During the 1920’s, some Connecticut women took jobs painting watch dials with radium-laced paint. At the time, they didn’t know it was toxic. As these so-called “Radium Girls” began to die, their stories became part of a rallying cry for industrial regulation.
This hour, we talk about the "Radium Girls" of Waterbury with Kate Moore, author of The Radium Girls: The Dark Story Of America’s Shining Women.
We also hear the story of Mae Keane, a Waterbury native who — until her death in 2014 at the age of 107 — was one of the last surviving "Radium Girls."
And we find out what’s happened to the factory where these women worked -- the Waterbury Clock Factory. Have you passed it in The Brass City?
GUESTS:
- Kate Moore - Author of The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women
- Patricia Cohn - Connecticut resident and niece of Waterbury "Radium Girl" Mae Keane
- Jaci Carroll - Connecticut resident and daughter of Waterbury “Radium Girl” Claire Facido
- Jeff Semancik
- Director of the Radiation Division at the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
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Jeff Tyson and Chion Wolf contributed to this show, which originally aired on 8/3/2017.
