![]() ![]() In the epilopgue you will see how Glenn Seaborg used the information gleaned from the dial painters to keep those on the Manhattan Project safe from radiation poisoning. Moreover, we bear witness, as many of the dial painters finally succumb to the onslaught of the poison in their systems.Īfter you finish cheering along with the remaining women at the end of the third part, read the epilogue and postscript to round out the history. For the reader, the gamut of emotions is intense as we follow, via Moore's sequence of events, the rollercoaster ride these women experienced. Throughout, Moore writes as a voice for the dial painters, who, over the span of some 20 years, are now women. ![]() ![]() It was a slow, painstaking process, and Moore delineates both the pitfalls and the triumphs. One is easily reminded of more present day issues with tobacco, pharmaceuticals and automobiles, where profits were placed ahead of people. Moore pulls no punches, and the reader is buffeted between feelings of pity and sadness for the suffering women and those of anger and disgust for the companies. The second segment is called Power and it describes the lengths the dial painting companies went in attempting to prevent their workers from finding out about the hazards, to cover up their own results of tests and to fight in the courts to deny compensation to their own workers. While tragic, we are given hope as, very slowly, headway was made in the realization that it was radium responsible for the severe ailments of the dial painters. Very few knew about and even fewer cared to consider the hazards. The young women, in their late teens and early twenties who painted these dials also glowed in the dark, from the residues left on their clothing and skin from work. While presently, a wrist watch will glow from a backlit face on the press of a button, some of us may recall having a watch that literally glowed in the dark, on its own - like magic. The main isotope was radium-226 with a half-life of 1,600 years. But this was the early ’20s, and radium was the amazing new element and wonder drug. ![]() The agony and suffering must have been tormenting as their bodies literally began to disintegrate. We are also introduced to the process by which radium attacked the painters. We read about their lives, hopes, dreams and plans for the future. Moore goes to great pains to allow us to know these young girls. The first main section, Knowledge, begins in New Jersey in 1917 and introduces us to the players, the individual dial painters. With it one gets a taste of Moore's wonderful writing style and an idea of the tragic events about to befall those working with the element. The prologue sets the stage with the riveting story of the first known death by radioactivity from radium. Moore has divided the book into three primary sections in addition to a prologue, an epilogue and a postscript. A complete bibliography is included along with some 50 pages of notes arranged by chapter. It is a rare history book that brings you into the action. Because of this thoroughness and attention to detail, you feel the intense suffering, experience the excruciating losses and revel in the triumphs of the dial painters. She has delved deeply into the lives of the dial painters and has written a very thorough historical account of the dial painting industry. Kate Moore's writing style is easy, clear and enjoyable. As sad and depressing as the lives and times of the dial painters were, it is equally important to understand the full narrative. The Radium Girls chronicles the dial painting industry and the women who painted these dials with radium–based paint. Reviewed by Lyle Sadavoy, Toronto, Ontario ![]()
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