Radium jaw
Encyclopedia
Radium jaw is an occupational disease
brought on by the ingestion and subsequent absorption of radium
into the bones of radium dial painters. The symptoms are necrosis
of the mandible (lower jawbone) and the maxilla
(upper jaw) as well as constant bleeding of the gums and (usually) after some time, severe distortion due to bone tumours and porosity of the lower jaw.
The condition is similar to phossy jaw
, an osteoporitic and osteonecrotic illness of matchgirls
, brought on by phosphorus ingestion and absorption. The first written reference to the disease was by a dentist, Dr. Theodor Blum (1924), who described an unusual mandibular osteomyelitis in a dial painter, a condition he called “Radium jaw.”
The disease was determined by Dr. H.S. Martland in 1924 to be symptomatic of radium paint ingestion, after many female workers from various radium paint companies reported similar dental and mandibular pain. The disease was the main reason for litigation against the United States Radium Corporation
by the so-called Radium Girls
.
Another prominent example of this condition was the death of Eben Byers
, an American industrialist, after taking large doses of a patent medicine containing radium over several years. His illness garnered much publicity, with the Wall Street Journal running a story titled "The Radium Water Worked Fine until His Jaw Came Off", and brought the problem of radioactive quack medicines
into the public eye.
Occupational disease
An occupational disease is any chronic ailment that occurs as a result of work or occupational activity. It is an aspect of occupational safety and health. An occupational disease is typically identified when it is shown that it is more prevalent in a given body of workers than in the general...
brought on by the ingestion and subsequent absorption of radium
Radium
Radium is a chemical element with atomic number 88, represented by the symbol Ra. Radium is an almost pure-white alkaline earth metal, but it readily oxidizes on exposure to air, becoming black in color. All isotopes of radium are highly radioactive, with the most stable isotope being radium-226,...
into the bones of radium dial painters. The symptoms are necrosis
Osteonecrosis of the jaw
Osteonecrosis of the jaw is a severe bone disease that affects the maxilla and the mandible. Various forms of ONJ have been described over the last 160 years, and a number of causes have been suggested in the literature...
of the mandible (lower jawbone) and the maxilla
Maxilla
The maxilla is a fusion of two bones along the palatal fissure that form the upper jaw. This is similar to the mandible , which is also a fusion of two halves at the mental symphysis. Sometimes The maxilla (plural: maxillae) is a fusion of two bones along the palatal fissure that form the upper...
(upper jaw) as well as constant bleeding of the gums and (usually) after some time, severe distortion due to bone tumours and porosity of the lower jaw.
The condition is similar to phossy jaw
Phossy jaw
Phossy jaw, formally phosphorus necrosis of the jaw, is an occupational disease of those who work with white phosphorus, also known as yellow phosphorus, without proper safeguards. It was most commonly seen in workers in the match industry in the 19th and early 20th century...
, an osteoporitic and osteonecrotic illness of matchgirls
London matchgirls strike of 1888
The London match-girls’ strike of 1888 was a strike of the women and teenage girls working at the Bryant and May Factory in Bow, London.-The strike:...
, brought on by phosphorus ingestion and absorption. The first written reference to the disease was by a dentist, Dr. Theodor Blum (1924), who described an unusual mandibular osteomyelitis in a dial painter, a condition he called “Radium jaw.”
The disease was determined by Dr. H.S. Martland in 1924 to be symptomatic of radium paint ingestion, after many female workers from various radium paint companies reported similar dental and mandibular pain. The disease was the main reason for litigation against the United States Radium Corporation
United States Radium Corporation
The United States Radium Corporation was a company, most notorious for its operations between the years 1917 to 1926 in Orange, New Jersey, in the United States that led to stronger worker protection laws...
by the so-called Radium Girls
Radium Girls
The Radium Girls were female factory workers who contracted radiation poisoning from painting watch dials with glow-in-the-dark paint at the United States Radium factory in Orange, New Jersey around 1917....
.
Another prominent example of this condition was the death of Eben Byers
Eben Byers
Eben McBurney Byers was a wealthy American socialite, athlete, and industrialist. Byers earned notoriety in the early 1930s when he died from radiation poisoning after consuming a popular patent medicine made from radium dissolved in water.-Biography:The son of industrialist Alexander Byers, Eben...
, an American industrialist, after taking large doses of a patent medicine containing radium over several years. His illness garnered much publicity, with the Wall Street Journal running a story titled "The Radium Water Worked Fine until His Jaw Came Off", and brought the problem of radioactive quack medicines
Quackery
Quackery is a derogatory term used to describe the promotion of unproven or fraudulent medical practices. Random House Dictionary describes a "quack" as a "fraudulent or ignorant pretender to medical skill" or "a person who pretends, professionally or publicly, to have skill, knowledge, or...
into the public eye.
See also
- United States Radium CorporationUnited States Radium CorporationThe United States Radium Corporation was a company, most notorious for its operations between the years 1917 to 1926 in Orange, New Jersey, in the United States that led to stronger worker protection laws...
- Radiation sicknessRadiation SicknessRadiation Sickness is a VHS by the thrash metal band Nuclear Assault. The video is a recording of a concert at the Hammersmith Odeon, London in 1988. It was released in 1991...
- Radium Dial CompanyRadium Dial CompanyThe now defunct Radium Dial Company, was one of a few United States companies along with the United States Radium Corporation, involved in the painting of clocks, watches and other instrument dials using radioluminescent paint containing radium. These dials are collectively known as radium dials...
- Radium dialsRadium dialsRadium dials are watch, clock and other instrument dials painted with radioluminescent paint containing radium. The 1900s were the peak of radium dial production, as radiation poisoning was then unknown; subsequently, radium dials have largely been replaced by tritium based light...