Talk:United States Radium Corporation/Archives/2013

January 2010

I don't know what to make of this article. I worked for US Radium Corp in its Hackettstown plant (technically in Washington Twp, Morris County, New Jersey) in the early 1970's. Prior to that I worked in another US Radium Plant in Whippany, NJ. Some of what I knew of the history of the company was because my father had gone to school with some of the children of the Radium Girls. When I asked Dr. Byler (William H. Byler, inventor of the black light) about it, I was told US Radium was still paying pensions and medical expenses of the survivors. They had stopped producing watch and clock dials, but continued to produce radium-based phosphorescent pigments until the end of WWII, when it became known that the poisoning from radium was because it was radioactive, rather than because it was a simple biochemical poison. US Radium was listed on the American Stock Exchange, but went out of business some time after I left. I do not know when this was, though it was certainly after 1972. I have been told it was due to new problems arising because of radium that had been improperly disposed of after WWII.

ghh 14:05, 12 January 2010 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by George H. Harvey (talk • contribs)

• It would be great if you could verify the information you have from a written resource as you seem to know a great deal about the actual place and circumstances. Good work, but we need that info on the page rather than here. Cheers!Read-write-services (talk) 01:30, 22 February 2011 (UTC)

December 2007

I think the section referring to Peru, Illinois may be factually inaccurate - Radium Dial was in Ottawa, Illinois from 1922-1932, and operated again in Ottawa as "Luminous Processes" 'til 1978. I've added some comments here that are relevant. SVDasein (talk) —Preceding comment was added at 08:24, 13 December 2007 (UTC)

Hi User:Alansohn, thanks for fixing the cats etc. up- I have no Idea how to do that.--Read-write-services 04:19, 18 September 2007 (UTC)

Latest edits-Good job!

Hi User:Alansohn, once again-the article is sounding a lot more informative due to your recent edits-well done. Are you able to source some photographs of the outside of the factory? some photos of the owners? maybe ebven a copy of some of the court proceedings? Perhaps even some items painted by the workers would be a great improvement to the text. Cheers--Read-write-services 22:51, 20 September 2007 (UTC)

• I had always been interested in the subject and heard about the case, but until you created the article I never knew the details; thanks to you for taking the time to start the article. I have nominated the article for inclusion on the "Did You Know" feature on the Wikipedia front page. My "specialty" is finding text and sources, by agree that some period pictures would improve the article. I will search for some. Alansohn 23:46, 20 September 2007 (UTC)

Great!

I first heard about this in the mid 80s (I'm 40). So it has bugged and appalled me for ages. I have always wanted to write about these subjects (Industrial accidents and diseases) I am interested in radium jaw, Phossy jaw and poisoned places such as http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wittenoom%2C_Western_Australia plus US radium corp. I have heard that there was also a subsiduary of US radium called the Radium Dial Company, but I am not sure of this..if you could find some pics it would really improve the article out of sight. cheers--Read-write-services 01:42, 21 September 2007 (UTC)

Sorry, when I pedalled by the site this spring I was following the river and was unaware of its former use and modern superfunded status. Later on, I chanced to discover that I had caught a glimpse of the site in a picture inadvertently. Perhaps next year I'll unfold the bike in Essex County again and this time know the target, though I don't recall any signage or anything interesting except an abandoned power station downstream. As for this year, with shorter cooler days I'll confine my bicycling to lesser distances. Jim.henderson (talk) 05:02, 30 September 2009 (UTC)

February 2011, Corporate survival

Something is very wrong with the chronology in this article. US Radium Corp certainly lasted into the 1970s, and the Safety Light Corporation was a modern spinoff. Its immediate descendant is now called Isolite.

I would fix it, except that I don't know enough of the facts to be certain that I'm not making other blunders.

Thanks; you seem to be doing all right except for the small matter that a new comment in Talk Page should be at the bottom and signed with four tildes. So, as an old-time editor, I moved it. Would that every new editor would do as well as you have. Jim.henderson (talk) 03:05, 22 February 2011 (UTC)

• One problem, I didn't write that comment...

Read-write-services talk

Oops, intending to put new material at the bottom as per usual in a talk page and sign the unsigned, I seem to have misattributed some text. Rather than try to untangle it and risk making it worse, I'll await further word from whoever said what or wants to add more about changes already made or to be made in the article. Jim.henderson (talk) 22:22, 24 February 2011 (UTC)