Radium Girls Case Study Chemistry

Radium is an alkaline earth metal that has a silvery-white color. It is closley related to the elements uranium and thorium, and has similar structure to calcium. Radium enters the body through inhalation and ingestion. In the case of the Radium Girls, it entered their bodys when the pointed their brushes with their lips, swallowing the radium paint in small amounts each time. At the time, there was almost no knowledge of the negative health affects of the newly discovered element; many people actually believed it was a miracle substance that could cure any ailment. When Radium enters the human body, it was usually sent to the bones and teeth, because of its structural similarity to calcium. Once the ingested Radium reached the bones, the radiation
When Radium was discovered, there was almost no research on the health effects of the miraculously glowing substance. People where fascinated by its glowing properties, and believed that it had no negative effects, some even believing it had rejuvinating effects on humans. Radium was placed in many products, such as drinking water, cosmetics, spas, toys, infertility treatment, and, of course, paint. Slowly, researchers began to realize that consuming Radium wasn’t like drinking the fountain of youth, but like drinking poison. Unfortinatly, these findings were hushed up by large companies that were already aware of the health risks, but preferred to line their pockets with gold rather than protect the lives of the ignorant public. This was the case with the Radium Girls, who were encouraged to ingest Radium paint while painting the watch faces by their superiors who used adequate protection when handeling the dangerous substance. After the Radium Girls lawsuit, the research-based understanding of Radium was availible to the public, and products containing radium were removed from the shelves of consumer venues. We can see this story reflected in others, such as that of tobacco companies and the dangers of cigarettes and related products, and danger of overusing antibiotics though the