A century ago, glow-in-the-dark watches were an irresistible novelty. The dials, covered in a special luminous paint, shone all the time and didn’t require charging in sunlight. It looked like magic.

Hundreds of women and girls were exposed to a radioactive chemical at an Illinois factory in the 1920s. Years later, they helped change workplace safety standards. In the early 1900s, radium was all ...

A century ago, radium in scant quantities was thought to be healthful. People sipped it diluted in water and applied makeup made with it. They consumed milk and butter laced with it and brushed their ...

In November, I attended North High School’s production of “Radium Girls.” I found the story compelling and decided to read the book the play is based on — “The Radium Girls” by Kate Moore. Moore tells ...