In 1918, the Radium Dial Company opened in downtown Ottawa, where 92 women began painting glow-in-the-dark dials for clocks made at the La Salle Westclox factory and later for World War II aircraft. Paid by the piece, the workers found that licking their paintbrush tips helped them paint more accurately and quickly, but this repeatedly exposed them to radioactive toxins from concentrated radium luminous powder mixed with zinc sulphide crystals. In the 1920's, women ranging from teenagers to their 40's took these unusually high-paying jobs to support their families during hard economic times, only to suffer cancer, honey-combed bones, and other fatal diseases. When concerns arose, bosses and company-hired doctors assured them the material was safe and even beneficial, while workers received little clear information about their conditions despite repeated testing. After Radium Dial closed in 1937, Luminous Processes, Inc., opened that same year under the same management five blocks away on Columbus Street at this site and continued until 1978, leaving radium contamination behind. In the 1930's and early 40's, 14 former employees, calling themselves the Society of the Living Dead, sued Radium Dial in 1937 after an occupational diseases law was revived through the efforts of State Representative and Illinois Federation of Labor President Reuben Soderstrom and with legal leadership from Chicago attorney Leonard J. Grossman. Their case drew international attention, survived numerous appeals, and ended in meager settlements after long and emotional trials, though some women died before receiving any money and many were shunned by the community. In 1985, the Illinois Department of Nuclear Safety oversaw demolition and disposal of radium-contaminated debris from the main part of the Luminous Processes building, much of it sent to Hanford, Washington, but later allegations of improper disposal led to further investigation. In 1986, an aerial radiological survey by the U.S. Department of Energy found abnormal radiation levels around Ottawa, and the Department of Nuclear Safety identified 14 contaminated areas that later became U.S. EPA Superfund sites, with cleanup of 11 completed and three remaining as funding allows. The women of Radium Dial, Luminous Processes, Inc., and other dial painters across the United States endured lasting suffering that underscored the need for worker health and safety protections.
