so fragile that even standing became difficult; in some cases, their own body weight caused fractures. Some accounts even suggest their bodies faintly glowed in the dark because of the radium embedded in their bones.

Health problems didn’t end with the bones. Many women were pregnant during their time at the factories, and radium easily crossed the placental barrier. This led to a heartbreaking increase in miscarriages, stillbirths, and in some cases, babies born with severe deformities. Out of the nearly 4,000 women employed across all the radium dial factories, many suffered life‑long health complications—even if symptoms took years to appear.

Amelia Maggia was the first woman to show these symptoms. She worked for the Radium Luminous Materials Corporation (later renamed United States Radium Corporation) in Orange, New Jersey. What began as a simple toothache soon progressed into painful ulcers, bleeding, and pus. The infection spread to other parts of her body, ultimately leading to her death on September 12, 1922, from a massive hemorrhage.

Her case drew attention to the devastating effects of radium exposure.

Facing the Giants: The Battle Against Corporate Denial

At the time of Amelia Maggia’s death, doctors couldn’t determine the exact cause and concluded she had died of syphilis. As more women came forward with similar illnesses, suspicion grew. The employers, however, strongly denied any connection between these deaths and their work.

Rather than accept responsibility, the companies launched a massive campaign to discredit the women, blaming their illnesses on “loose morals” rather than radium poisoning. They even falsified medical records and altered reports to protect their reputation.

The controversy eventually damaged business, pushing the United States Radium Corporation to commission an independent study. The findings confirmed that the dial painters had indeed died due to radium exposure. Still refusing to accept the results, the company funded more research—this time producing the opposite conclusion, assuring the public that radium was safe.

A turning point came in 1925 when pathologist Harrison Martland developed a test proving conclusively that radium was poisoning the women from the inside out. Fearing the consequences, the industry tried to discredit Martland’s findings—but this time, the women refused to remain silent, sparking a fight that would soon make history.

They knew their days were numbered, but they wanted to protect others still working with the deadly substance. One of the most determined among them was Grace Fryer, a former dial painter who spent years searching for justice. Despite her worsening health, Grace tirelessly looked for a lawyer willing to challenge the powerful corporation. In 1927, she was joined by four other women—together, they became the original “Radium Girls” who filed a lawsuit against the United States Radium Corporation.

Landmark Legal Battle

After years of effort, Grace finally secured attorney Raymond Berry, who agreed to represent the group—setting the stage for a landmark legal battle. Although the women were gravely ill and had only months to live, they pushed forward—attending court hearings despite their deteriorating health. Public sympathy grew as their testimony revealed the harsh reality of working conditions. Pressured by time, they agreed to an out‑of‑court settlement, but their case set a precedent and made headlines across the world.

The settlement may have brought attention to their plight, but it didn’t end the fight. Even after all this, the United States Radium Corporation continued to deny responsibility. The women refused to back down. Finally, in 1938, a dying radium worker named Catherine Wolfe Donohue succeeded in suing the Radium Dial Corporation over her illness—bringing the long battle to an end.

Legacy of the Radium Girls

The courage of the Radium Girls went far beyond their own lives. Their fight forced companies to improve workplace safety standards and acknowledge the dangers of industrial toxins. The case became one of the first in U.S. history where employers were held legally responsible for worker safety.

Their legal battle laid the groundwork for stronger labor protections, influencing future workplace safety laws. Decades later, their story inspired the formation of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in 1971, ensuring safe working conditions for millions of workers.

The Radium Girls knew they might not survive their own illnesses, but their determination changed the lives of generations to come.

References:

1. BM Coursey et al., “The National Bureau of Standards and the Radium Dial Painters,” PMC, 2022, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10046820/.

2. Laura Lee Carter, “The Radium Girls: How the Courage of 5 Poisoned Women Helped Shape American Labor Laws,” HistoryNet, September 10 2018 (accessed July 2025), https://www.historynet.com/radium-girls-vs-us-radium/.

3. Versant Physics, “What the Radium Girls Taught Us About Radiation Safety,” July 29 2022, https://www.versantphysics.com/2022/07/29/what-the-radium-girls-taught-us-about-radiation-safety/.

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