Some of them never made it out of their teens. She was, at 107, the last of the Radium Girls.Had she been more obedient, more apt to be bullied into compliance by her bosses and the corporation for which she worked at 18, she might have ended up like most of the other Radium Girls. RosiEarlier this year, Mae Keane died in Middlebury, Connecticut. Read on, and if you know more than I did, feel free to chime in. I didn't know about the Radium Girls, or the Radium Superfund sites in Bloomfield, Glen Ridge, Montclair, West Orange and East Orange. I went to school in New York talk to me about Love Canal. But here's a part of NJ history - with brave women who fought back though they could barely walk, a landmark case and a milestone in regulation and labor safety - and I knew almost nothing about it. The Last of the Radium Girls - And Grace Fryer and the New Jersey Women Who Took on a Companyby: Rosi EfthimTue at 06:23:06 PM ESTNew Jersey has a long, and awful history with industrial pollution and its residents have suffered for it. Reposted here by kind permission of the author. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.The following article recently appeared on the website. Kaitlyn Kanzler covers Essex County for. ![]() Cory Booker of New Jersey, Chris Murphy of Connecticut and Tammy Duckworth of Illinois helped introduce this resolution. In honoring their legacy with this resolution, we’ll give them – and their surviving relatives – the recognition they’ve long deserved, making sure Radium Girls' contributions to today’s workplace safety standards is not overlooked by this and the future generations," Menendez said. "It’s important to pass this Senate Resolution so Radium Girls and their powerful stories are not forgotten. Gregory that debuted at the Playwrights Theatre of NJ in Madison 20 years ago. A movie titled "Radium Girls" was released last year, and there was a play written about them by D.W. Moore said these women have long been forgotten and that she is "beyond thrilled" they are finally being recognized. "We have come to realize that instead of being objects of pity, Grace Fryer and the 'Radium Girls' are symbols of how suffering and struggle can be turned, through determination and perseverance, into accomplishment and legacy," he said. Her great-nephew Arthur Fryer said she fought for justice for the New Jersey Radium Girls and that his eyes were opened by reading Moore's book. One of the most vocal Radium Girls was Grace Fryer, who began working at U.S. "After looking into the significance of their plight and their close ties to our beloved state, it was clear we needed to do something, so I started working with my colleagues to introduce this resolution," Menendez said. Menendez first learned about the Radium Girls from his staff, who read 'The Radium Girls," by Kate Moore, and through stories in the media. Dick Durbin of Illinois said the women's fight "laid a strong foundation for the workers' rights movement," as they fought against the unsafe standards they were exposed to. ![]() Harrison Stanford Martland, who was an advocate for the state's Radium Girls, said the resolution recognizes the "profound impact" these women had on these safety standards and laws. "Their determination in seeking justice continues to inspire Americans fighting for better workplace conditions and higher safety standards that put workers’ health and well-being above corporate greed," said Menendez, a Democrat representing New Jersey.Ĭhris Martland, the great-grandson of Dr. ![]() WOMEN: More people than ever watch women's sports, but investment and media coverage still lag PREVIOUS COVERAGE: 'Radium Girls' and the 'invisible history' of NJ fight for workplace justice ![]() The surviving workers' contributions to scientific studies on how radium affects bodies helped develop safety standards for handling radioactive materials. The element was so potent that decades later, dirt waste from the factory site used as fill had seeped radon gas into at least 200 homes in Montclair, Glen Ridge and West Orange, causing radon levels 100 times the safe level.Īccording to the Senate resolution, leadership within the radium corporations knew the element could be dangerous but failed to inform their workers or implement safety measures. Workers were sometimes known as "ghost girls" because of the ominous glow their skin and clothing gave off. Women working in the factory in Orange and those in Connecticut and Illinois developed serious, sometimes fatal illnesses such as necrosis of the jaw and cancer.īy 1927, more than 50 women had died due to radium paint poisoning, according to a 2014 NPR report.
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