Radium Girls: Women and Industrial Health Reform, 1910-1935
by Claudia Clark
45 Members (4.00)
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Description
In the early twentieth century, a group of women workers hired to apply luminous paint to watch faces and instrument dials found themselves among the first victims of radium poisoning. Claudia Clark's book tells the compelling story of these women, who at first had no idea that the tedious task of dialpainting was any different from the other factory jobs available to them. But after repeated exposure to the radium-laced paint, they began to develop mysterious, often fatal illnesses that show more they traced to conditions in the workplace. Their fight to have their symptoms recognized as an industrial disease represents an important chapter in the history of modern health and labor policy. Clark's account emphasizes the social and political factors that influenced the responses of the workers, managers, government officials, medical specialists, and legal authorities involved in the case. She enriches the story by exploring contemporary disputes over workplace control, government intervention, and industry-backed medical research. Finally, in appraising the dialpainters' campaign to secure compensation and prevention of further incidents--efforts launched with the help of the reform-minded, middle-class women of the Consumers' League--Clark is able to evaluate the achievements and shortcomings of the industrial health movement as a whole. show lessTags
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Author Information
4 Works 79 Members
Claudia Clark is an author, speaker, and activist focused on progressive causes. In 2017, Clark and her husband moved from California to Germany, where she served as the national Get Out the Vote (GOTV) Coordinator for Democrats Abroad Germany from January 2019 to May 2020. Clark has several advanced degrees, with a focus on social work, women's show more history, and labor. She is currently researching a book about the rise of the European alt-right. show less
Classifications
- Genres
- Nonfiction, History, General Nonfiction, Sexuality and Gender Studies, Science & Nature, Art & Design
- DDC/MDS
- 363.11 — Society, Government, and Culture Social problems and social services Public Safety - Police, Crime Investigation Public safety from hazards Occupational and industrial hazards
- LCC
- HD6067.2 .U6 .C55 — Social sciences Industries. Land use. Labor Industries. Land use. Labor Labor. Work. Working class Classes of labor
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 45
- Popularity
- 658,647
- Rating
- (4.00)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 3
