McCarthy, M. et al
Marie Curie has been hailed as “The Mother of Modern Physics” for her study of radioactivity. But Curie’s careless discovery of radium was instrumental in the eventual radiation-poisoning deaths of dozens of watch factory workers we now know as the Radium Girls. It defies logic that the discovery of such a dangerous element would be celebrated as a landmark moment for women in STEM. Without radium, there would have been no Radium Girls.
In the early 20th century, radium was used in phosphorescent paints on watch dials. Curie’s passion project created a severe and unnecessary danger for the factory workers who were encouraged by managers to shape the tips of brushes with their mouths. This paint-licking practice led to the ingestion of fatal doses of radioactive material. Yet Curie’s research into the responsible element earned her Nobel Prizes in chemistry and physics. This trailblazer for women in STEM also trailblazed some extremely dangerous conditions for women in the workplace. It would be ironic if it weren’t so tragic.
The grim reality is that Marie Curie led the carefree life of a typical celebrity scientist. She knew the risks but didn’t care. Curie’s laissez-faire attitude towards the unsafe handling of radioactive materials not only caused the suffering of the Radium Girls, it ultimately led to her own premature demise. Curie’s remains were buried in a lead-lined casket due to the high amount of radiation emanating from her body. Her contaminated papers and research equipment are still kept in a lead shielded room that visitors must sign a waiver to enter. Death itself was not enough to stop Curie from harming others in her quest for knowledge.
This abrupt retirement was a curse that Curie shared with an entire clan of scientists. The extended Curie family has received five Nobel Prizes, as well as several more cases of fatal radiation poisoning. In fact, the only member of the Curie family of researchers who managed to not die prematurely from exposure was Marie Curie’s husband, Pierre, who was run over by a horse-drawn carriage before he, too, could be victimized by Curie’s research.
