Humanist Explorations - The Radium Girls

One of the marvels of the early twentieth century were alarm clocks that glowed in the dark. Produced by a firm known as Westclox Big Ben (the smaller devices were called Baby Ben), the luminescent dials were made by a company with manufacturing facilities in Orange, New Jersey, and Waterbury, Connecticut. Hand‑painted by female employees starting in the 1920s, the active component in the paint that created the iridescent glow was radium. This is the story of the women who were sickened and suffered, and eventually killed as a result of this work. The owners of the companies involved were fully aware of the effects the radium would have on anyone handling it, and kept their knowledge secret. This tragic tale and its outcome is told here in devastating detail. Please join us for this informative and enlightening presentation.