Summary: Girls who worked in the radium factories during the 1920s were exposed daily to the radium dust which, they were told, was harmless, even beneficial to their health. When they started experiencing major health issues no-one related their cancers to the radium.
Thoughts: These personal, true stories are horrific. The book is not an easy read, but the story is so mesmerising in its awfulness you can’t help but persevere. The absolute denial by the factory owners that radium could not be responsible for any health issues was either arrogance or ignorance. The corporate lies and cover-ups, one hopes, were not deliberate. It’s scary to think how little they knew back then about the effects of toxic substances like radium. Or asbestos. Or tobacco. Or whatever today’s equivalent is – GM foods? Artificial additives? Sugar? Worth reading, and worth thinking about whether what you eat or put on your skin could possibly be the cause of that niggling cough, or sore back, or skin rash.