Ottawa, Illinois

==''Radium City'' documentary==
In 1986, documentary film maker [[Carole Langer]] made a film that covered the plight of the so-called "[[Radium Girls]]" who worked in the watch dial industry. The young women, who had been told the paint was harmless, ingested deadly amounts of radium after being instructed to lick their paintbrushes to sharpen them; as a lark, some even painted their faces and fingernails with the glowing paint.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Wilmington |first1=Michael |title=Movie Review: 'Radium City' Paints Incredible Horror Story of the Atomic Age |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-01-09-ca-8748-story.html |access-date=5 October 2020 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=9 January 1988}}</ref> Over time, many of the women developed [[anemia]], [[bone fracture]]s, sarcomas, and [[necrosis]] of the jaw, a condition now known as [[radium jaw]]. Many of these women died young.

The documentary interviews survivors from the industry who relate their experiences of the poisoning and the bureaucratic hurdles they met in seeking compensation and justice. ''[[Radium City]]'' outlines the aftermath of these events with a focus on the social and political consequences as well as the medical ones.

According to the film, after Radium Dial Company opened in 1918, workers began to get sick, and a lawsuit was brought against the company. With the looming lawsuit, Radium Dial closed in 1936, but then re-opened in 1937, under the name Luminous Processes in another part of town. Luminous Processes remained in operation until 1978.

The film shows the dismantling of the empty building where Luminous Processes was housed as well as the hot spots from where the Radium Dial Company was dismantled and buried throughout the city.  After the plant closed and before it was dismantled, many residents took items from the factory for their homes. This spread the contamination even further. The building materials from the Luminuous Processes building were eventually turned into landfill. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency began removing contaminated material in 1986.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ottawa Radiation Areas |url=http://www.epa.gov/R5Super/npl/illinois/ILD980606750.htm |publisher=U.S. EPA Region 5 |access-date=5 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090512103727/http://www.epa.gov/R5Super/npl/illinois/ILD980606750.htm |archive-date=12 May 2009}}</ref> The work continues.

===Areas still affected by radiation===
Sixteen areas of Ottawa are still radioactive.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ottawa radiation areas |url=http://www.toxicsites.us/site.php?epa_id=ILD980606750 |publisher=ToxicSites |access-date=5 October 2020}}</ref> The [[United States Department of Health and Human Services]] released a study,<ref>{{cite web |title=Ottawa Radiation Areas |url=http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/HAC/pha/OttawaRadiationAreas/OttawaRadiationAreasPHA072506.pdf |publisher=United States Department of Health and Human Services |access-date=5 October 2020 |date=25 July 2006}}</ref> outlining areas where contamination by radium-226 (Ra-226), as well as emissions of [[radon-222]] (Rn-222), are at or above normal levels. These areas include homes, public areas, schools, and even a car sales lot that is housed directly over the old [[Radium Dial Company]] site. A score of 28.5/100 or higher qualifies an area for the Superfund National Priority List, and Ottawa's hazardous ranking score is 50/100.

The radium in Ottawa's water supply occurs naturally in water from deep wells across northern Illinois.<ref>{{cite web |title=Illinois State Water Survey |url=http://www.isws.illinois.edu/pubdoc/IEM/ISWSIEM2006-04.pdf |publisher=Illinois Department of Natural Resources |access-date=5 October 2020 |date=July 2006}}</ref> A reverse osmosis water treatment plant removes the radium so the city's tap water complies with federal regulations.<ref>{{cite web |title=Water Treatment Plant History |url=https://cityofottawa.org/water-treatment-plant-history/ |publisher=City of Ottawa |access-date=5 October 2020}}</ref>