FIGHTING BACK - THEY WERE TOLD TO LICK THE BRUSH: THE RADIUM GIRLS

About this episode

The episode covers the tragic story of the Radium Girls and the corporate negligence that led to their suffering and deaths.

The company knew. The scientists knew. The executives took precautions to protect themselves. And then they told two hundred young women the paint was perfectly safe. Garret Fisher covers one of the most infuriating corporate cover-up stories in American history: the Radium Girls of Orange, New Jersey. Beginning in 1917, young women at the United States Radium Corporation were instructed to point their paintbrushes with their lips before dipping them in radium-laced paint — lip, dip, paint, hundreds of times a day. The company's own scientists wore lead shields and used tongs when handling the material. They told the workers it was harmless. By the mid-1920s, women were dying as their jaws literally fell apart. The company buried a Harvard study, falsified records, bribed doctors to list deaths as syphilis, and kept asking for court delays hoping the plaintiffs would die before trial. Five women who could barely sit upright took them to court anyway. This is their story. Join our new FB groups page here. Take the poll! Join the Daily Crime & Justice community on social media! We're building a passionate group of true crime enthusiasts who love diving deep into the most…

People in this episode

Host: Garret Fisher

Topics covered

• corporate cover-up
• Radium Girls
• true crime
• historical injustice
• women's rights

Keywords

• Radium Girls
• corporate cover-up
• true crime
• Orange New Jersey
• women's health
• historical injustice
• Garret Fisher

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: United States Radium Corporation, Harvard

Places: Orange, New Jersey

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