I just got through reading Radium Girls based the the true story of the girls and women employed to paint watch dials in the early twentieth century with an exciting and new product, radium. Radium sparkled, glowed, and was thought to be good for your health. It was heralded as the worlds newest wonder!! One of the uses was to make watches and clocks easier to see because the radium made the dial light up in the dark. Girls as young as 14 were recruited to join in on the exciting new job opportunity. Girls and young women sat in rows with trays of watch dials with a crucible of radium. They were taught to moisten thin brushes in their mouthes before they dipped them into the paint. They even ate at their work benches. The radium dust would cover the workers and as they walked home at night the girls would actually GLOW. Every girl wanted in on the work as it was good pay and radium was said to be good for your health. Little did they know that the work they were doing was eventually going to lead to their own demise.
This book is excellent and gives amazing historical background pertaining to the inauguration of workers compensation, liability, and medical advancements. It is definitely a very emotional charged book. I would highly recommend this book.
No comments:
Post a Comment