How The Radium Girls Influenced Worker Safety In The Manhattan Project

June 9, 2017 – The book “Radium Girls: The Dark Story Of America’s Shining Women” tells the story of the women employed to paint watches and clocks with radium-based paint, starting in World War I. At the time radium was considered a miracle element that many touted would improve health. These women became the first proof of just how deadly radium was. Author Kate Moore delves into their stories and how their quest for recognition and compensation made the dangers of radium more widely understood. She also tells correspondent Megan Kamerick how their experience helped protect future generations of workers in the nuclear industry, including those at the Manhattan Project in New Mexico.

Read More:
Dark Lives Of “The Radium Girls” Left A Bright Legacy For Workers, Science – NPR
The Forgotten Story of The Radium Girls, Whose Deaths Save Thousands Of Workers – BuzzFeed
The Impact of the Radium Girls On Manhattan Project – Atomic Heritage Foundation