This Day in History: 1979-03-05

Search for radium facilities begins in Denver on this day in 1979. The US Dept. of Energy begins an aerial search for radioactive dump sites and 15 processing facilities after an EPA employee had uncovered old Bureau of Mines records concerning the Coloradio radium industry of the 1920 – 1930s time period. The factories produced glow-in-the-dark watches and instruments. Irresponsible uses of radium included a medical cure-all by quack physicians. Also, the treatment of radium workers was well known for its brutality. See The Radium Girls.