In the 1920s, factory workers known as the 'Radium Girls' painted their teeth and nails with radioactive paint because they were told it was safe.

The Radium Girls worked primarily for the United States Radium Corporation in Orange, New Jersey, and the Radium Dial Company in Ottawa, Illinois. During the early 20th century, radium was marketed as a miracle cure-all and a luxury ingredient. Workers were instructed to use a 'lip, dip, paint' technique to keep brush tips fine enough for tiny watch numerals. This method ensured that each worker ingested significant amounts of radium-226 every single day.Chemically, radium is an alkaline earth metal that behaves similarly to calcium in the human body. When ingested, the body mistakenly deposits it into the skeletal system. Once embedded in the bone, radium emits alpha particles that destroy bone tissue and mutate DNA. This process led to 'radium jaw,' where the mandibles of the workers literally crumbled and fell away while they were still alive.The legal battle began in 1927 when Grace Fryer and four other women sued the United States Radium Corporation. Despite the company's attempts to delay the trial, the case gained massive public attention. Their sacrifice directly influenced the establishment of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) decades later. It also established the legal precedent that individual workers have the right to sue employers for damages resulting from occupational hazards.