The Radium Girls: Triumph and Tragedy in Worker Safety
Rayna Moiz Individual Website Junior Division Process Paper Length: 496 Words
When we were told about History Day earlier this year, I wanted to research a topic related to disease. When our History teacher described a few topics we could research, she included the Radium Girls. The story had an interesting background and it also regarded the dangers of radium cancer. I noted the Radium Girls as a topic I would like to research, but at the time, I was geared more towards researching smallpox. During the early days of researching, I found that websites and books lacked necessary information. I decided to look up the Radium Girls and see if there were any sites I could find. When I saw that there were several websites with primary source potential, I changed my subject to the Radium Girls and began researching.
During the first days of History Day work, I settled on attaining more primary sources. While I already obtained the amount required for class, I tried to acquire more. When I had gained more sources, I began reading to gain knowledge for my outline. The books had helped in a surplus of ways since they procured information on specific Radium Girls as well as quotes from the time period. While researching, I would spend most time on my iPad skimming my sources, searching for new material to add into my outline. After I had done that, I would turn to the books to verify my newly found information and to find more quotes. Soon I had collected all the knowledge I needed to create a well established outline, so I completed mine, turned it in, and began researching for my thesis statement. After deciding on that, I began searching experts to interview. I recently interviewed Mrs.Kate Moore, the author of a helpful book I read about the Radium Girls, via email.
The first revision of my outline had been lengthy in comparison to some others, and I realized my next drafts would presumably be the same way. When choosing a topic, I was cautious to select one which would allow a nice amount of student created words. I decided not to write a long paper, so I chose a website, permitting twelve thousand student created words.
This years History Day theme is ‘Triumph and Tragedy in History’, and my topic fits the theme well as the Radium Girls story is about several young women employed in radium dial factories where they were instructed to lick brushes they used to paint radium watch dials. They were told that radium was a benefit to their health, but their conditions afterward say otherwise. Their bones crumbled at the touch, they developed cancerous tumors around their bodies, and several died from the symptoms. Tragically, company they worked for eventually realized why the girls were dying and kept it a secret. The Radium Girls triumphed in the end, however, by suing the company, earning compensation, and influencing societies like the Occupational Health and Safety Association to be created.