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Radiation's Big Lie
Did a Nobel laureate knowingly lie about the dangers of radiation in 1946?
BY Steven Cherry // Fri, October 07, 2011
In 1946, Hermann Muller was awarded the Nobel Prize in medicine for work done on spontaneous gene mutation, including the effects of X-rays.
So Muller was the obvious guy to go to when, right around the same time, the National Academy of Sciences formed a committee to offer expert advice to the government on the biological effects of atomic radiation.
In his Nobel acceptance speech and in the NAS committee meetings, Muller argued that there is no safe level of radiation exposure, a position the Academy came to adopt. That in turn influenced official policies toward radiation for decades.
The problem is, Hermann Muller knowingly lied. So says Edward J. Calabrese, a professor of toxicology at the University of Massachusetts School of Public Health. He bases that opinion on a wealth of materials, including formerly classified files and, recently, some overlooked correspondence between Muller and one of his coresearchers.
Professor Calabrese is the author of over 600 journal papers and more than a dozen books. He’s board certified in toxicology, is the editor in chief of the journal Human and Ecological Risk Assessment, is a member of three different toxicology societies as well as the Society of Risk Analysis, and he’s my guest today.
This interview was recorded 29 September 2011.
Did a Nobel laureate knowingly lie about the dangers of radiation in 1946?
BY Steven Cherry // Fri, October 07, 2011
In 1946, Hermann Muller was awarded the Nobel Prize in medicine for work done on spontaneous gene mutation, including the effects of X-rays.
So Muller was the obvious guy to go to when, right around the same time, the National Academy of Sciences formed a committee to offer expert advice to the government on the biological effects of atomic radiation.
In his Nobel acceptance speech and in the NAS committee meetings, Muller argued that there is no safe level of radiation exposure, a position the Academy came to adopt. That in turn influenced official policies toward radiation for decades.
The problem is, Hermann Muller knowingly lied. So says Edward J. Calabrese, a professor of toxicology at the University of Massachusetts School of Public Health. He bases that opinion on a wealth of materials, including formerly classified files and, recently, some overlooked correspondence between Muller and one of his coresearchers.
Professor Calabrese is the author of over 600 journal papers and more than a dozen books. He’s board certified in toxicology, is the editor in chief of the journal Human and Ecological Risk Assessment, is a member of three different toxicology societies as well as the Society of Risk Analysis, and he’s my guest today.
This interview was recorded 29 September 2011.
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