Hazel Kuser
Not So Fun Facts
The Radium Girls ingested radioactive radium through the special paint formula they used to paint the dials on clocks, watches, aircraft instruments and other applications. By using a technique known as “lip – dip – paint” they would put the brush on their lips after each application to tighten the brush hairs, ingesting the paint hundreds of times a day for years. In a very short period of time, dial painters began experiencing a range of symptoms, including tooth loss, jaw necrosis and severe bone pain, eventually becoming bedridden and passing away from radiation poisoning.
Ironically, the inventor of radium dial paint, Dr Sabin Arnold von Sochocky, died in November 1928, becoming the 16th known victim of poisoning by radium dial paint. He had gotten sick from radium in his hands, not the jaw, but the circumstances of his death helped the Radium Girls in court.
Many of radium girls died within 2-5 years of exposure, in their early-mid twenties, leaving parents, siblings, husbands and children behind–and sometimes decimating entire families.
While a few dial painters received substantial settlements, generally such suits and claims resulted in much smaller compensations. Three of the earliest suits against the USRC were brought by Marguerite Carlough, the family of her sister Sarah Maillefer, and the family of Hazel Kuser. Carlough’s heirs received $9,000. The family of Hazel Kuser received $1,000 and Sarah Maillefer’s survivors received $3,000, each estate signing releases protecting the company from further litigation.
The Radium Girls’ plight brought attention to the dangers of radiation exposure in the workplace, leading to legal battles and eventually, significant changes in labor safety. Their case helped establish occupational safety standards and ultimately led to the formation of OSHA.
Cemetery Information:
Final Resting Place:
Rosedale Cemetery
408 Orange Road
Montclair, New Jersey, 07042
USA
North America
Map:
Grave Location:
Kuser Family Plot, Section Q, Lot 78, Grave 2Grave Location Description
As you enter the cemetery drive to the left slightly past the office. Continue to the back border of the cemetery towards the maintenance building. Look for the bridge linking the new cemetery to the old cemetery. Take the short road to the left of the bridge to the end of the road. Park and walk to your left to the 2 large rhododendrons on the road to the right. The simple, flat shared memorial for Radium Girl Hazel May Kuser is right on the road.
Grave Location GPS
40.787043364524706, -74.22367935848835Photos:
Read More About Hazel Kuser:
- Morbid Fact Du Jour!
- Glowing Girls: The Radium Tragedy that Changed History
- Hazel Vincent Kuser - radium death
- When Undark Was Lethal: A New Look at the ‘Radium Girls’
- A Dazzle in the Bones
- Glowing graves: How the Radium Girls’ suffering helped advance workplace rights
- The Forgotten Story Of The Radium Girls, Whose Deaths Saved Thousands Of Workers' Lives
- Mae Keane, One Of The Last 'Radium Girls,' Dies At 107
- Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women by Kate Moore.
- The Radium Girls at the National Archives
- Radium Girls Public Response and Proceedings
- The “Shining” Women and the Battle for Workers Health Rights: Part 1
Videos Featuring Hazel Kuser:
