Date: 1920-1926

Location: USA and other countries

Type of event: accumulated radiological burden due to occupational exposure

Description:

Beginning around 1920, radium-containing paint was used to paint luminescent numbers on watch dials in various locations. This painting was done by hand, with the common practice of using the lips to produce a point on the tip of the brush. Many workers accumulated significant burdens of radium-226 through ingestion and absorption into the bones. Some effects were localized to the jawbone or mouth. From 1923 the link between radium dial painting and injuries became recognized, and the practice of radium dial painting discontinued around 1926. In 1927 a lawsuit against one company, U.S. Radium, was filed by several former radium dial painters; the case was settled out of court in 1928. One study of 1,346 individuals reported 44 individuals with exposures exceeding 10000 rem to the skeleton.

Consequences: 9+ fatalities, 70+ injuries (note: actual casualties exceed these cases referenced in the sources below).

References:

• Frame, Paul, 1999, "Radioluminescent paint," on line, Oak Ridge Associated Universities [http://www.orau.org/ptp/collection/radioluminescent/radioluminescentinfo.htm].
• Giffin, Noel, 6 Feb. 1996, "Radiation induced cancer in humans," on line, Triumf Safety Group Radiation Protection Training Course [http://www.triumf.ca/safety/rpt/rpt_4/node20.html].
• Kovarik, William, 2002, "The Radium Girls," updated from chapter in Mass Media and Environmental Conflict: America's Green Crusades by Mark Neuzil and William Kovarik, 1996, Sage Publ., on line at Radford University [http://www.runet.edu/~wkovarik/hist1/radium.html].
• Weaver, J. Ellsworth III, 1999, "A brief chronology of radiation and protection," on line, Roadtechs.com [http://www.roadtechs.com/rpchron.htm].

© 2004 by Wm. Robert Johnston.
Last modified 10 June 2004.
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