U.S. Radium
The U.S. Radium Corporation was the company that hired the women to paint the dials. The owners of the corporation were aware of the dangerous, life-threatening effects of radium. However, they neglected to say something. Instead, the girls were told that they were ingesting a substance that was completely harmless.
" 'Not to worry,' their bosses told them. 'If you swallow any radium, it'll make your cheeks rosy.' "
-(Toxipedia.org), a part of the campaign of misinformation produced by the US Radium Corporation
-(Toxipedia.org), a part of the campaign of misinformation produced by the US Radium Corporation
U.S. Radium rejected claims that current and former workers with bone-deterioration and other symptoms were suffering from exposure to radium. The corporation planted fake medical examiners to tell the girls that they were completely healthy, and covered up any deaths by recording the cause as “syphilis.”
U.S. Radium hired Harvard physiology professor, Cecil Drinker to study the working conditions. His report did not paint a flattering picture of the conditions the women were working under. However, the report that was sent to the New Jersey Department of Labor was altered, praising the safe conditions. Drinker later published the original report himself.
"Dust samples collected in the workroom from various locations and from chairs not used by the workers were all luminous in the dark room. Their hair, faces, hands, arms, necks, the dresses, the underclothes, even the corsets of the dial painters were luminous. One of the girls showed luminous spots on her legs and thighs. The back of another was luminous almost to the waist…."
~an excerpt from Cecil Drinker's report
~an excerpt from Cecil Drinker's report
Drinker's report also recommended procedural changes in the radium factory, which were all disregarded by Arthur Roeder, president of U.S. Radium.
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