Women painting watch dials-NPR.org
Katherine Schaub's Concern
"I was asked to paint dials. I said I would like to try it."-Katherine Schaub, 1917-The Telegraph
"The Radium Girls" excerpt describing Katherine Schaub’s love of radium-YouTube
Katherine Schaub had been working at USRC for a year when she broke out in pimples. This was normal, as she was fifteen years old, but, aware of what happened to Mollie Maggia, she knew minor symptoms had dangerous potential. She was worried, and went to a doctor who asked if she worked with phosphorus. When she told the doctor no, he found it hard to believe. Tests showed that, along with her strange pimples, her blood had experienced changes. He was certain she worked with phosphorus, but never asked about radium.
"Radium was the last thing the doctors suspected."-Kate Moore, personal email interview.
Katherine Schaub, 1928-New Jersey Women’s History
Schaub's concern for her health increased after the doctor's appointment. She told her fellow dial painters how her doctor had suspected phosphorus, and they all hurriedly asked their manager, Mr. Savoy, what exactly was in the paint they used. He merely said that there was a slight amount of radium which would never cause harm. The girls went back to work, convinced it was safe, and Katherine's pimples eventually left. Everyone was feeling confident in their work again.
Dr. Sochocky's Suspicions
While Dr. Sochocky had founded USRC, he wasn't involved in the safety of workers, especially girls, there. One day, while he was walking past girls at work, one made him stop cold. He saw Grace Fryer, one of the quickest dial painters, put a brush full of radium in her mouth. He immediately stopped her and returned to his work, confusing Fryer.
"Do not do that. You will get sick."-Dr. Sabin von Sochocky, 1918-The Radium Girls (25).
They had been taught to lick their brushes. Why stop? She neglected his warning and painted more dials.
Years later, she would regret her decision.
“Dust samples collected in the workroom from various locations and from chairs not used by the workers were all luminous in the dark room. Their hair, faces, hands, arms, necks, the dresses, the underclothes, even the corsets of the dial painters were luminous. One of the girls showed luminous spots on her legs and thighs. The back of another was luminous almost to the waist….”- Excerpt from Cecil Drinker's report.-RSNA.org