In 1925 the first charges were levied against the United States Radium Corporation by a small group of five radium girls. “A few had already settled; more were afraid to take on a big corporation; sure that they’d lose the jobs they held now, that they’d lose in the courts anyway” (Blum). These thoughts were justified, as the Radium Corporation did not kindly react to accusations. They used political red tape to extend negotiations, which led to a trial date in 1928, three years after the initial opening of the case. “As the lawsuit dragged on, the Radium Girls became sicker and sicker” (Blum). Many of the girls were immobile by the time of the trial, and fewer could or would testify. However, this did not deter some of the girls. Some, like …show more content…
The Radium Girls were passionate, living representations of their plight. Even though many were too sick to carry on with their lives, such as Catherine Donohue, they seeming postponed death to further protect those who would not know their story. The Radium Girls brought light to the effects of radium and the neglect rights of workers in large corporations. Through their conflicts with the United States Radium Corporation, they won justice for themselves, and also those too sick or scared to fight alongside them. Though they did not win all that they initially set out for, money or fame were not their objectives, although they would need the money for their funerals. They simply wanted justice for their coworkers and families, and the workers to come after their time. In this legal and personal battle, both the Radium Girls and the United States Radium Corporation had to compromise. This compromise led to life-saving workplace safety regulations. It gave workers a path for which to find their own justice, while rewarding the Radium Girls with some much deserved peace and rest. Even though the radium they ingested may glow longer than they will live, they will always shine brighter in human
These Shining Lives chronicles the true story of Catherine Donohue and three other of the other women who worked in the Radium Dial factory during the 1920’s and 1930’s. Despite the women being knowingly mistreated and their health dismissed by the management, they refuse to let the company get away with this injustice and go to the courts. While the fight goes on, the friendship between the women remains strong and Catherine eventually wins her case.
In chapter 8 titled "Radium (Ra)" of The Poisoner's Handbook by Deborah Blum, the most interesting story developed within this chapter was the death of dial workers at Orange, New Jersey after been exposed to radium every day. It was interesting due to the fact that radium was used everywhere in the community and was never thought it could harm anyone. Radium was a super element that was used everywhere, but its continuous use unmasked its fatal habits. As it was stated in the text, "Radiant health, the ads proclaimed-beautiful skin, endless vigor, and eternal health—ingesting radium seemed the next best thing to drinking sunlight." (Blum 179). People were accepting radium as a natural gold element but they haven't realized constant contact
Imagine working with radioactive materials in a secret camp, and the government not telling you that this material is harmful to your body. In the book Plutopia: Nuclear Families, Atomic Cities, and the Great Soviet and American Plutonium Disasters by Kate Brown, she takes her readers on a journey to expose what happened in the first two cities that started producing plutonium. Brown is an Associate Professor of History at University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She has won a handful of prizes, such as the American Historical Association’s George Louis Beer Prize for the Best Book in International European History, and was also a 2009 Guggenheim Fellow. Brown wrote this book by looking through hundreds of archives and interviews with people,
Granted that Catherine “won her case six times, for the Radium Dial Company appealed six times. After losing all six, the company appealed one last to the United States Supreme Courrt and finally the Illinois Industrial Commission awarded Catherine five thousand, six hundred, and sixty-one dollars” (Scene 20, p. 65). This case probably shed a new light to the countless of workers who probably had been affected by the radium. Moreover, assuming that the company eventually went bankrupt, it is not a stretch to say that injustice transformed to justice. Even if only by some measurable degree; by some tick of
They come from countries all over the world, including Greece, Italy, Vietnam, China, Europe, France and Australia. These people have many stories to tell. Some have been through the wars and therefore, would have lived an entirely different life compared to the people today. As a consequence, some have faced the horrors of war, such as having their loved ones pass away due to war. Many have said that they still remember the traumatic event where they would face the news that their family members had been killed in the war when they did not return. There were also times when they had no food, which prevents them from living a normal day-to-day life. In addition, some have also revealed how they recovered from certain illnesses, what their interests and hobbies were back then and how they moved to Australia. Some had thought their illnesses would take their lives and revealed their relief and surprise when they
...ough they won the case, it didn’t change what had happened to them, their lives were still never going to be the same again. This was all because of the introduction of colonization to their land. Colonization although might have brought some good things such as newer technology that helps us now, it tore apart cultures and societies that had already existed.
as show, were subjected to brisk trials where some were killed, and some imprisoned for
...d them to end the war with Japan. But not only did they create bombs, but they also found a new way to power the spreading cities of America. Also, even though many knew the power of a nuclear bomb, they couldn’t have predicted the lasting effects on the land and the people. So within this scientific experiment we have learned that nuclear radiation can cause genetic mutations, the formation of cataracts, leukemia, and a shortened life (Document I).
there deceased friends and family members so that they would be able to survive. This
taken from them. It was a show of honor in front of their elders, for few
...sed mechanisms to stay alive and have faith in the life they wanted to live.
who were detain lost all of these, including life. When I mean life I don’t mean being executed,
Radon gas was found in the 1870s, when some scientists were mining for ore in Ore Mountains in Schneeberg, Saxony. The area has a high content of radon in the tunnels because the area has been mined since the 1470s. The scientists later discovered that 75% of the miners died from lung cancer but it did not shut down the tunnels until 1950.
This uneasiness is a result of events over the past one hundred years showing the dangers of radiation. Although most accidents today leading to death from radiation poisoning occur from human error or faults in equipment, the incident involving the now named "radium girls" transpired from lack of public awareness and safety laws. (introduce topics of the paper) The Radium Luminous Material Corporation was founded in 1914 (renamed in 1921 to the United States Radium Corporation) by Dr. Sabin Arnold von Sochocky and Dr. George S. Willis becoming the first U.S. company to produce radioluminescent paint. The paint used by this particular company was the trademarked "Undark", invented by William J. Hammered through mixing radium, zinc sulfide and glue with the help of Marie and Pierre Currie and Henri Becquerel.
The impact of nuclear power on the modern world has improved Various sectors of the economy and society .i.e. Food and Agriculture, Insect control, Food Preservation, Water Resources, Military, Medicine, Research and Industry. “In 1911 George de Hevesy conducted the first application of a radioisotope. At the time de Hevesy was a young Hungarian student working in Manchester with naturally radioactive materials. Not having much money he lived in modest accommodation and took his meals with his landlady. He began to suspect that some of the meals that appeared regularly might be made from leftovers from the preceding days or even weeks, but he could never be sure. To try and confirm his suspicions de Hevesy put a small amount of radioactive material into the remains of a meal. Several days later when the same dish was served again he used a simple radiation detection instrument - a gold leaf electroscope - to check if the food was radioactive. It was, and de Hevesy's suspicions were confirmed.