This dissertation investigates the case of the Radium Girls of Orange, New Jersey and the question surrounding their agency within the case, 1925-1929, (The term ‘Radium Girl’ means a woman undertaking employment as a radium dial painter). It is the first study into the Radium Girls and the influence of atomic capitalism, particularly in the industrial sector, in the 1920s. The Radium Girls, having suffered significant radium poisoning and recognising this illness, sued United States Radium Corporation (USRC) for damages, since it was their negligent safety procedures which caused the illness. Using the work of Harrison Martland in 1929, we can see the Radium Girls informing scientists of the process of lippointing and hypothesising methods of contraction not previously explored by the professionals. This event shows the Radium Girls acting with significant agency and undertaking roles as ‘civil scientists’. Discussing occupational health and safety, alongside the history of toxicity, enables historians to further comprehend and investigate the agency of civil scientists within these case studies. The concept of civil scientists and agency against capitalist influence is best understood through historian Michelle Murphy, but is clearly visible through the actions of the Radium Girls. Additionally, it can also be used in conversation with other contextual influences of Radium Girl agency such as gender, class, and immigration, to allow for wider comprehension. The suggestion of venereal disease on a dial-painters death certificate, used as a scapegoat to conceal the dangers of dial-painting, is a key example of the issues that the Radium Girls faced, allowing historians to consider the themes of gender and social history and how this contributed to the overall outcome. Therefore, through my research we can see that despite gendered and societal limitations, the Radium Girls were acting with significant agency and as a result are active participants within their case.
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