Undark: The Heavenly Glow of Radium
I will only give a brief resume below but thoroughly recommend that anybody whose interest is piqued to read Kate Moore's book and for a wider history of Radium also to read Lucy Jane Santos' 'Half Lives: the Unlikely History of Radium'. Also covering the Radium Girls' tragic plight in a different manner is the graphic novel 'Radium Girls' by Cy. (Noticing a texture on the cover of this book I thought to shine my black-light upon it and Lo ...)
Radium (88Ra) is an alkaline earth metal element that was discovered by the scientists Marie & Pierre Curie in 1898 from working with uraninite (pitchblende) ore mined at Jáchymov in Czechia (formerly Bohemia). From their experiments they discovered that Radium had the ability to destroy cancer-forming cells. Following the death of Pierre and with the advent of World War I, Marie (or more precisely Maria Skłodowska-Curie) and her daughter Irene took the beneficial boons of the radiological discoveries to the battlefield in mobile units that utilised X Ray machines and radon emitting needles for sterilising wounds.
Furthermore it was found that by combining Radium with Zinc Sulfide luminous paint could be created which in war time was utilised on aircraft dials, compasses, weapon sites, timepieces and other equipment. Rather than using brighter lights or naked flames to see dials this paint proved safer ... well in the immediate moment anyway. Developed by Dr Sabin Arnold Von-Sochocky and produced by the U.S. Radium Corporation this luminescent paint marketed under the brand name Undark was actually hiding a darkness in its glow.
Furthermore it was found that by combining Radium with Zinc Sulfide luminous paint could be created which in war time was utilised on aircraft dials, compasses, weapon sites, timepieces and other equipment. Rather than using brighter lights or naked flames to see dials this paint proved safer ... well in the immediate moment anyway. Developed by Dr Sabin Arnold Von-Sochocky and produced by the U.S. Radium Corporation this luminescent paint marketed under the brand name Undark was actually hiding a darkness in its glow.
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Beyond the use of military equipment, there was a market also for watches and clocks with luminous features. It was the job of the so called 'Radium Girls' to apply this paint. They were informed by their employers that the work and materials involved were safe but productivity and waste management was key - Radium was a very expensive material. So the girls would employ a technique called Lip Pointing to increase efficiency. This involved the women maintaining a point on their paint brushes by putting it into their mouths. Of course, some paint would be ingested but the taste apparently wasn't intolerable and they were assured there was no harm. Working all day with the paint also meant that particles would get on their skin giving the girls a glow, earning them the nickname of 'Ghost Girls' ... they later would be known as 'The Society of the Living Dead'.
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| Dial painters at the Ingersoll factory (1932) |
Radium wasn't safe however, despite its medical uses, the Curies knew and stated it was not without its dangers. Pierre stated that in the hands of criminals the element could be very dangerous and Marie had experienced radiation burns from handling it. The dial painters were told they were only handling minute quantities so there were no risks. But even in small doses Radium is insidious if it is ingested or inhaled and it is accumulative with repeated exposure. Day in day out, the girls were putting Radium into their mouths. Working like calcium Radium will seek out bone, unlike calcium Radium is carcinogenic.
The first known inkling that anything was amiss with their work practices came when Amelia 'Mollie' Maggia, a dial painter at USRC factory in Orange, New Jersey developed toothache. Despite removal and repeated treatment the problem would not cease, the wound became infected - her jaw eventually disintegrated in part. By 1922, at the age of 25, Mollie was dead. She would not be the last.
In the months and years that followed other dial painters fell ill. Some had oral issues like Mollie's, others had other bone trouble particularly in their knees and hips. Other symptoms and a lot of pain befell the Radium Girls. Deformity and death followed. A common link to all was their work. At the Orange plant and at the Radium Dial Company in Ottawa, Illinois and at the Waterbury Clock Company in Connecticut, factory workers fell gravely ill. Some dentists and doctors began to suspect that the Undark paint was the cause but the Employers and companies and the doctors on their pay-roll did more than deny they aimed to discredit the women, adding insult to injury they treated the women atrociously. Mollie's stated cause of death was even a stigma on her character claiming that the poor girl had perished from Syphilis.
When Undark inventor Dr Von Sochocky died in 1928 as a result of his own exposure to Radium, more weight was finally given to the Radium Girls fight for justice. Though their own lives were painfully limited their legacy was to attain greater health and safety rights for workers.
The first known inkling that anything was amiss with their work practices came when Amelia 'Mollie' Maggia, a dial painter at USRC factory in Orange, New Jersey developed toothache. Despite removal and repeated treatment the problem would not cease, the wound became infected - her jaw eventually disintegrated in part. By 1922, at the age of 25, Mollie was dead. She would not be the last.
In the months and years that followed other dial painters fell ill. Some had oral issues like Mollie's, others had other bone trouble particularly in their knees and hips. Other symptoms and a lot of pain befell the Radium Girls. Deformity and death followed. A common link to all was their work. At the Orange plant and at the Radium Dial Company in Ottawa, Illinois and at the Waterbury Clock Company in Connecticut, factory workers fell gravely ill. Some dentists and doctors began to suspect that the Undark paint was the cause but the Employers and companies and the doctors on their pay-roll did more than deny they aimed to discredit the women, adding insult to injury they treated the women atrociously. Mollie's stated cause of death was even a stigma on her character claiming that the poor girl had perished from Syphilis.
When Undark inventor Dr Von Sochocky died in 1928 as a result of his own exposure to Radium, more weight was finally given to the Radium Girls fight for justice. Though their own lives were painfully limited their legacy was to attain greater health and safety rights for workers.
Radium however was not only valuable to the luminous dial industry, it was for a while considered a wonder product - a gift from the gods. Towns with natural water springs and spas that contained Radium from Milk River in Jamaica to Ramsar in Iran and from Bath in England to Arkansas, USA were keen to promote claimed health benefits and encourage visitors to soak in their waters.
It was also claimed to be added to the waters or other fluids to produce health supplements. It was better for those drinking when it was only claimed to be added and not actually added. Quack medicines and snake oil were just some of the items that used Radium in their names or was hinted at as an ingredient when they actually contained no Radium whatsoever. People may have been ripped-off buying falsely labelled items but their only injury was to their wallet, there was the potential of more grievous risk to the purchasers of products that were the real deal, for there were indeed numerous products containg the 'green gold'.
It was also claimed to be added to the waters or other fluids to produce health supplements. It was better for those drinking when it was only claimed to be added and not actually added. Quack medicines and snake oil were just some of the items that used Radium in their names or was hinted at as an ingredient when they actually contained no Radium whatsoever. People may have been ripped-off buying falsely labelled items but their only injury was to their wallet, there was the potential of more grievous risk to the purchasers of products that were the real deal, for there were indeed numerous products containg the 'green gold'.
Radithor (or RadiThor) manufactured by William J.A. Bailey's Associated Radium Chemists Inc./ Bailey Radium Laboratories/Radithor Laboratories Co. was claimed to cure fatigue, various endocrine ailments, injury and even impotence. Heralded as 'Perpetual Sunshine' and also as a "Cure for the Living Dead" - a sadly ironic boast considering that the Radium ravaged dial painters became referred to as the "Living Dead".
Estimates of around 400,000 bottles of Radithor were sold at a cost of $1 each. Had the cost of a bottle been cheaper, the price paid by more consumers would have likely ultimately been higher. Nevertheless sales of Radithor made Bailey a wealthy man - especially as he also marketed Arium - Radium energy tablets, Dentarium - Radium toothpaste and powder, Kaparium - Radium Hair Tonic, Linarium - Radium liniment for aches & pains, and an interest in the $150+ Radiendocrinator - a gold-plated Radium containing device that could be strapped to the shoulders, back, head ... scrotum ... anywhere that needed a boost of Radium energy!!
Estimates of around 400,000 bottles of Radithor were sold at a cost of $1 each. Had the cost of a bottle been cheaper, the price paid by more consumers would have likely ultimately been higher. Nevertheless sales of Radithor made Bailey a wealthy man - especially as he also marketed Arium - Radium energy tablets, Dentarium - Radium toothpaste and powder, Kaparium - Radium Hair Tonic, Linarium - Radium liniment for aches & pains, and an interest in the $150+ Radiendocrinator - a gold-plated Radium containing device that could be strapped to the shoulders, back, head ... scrotum ... anywhere that needed a boost of Radium energy!!
One man in particular contributed immensely to Radithor's success and
downfall - Eben Byers, a former champion amateur golfer and businessman
from Pittsburgh was recommended the brown bottled elixir vitae by a
doctor following an arm injury in 1927. Byers developed quite a liking
for Radithor and consumed approximately 1400 bottles himself, believing
that it invigorated him. That is until 1930 when he began to feel
malaise, suffer headaches, lose weight and his teeth began to fall out.This was just the start. By 1931 Byers had had to have almost his entire upper jaw and most of his lower jaw removed. All of his bones had begun to severely weaken and holes of disintegration had manifested in his skull. Like the unfortunate dial painters, Radium had worked its way into Byers' skeleton and cancer was eating him away. Pursuing Byers' case the Federal Trade Commission issued a cease and desist order to stop Bailey claiming therapeutic qualities for Radithor. By the following year Byers was dead and the public's thirst for radioactive waters had somewhat dried. Greater controls were issued regarding radiopharmaceuticals - too late for Byers, who was buried in a lead lined coffin in his native Pittsburgh. Exhumed for medical research in 1965, Byers' remains were found to still be radioactive. As for William J.A. Bailey, he died of bladder cancer in 1949. He was also exhumed in 1969 and it was said that his body had also been ravaged by radiation.
Other products that contained Radium included the cosmetics and beauty creams manufactured by Tho-Radia in France, Radium-Schokolade chocolate created by the German firm Burk & Braun, Radio X suppositories for hemorrhoids and ovarian issues, Vita Radium rectal suppositories for treating impotence, but one aimed possibly at real stiffs / the 'real living dead' - Esko Radium Liquid Sunshine Embalming Fluid was thought to be cashing in on the reputation for Radium and its 'healthy' glow promising a lively complexion for the dearly departed was thought not to actually contain any of the element.
The dark history of the luciferan substance Radium has become a recent fascination of mine influencing me creatively - (For various garments and merchandise bearing my Radium Decay design please visit -
But also nudging the collector gene in me (inherited from my late mother) I have also picked up some antique and vintage Ingersoll Radiolite Radium dial pocket-watches. (I also have a tritium dial Sekonda watch which belonged to my late father). The gathering of these watches is admittedly macabre ... I am somewhat morbid, but I hold a respect for these items, for their history and respect and sympathy for the Radium Girl who painted the dials, for their work and the injustice that was aimed at them and for their struggles and pain. At least almost a century later their work is being seen and remembered, even if the watches no longer run and no longer glow by themselves - the Radium over the years having destroyed the Zinc Sulfide element of the Undark, Luna and Marvelite luminous paints.
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