Radium Girls

I first learned about the Radium Girls or Ghost Girls as they were originally coined a few years ago from an episode of Mysteries at the Museum. It's a tragic true life tale that seems unfathomable today. But in the 1920s and 30s, dangerous products made of radioactive material and the work conditions of said merchandise was commonplace. There were no lead lined rooms or full body radiation suits. In fact, the main characters of this book regularly decorated themselves with radium as well as ingested it, despite their management team proclaiming total safety!

At a plant in New Jersey, young women make a living painting illuminated dials for wrist watches with a water based paint that contains uranium. As the paint was rare and expensive, employees were told to work sparingly with the material. Plus with the numbers on the watch being so small, precision was required. 

The women were told that the paint was safe and that making a fine point by placing the brush up to their lips would assist the workers in completing 250 dials per week: the quota for the girls to remain employed. At night as the women returned home, they gave off an eerie glow from the paint that got on them. Eventually, these ladies earned the name as Ghost Girls.

Because of their new celebrity as well as the promised safety of the paint, the Ghost Girls started painting their nails, faces, even teeth with the radium mixture before a fun night on the town. At first, things were really hopping for them. Unfortunately, that gilded age slowly came to an end when the employees began to lose teeth, experience extreme pain and fatigue and ultimately die of mysterious causes.

This powerful graphic novel tells the story of a small group of these employees, now referred to as Radium Girls, as they seek damages against their former employer. With time running out, the company uses both smear and delay tactics to avoid litigation. It seems like a long shot, five dying Davids against one Goliath of a corporation. But what transpires will change work safety conditions for generations to come.

I would like to say that the unnecessary sacrifice of the Radium Girls was the end of unsafe working conditions in the United States. Heck, I can't even tell you that this nearly forgotten part of American history meant the end of unsafe uses of radioactive material for sale to the general public! (In the 1950s, the A.C. Gilbert Toy Company sold the Atomic Energy Lab set, which contained 4 uranium based ores, to young kids!) Still, what happened as a result of the plight of the Radium Girls was at least a step in the right direction. A very small step, sadly.

An engrossing story that I feel a little guilty enjoying to read because of the tragic subject matter. It's a very quick read that uses a powerful minimalist color palette. The art style reflects the various schools of design during the time period. And, oh my God! The cover glows in the dark. 

Don't worry. It's not radioactive. I think...

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.