The radium girls

Description:

As World War I raged across the globe, hundreds of young women toiled away at the radium-dial factories, where they painted clock faces with a mysterious new substance called radium. Assured by their bosses that the luminous material was safe, the women themselves shone brightly in the dark, covered from head to toe with the glowing dust. With such a coveted job, these "shining girls" were considered the luckiest alive--until they began to fall mysteriously ill. As the fatal poison of the radium took hold, they found themselves embroiled in one of America's biggest scandals and a groundbreaking battle for workers' rights. The Radium Girls explores the strength of extraordinary women in the face of almost impossible circumstances and the astonishing legacy they left behind.

subjects: World War, 1914-1918,  Diseases,  Watch dial painters,  Toxicology,  War work,  Consumers' leagues,  History,  Radium paint,  Industrial hygiene,  Women,  World war, 1914-1918, women,  World war, 1914-1918, united states,  Women, united states, history,  Industrial toxicology,  nyt:science=2017-06-11,  New York Times bestseller,  Watch dial painters -- Diseases -- United States -- History,  Radium paint -- Toxicology,  Consumers' leagues -- United States -- History,  Industrial hygiene -- United States -- History -- 20th century,  World War, 1914-1918 -- Women -- United States,  World War, 1914-1918 -- War work -- United States,  Women employees,  Employers' liability,  Case studies,  BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Women,  HISTORY / Military / World War I.,  HISTORY / Women,  Consumer Organizations,  Occupational Health,  Radium,  Adverse effects,  Women's Health,  World War I,  United States Radium Corporation

Places: United States

Times: 20th century