
Mae Keane, the Last 'Radium Girl,' Dies at 107 - benbreen
http://www.npr.org/2014/12/28/373510029/saved-by-a-bad-taste-the-last-radium-girl-dies-at-107
======
Omniusaspirer
"There was one women who the dentist went to pull a tooth and he pulled her
entire jaw out when he did it," says Blum. "Their legs broke underneath them.
Their spines collapsed."

Horrific stuff.

I've always found it curious how nonchalant people are with dangerous
substances before it's realized how hazardous they can be. My grandfather
loaded asbestos into railcars at a factory for 30 years, I still can't quite
imagine how he must have felt when he fully realized the dangers it posed.

~~~
sumedh
> I've always found it curious how nonchalant people are with dangerous
> substances before it's realized how hazardous they can be.

Well, we smoke cigarettes knowing that they are harmful to us.

~~~
dredmorbius
Smoking rates in the US, Europe, and Australia have fallen tremendously. The
peak rates were during the 1950s and 1960s, particularly after WWII.
Cigarettes had been heavily promoted through films and popular culture, were
included in soldier's rations and kits (paid for by tobacco companies), and
pitched via advertising aimed directly at children and appealing to women's
sense of independence and self-determination.

During which time the tobacco companies were actively concealing the negative
health effects and campaigning against not only regulation but simply
_providing truthful information_ about tobacco's hazards.

Instrumental in much of this was Edward Bernays, the father of the modern
Public Relations industry (he coined the term after the word "propaganda" lost
its lustre after its use by Germany in WWI).

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Bernays](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Bernays)

The BBC series by _excellent_ documentarian Adam Curtis (I've encountered a
few of his other works and writings recently), _The Century of the Self_
covers Bernays:

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Century_of_the_Self](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Century_of_the_Self)

Many of the same methods and techniques were applied to corporate
disinformation campaigns against controls over leaded paint, asbestos, ozone,
auto safety. Look up GM's attempts to smear Ralph Nader:

 _In early March 1966, several media outlets, including The New Republic and
The New York Times, reported that GM had tried to discredit Nader, hiring
private detectives to tap his phones and investigate his past, and hiring
prostitutes to trap him in compromising situations._

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Nader](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Nader)

Naomi Oreskes has drawn the parallels -- in methods, organizations, and often
the very individuals -- between corporate disinformation campaigns in the case
of tobacco, smoking, acid rain, CFCs and the ozone layer, and global warming,
in her book _Merchants of Doubt_.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merchants_of_Doubt](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merchants_of_Doubt)

------
mirkules
There is a much more in-depth article about the Radium Girls and the ensuing
cover-up: [http://www.damninteresting.com/undark-and-the-radium-
girls/](http://www.damninteresting.com/undark-and-the-radium-girls/)

Interestingly, the article I linked missed the woman FTA, possibly because she
quit early.

------
piokoch
That's a very interesting story. Radium was a huge hit in its times. That what
was happening was even called "Radium fever".

Radium was everywhere including toothpastes, shampoons (cure against hair
loss).

Fortunately only a few people could afford Radium-enhaced products, since it
was expensive. Side effects started to appear quite soon too.

There were other popular uses of radiation, until '50 many shoes shops had
X-ray equimpent that allow to see how shoes fit
[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoe-
fitting_fluoroscope](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoe-fitting_fluoroscope)].
Not that great idea, after all.

For me it is kind of warning against using everything that men invent or men
can do. There are always things we don't fully know or understand. In the long
term something could be a great danger for all of us.

Before we jump into next great thing it is good to stop for a while...

~~~
IndianAstronaut
>Before we jump into next great thing it is good to stop for a while...

I have always wondered what it is in our modern society that is incredibly
dangerous that we are still not fully aware of the long term effects. PVC
piping, propylene glycol, some food additives?

~~~
JanezStupar
Everything "nano" methinks.

~~~
theklub
Nano robots specifically, but just watch Star Trek they mapped out quite a few
possible problems with future tech.

~~~
Tobu
Nanobots are decades away and may stay that way, but nanotubes are mass-
produced and pollution is a problem. The thin fiber is like asbestos except
more volatile, and it can cause cancer.
[http://www.particleandfibretoxicology.com/content/11/1/59](http://www.particleandfibretoxicology.com/content/11/1/59)

