The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women

Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2017

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Epilogue and PostscriptChapter Summaries & Analyses

Epilogue and Postscript Summary

Only weeks before the final case’s verdict is delivered, World War II begins, leading once again to high demand for radium-painted watches and other instruments. This time, however, safety standards are introduced in industrial radium facilities in a direct response to these court cases.

The radium-dial painters were directly responsible for more cautious treatment around radioactive materials and more stringent guidelines for workplace safety. As the radium era ends, World War II is beginning, and the atom bomb is tested as part of the Manhattan Project. As the fine dust settled over crops, the public becomes very concerned, having recently been exposed to the disturbing story of the radium girls.

Efforts begin to locate radium workers of the twenties, who are considered vital to scientific research on the effects of radioactive materials on the human body. Many of them participate in these studies gratefully, happy to contribute to science.

The dial-painters’ cases also lead, through legislation, to the formation of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which ensures workplace safety in the United States. They also lead President Kennedy to sign the Limited Test Ban Treaty, outlawing atomic testing “above ground, underwater, and in outer space” (474).

Many of the women die, with only some receiving payout from USRC and Radium Dial. Others develop cancers and die later in life. Some, including Pearl, lived to a normal age, though not without chronic pain and medical difficulties.

Epilogue and Postscript Analysis

The Epilogue focuses both on broad policy changes as well as the experiences of the women who survived radium for years to come.

To further condemn the companies, Moore writes, “Radium had been known to be harmful since 1901. Every death since was unnecessary” (486). She continues to emphasize the companies’ negligence and guilt in the deaths of the dial-painters.

The wide-reaching effects of the dial-painters’ cases make it remarkable that their story is relatively unknown in contemporary times. Yet, these legislative and scientific changes are detailed in the Epilogue to highlight the women’s importance—they are portrayed as heroes whose dedication contributed to the future safety of other workers.

The Epilogue ends on a solemn note with a description of the memorial in Ottawa, Illinois. No monument to the dial-painters existed until an eighth-grade student campaigned to have one created. By describing this memorial, Moore implies that it took far too long for the dial-painters’ contributions to be honored, but that they indeed need to be remembered. In writing this book, Moore has created another kind of memorial, one that documents the lived experiences of the women and brings their story into the mainstream. Moore’s memorial also documents the crimes of the company, and acts as a warning.

In the Postscript, Moore’s short description of the workers at the Luminous Processes factory in Ottawa demonstrates that Catherine’s lawsuit did not change everything. As late as 1978, Luminous Processes was operating without implementing safety standards. The same story repeated itself with that firm, while the workers suffered the consequences. The final sentence of the book is, “How quickly we forget” (494). Moore is implying that the dynamic between workers and companies will not change, and that companies will continue to prioritize profit over their workers when given the chance.