[Texgreen] Fw: Tribute to Dr. John Gofman in The Nation (online)

Sat, 15 Sep 2007 13:18:16 -0700

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 I was lucky enough to video-tape an amazing 4 hr interview of John =
Goffman in Berkley a few years ago.
He was an extra-ordinary man who stood up to the nuclear industry. His =
discoveries led to the 1st atom bomb then later he came out with the =
health effects of radiation, to the chagrin of the industry,  from =
mammograms, x-rays and nuclear power plants causing cancer and ischemic =
heart attacks. He's written many books on these topics. Let's not forget =
him and  continue to spread his message!
Sandi
Sent: Saturday, September 15, 2007 8:14 AM
Subject: Tribute to Dr. John Gofman in The Nation (online)

=20

Click here to return to the browser-optimized version of this page.

This article can be found on the web at=20
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20071001/mangano=20

-------------------------------------------------------------------------=
-------

John Gofman's Nuclear Courage
by JOSEPH J. MANGANO

[posted online on September 14, 2007]

The life of eminent nuclear scientist and physician John Gofman ended =
last month just short of age 89. The New York Times obituary recounted =
his scientific r=E9sum=E9 but ignored the backlash he faced from =
industry and government, simply describing him as a "nuclear gadfly." =
Gofman should be remembered for his brilliance and integrity, which are =
critical factors in the current debate over the future of nuclear power. =

Gofman's brilliance was evident early. His doctoral dissertation =
described co-discoveries of radioactive uranium-232 and -233, and =
protactinium-232 and -233, and the ability to transform uranium-233 into =
an atomic bomb. Soon after graduation, Gofman joined the Manhattan =
Project to help win the race with Nazi Germany for the first atomic =
bomb. His team at the University of California, Berkeley, made more than =
one milligram of plutonium--the most created to that point--leading to =
the plutonium bombs tested in New Mexico and used at Nagasaki.=20

After the war, Gofman settled in at Berkeley as a teacher and =
researcher, focusing not on radiation but coronary disease. His =
pioneering work on lipoproteins in the blood--HDL and LDL =
cholesterol--remains a cornerstone of cardiology. In 1974 the American =
College of Cardiology named him as one of the twenty-five leading =
researchers in the field over the previous quarter-century.=20

But the arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union pulled =
Gofman back into the nuclear world. In the early 1950s the Atomic Energy =
Commission (AEC) set up a nuclear weapons research lab at Lawrence =
Livermore Laboratories, fifty miles from Berkeley. Gofman formed the =
lab's medical department and worked part-time for several years, helping =
with calculations on health effects and problems of nuclear war before =
returning to Berkeley.=20

In late 1962, during the depths of cold war tensions, Livermore beckoned =
again. Massive atomic bomb testing by both superpowers was spreading =
fallout across the globe in unprecedented amounts, and the world came =
perilously close to nuclear war during the Cuban missile crisis of =
October 1962. Gofman headed a biology and medicine lab; with an annual =
budget of more than $3 million, he formed a crackerjack staff of 150.=20

With scientists like Linus Pauling and Andrei Sakharov warning about =
hazards of bomb fallout, and with the government issuing repeated =
denials, a moral crisis was imminent for Gofman. Soon after he took over =
the lab, an official at Livermore asked him to help suppress publication =
of the work of AEC scientist Harold Knapp, who concluded that doses of =
radioactive iodine from bomb tests in Utah were much higher than the AEC =
had publicly admitted. Despite the warning that "we can't afford to have =
him publish that evidence," Gofman reviewed Knapp's analysis with his =
staff, and found it accurate. Refusing to yield to political heat, =
Gofman urged publication of the data, which the AEC reluctantly allowed. =

Nuclear tensions eased after the Partial Test Ban Treaty of 1963, signed =
by President John F. Kennedy and Premier Nikita Khrushchev, banned =
atmospheric nuclear tests. But the treaty did not mean the end of the =
battle over fallout's harm. In 1969 University of Pittsburgh physicist =
Ernest Sternglass startled many when he published an article in Esquire =
magazine showing that for the first time in the twentieth century, the =
steady rate of decline in US infant death rates had halted as bombs were =
tested in the atmosphere. Sternglass calculated that 400,000 additional =
American infants died in the 1950s and early '60s, and suggested that =
fallout was the cause.=20

The AEC called on Gofman and his colleague Arthur Tamplin to debunk the =
article. Although Gofman later acknowledged that "Sternglass may have =
been right," the two estimated that excess infant deaths were about =
4,000, not 400,000. But even that wasn't enough for AEC officials, who =
told them to publish only a critique with no estimates. They ignored the =
AEC and published the paper using the 4,000 figure.=20

By now, Gofman had built a reputation for being an obstacle to the AEC =
party line, but he had yet to be disciplined. A more cautious person =
might have stopped insisting that nuclear power was harming people, to =
preserve his professional status. But that wasn't John Gofman. Just =
months after the Sternglass controversy, he turned to radiation =
routinely emitted by nuclear power reactors, the darlings of the nuclear =
industry, heralded as a "peaceful" use of the atom.=20

In late 1969 Gofman and Tamplin were among the first scientists to =
oppose nuclear power in a paper asserting that even low-dose radiation =
harmed humans. "I realized that the entire nuclear power program was =
based on a fraud--namely that there was a 'safe' amount of radiation, a =
permissible dose that wouldn't hurt anybody," recalled Gofman. The duo =
calculated a worst-case scenario in which 32,000 additional Americans =
would die of cancer each year if everybody received the permissible AEC =
dose from reactors.=20

He proposed a five-year moratorium on new nuclear plants, declaring that =
"licensing a nuclear power plant is in my view, licensing random =
premeditated murder." Gofman had now become too much for the =
establishment. In 1972 the AEC removed funding for twelve of thirteen of =
Tamplin's staff members. Later, it threatened to remove Gofman's =
$250,000 in funds for cancer research at Livermore. He applied to the =
National Cancer Institute for replacement funding but was rejected, as =
the blacklist extended throughout the federal government. Gofman =
resigned and went back to Berkeley.=20

Being ousted from Livermore didn't stop Gofman from investigating =
radiation risks. His 1985 book X-rays: Health Effects of Common Exams, =
co-written with Egan O'Connor, stated that 75 percent of cancer cases =
are caused by medical radiation, including X-rays, mammograms and CT =
scans. Doctors howled about how wrong and inflammatory Gofman was--while =
giving no evidence proving safety. He had now incurred the wrath of both =
of his chosen professions: physics and medicine. But he never stopped =
speaking out against the human toll radiation exacts, predicting that =
nearly 1 million people would develop cancer from Chernobyl, far more =
than any other estimate.=20

Gofman was certainly a courageous scientist. But was he right, and is =
his work relevant?=20

Are even small radiation doses harmful? A 2005 blue-ribbon panel of the =
National Academy of Sciences examined hundreds of articles and concluded =
that no safe threshold exists. The panel used reports from up to fifty =
years ago, when pelvic X-rays to pregnant women were found to raise the =
chance that the fetus would die of cancer as a child.=20

Could up to 32,000 Americans a year die from cancer from reactor =
emissions? A 1994 General Accounting Office report to Senator John Glenn =
estimated that the maximum exposure permitted by the government to every =
American would result in a lifetime premature cancer death risk of one =
in 300--or 1 million deaths, or about 14,000 cancer deaths a year--which =
fits Gofman's prediction, made when limits were higher.=20

Will 1 million people develop cancer from exposure to Chernobyl =
radiation? For years the International Atomic Energy Agency insisted =
that only 4,000 would die. But in 2006 a Greenpeace report from =
scientists who reviewed statistics from Belarus projected that 270,000 =
would develop cancer. Research continues, but with 5 million to 8 =
million people still living in highly contaminated areas, Gofman's =
estimate may yet prove to be correct.=20

Did thousands of infants die from bomb fallout half a century ago? The =
period 1950-1963 remains as the only part of the twentieth century in =
which infant deaths did not fall sharply, and is still unexplained. In =
1992 British scientist R.K. Whyte published a paper in the British =
Medical Journal concluding that bomb fallout was the likely reason.=20

Do medical X-rays give people cancer? A storm of protest is growing over =
the number of X-rays, especially CT scans, administered to children, who =
are most susceptible to harm from radiation. The National Cancer =
Institute cautions that physicians should only conduct pediatric CT =
scans when necessary, adjust exposure parameters, minimize use of =
multiple scans in a single examination and consider alternatives to CT =
scans.=20

Validation of Gofman's findings is vital to the current debate over =
nuclear power. After a long decline, the nuclear industry has seized on =
concerns over global warming and costs of fossil fuels to tout reactors =
as a "clean and safe" alternative. Bush Administration regulators have =
thus far granted permission for more than half of US reactors to operate =
twenty years past their expected life span of forty years. Just last =
month the first order for a new US reactor since 1978 was made (at the =
Calvert Cliffs plant near Washington, DC). Congress is considering $50 =
billion in loan guarantees for construction of other new reactors.=20

Utility companies and the Bush Administration claim that reactors are =
safe--without furnishing any hard evidence backing their claim. They =
turn a blind eye to potential risks of a major meltdown and actual risks =
of ongoing radioactive emissions. Objective research and educating =
people of these risks regardless of political fallout was Gofman's =
legacy. There is no time like now for citizens and scientists to embrace =
this legacy to protect public health.=20

=20

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<DIV>&nbsp;I was lucky enough to video-tape an amazing 4 hr interview of =
John=20
Goffman in Berkley&nbsp;a few years ago.</DIV>
<DIV>He was an extra-ordinary man who stood up to the nuclear =
industry.&nbsp;His=20
discoveries led to the 1st atom bomb then later he came out =
with&nbsp;the health=20
effects of radiation, to the chagrin of the industry, &nbsp;from =
mammograms,=20
x-rays and nuclear power plants causing cancer and ischemic heart =
attacks. He's=20
written many books on these topics. Let's not forget him and&nbsp; =
continue to=20
spread his message!</DIV>
<DIV>Sandi</DIV>
<DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial">
<DIV><B>Sent:</B> Saturday, September 15, 2007 8:14 AM</DIV>
<DIV><B>Subject:</B> Tribute to Dr. John Gofman in The Nation=20
(online)</DIV></DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<P><IMG height=3D65 =
src=3D"http://www.thenation.com/images/thenation_print.gif"=20
width=3D362> </P>
<P><A href=3D"http://www.thenation.com/doc/20071001/mangano">Click =
here</A> to=20
return to the browser-optimized version of this page.</P>
<P>This article can be found on the web at <BR><B><A=20
href=3D"http://www.thenation.com/doc/20071001/mangano">http://www.thenati=
on.com/doc/20071001/mangano</A></B>=20
</P>
<HR SIZE=3D1>

<H2>John Gofman's Nuclear Courage</H2>
<P>by JOSEPH J. MANGANO</P>
<P>[posted online on September 14, 2007]</P>
<P>The life of eminent nuclear scientist and physician John Gofman ended =
last=20
month just short of age 89. The <I>New York Times</I> obituary recounted =
his=20
scientific r=E9sum=E9 but ignored the backlash he faced from industry =
and=20
government, simply describing him as a "nuclear gadfly." Gofman should =
be=20
remembered for his brilliance and integrity, which are critical factors =
in the=20
current debate over the future of nuclear power. </P>
<P>Gofman's brilliance was evident early. His doctoral dissertation =
described=20
co-discoveries of radioactive uranium-232 and -233, and protactinium-232 =
and=20
-233, and the ability to transform uranium-233 into an atomic bomb. Soon =
after=20
graduation, Gofman joined the Manhattan Project to help win the race =
with Nazi=20
Germany for the first atomic bomb. His team at the University of =
California,=20
Berkeley, made more than one milligram of plutonium--the most created to =
that=20
point--leading to the plutonium bombs tested in New Mexico and used at =
Nagasaki.=20
</P>
<P>After the war, Gofman settled in at Berkeley as a teacher and =
researcher,=20
focusing not on radiation but coronary disease. His pioneering work on=20
lipoproteins in the blood--HDL and LDL cholesterol--remains a =
cornerstone of=20
cardiology. In 1974 the American College of Cardiology named him as one =
of the=20
twenty-five leading researchers in the field over the previous =
quarter-century.=20
</P>
<P>But the arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union =
pulled=20
Gofman back into the nuclear world. In the early 1950s the Atomic Energy =

Commission (AEC) set up a nuclear weapons research lab at Lawrence =
Livermore=20
Laboratories, fifty miles from Berkeley. Gofman formed the lab's medical =

department and worked part-time for several years, helping with =
calculations on=20
health effects and problems of nuclear war before returning to Berkeley. =
</P>
<P>In late 1962, during the depths of cold war tensions, Livermore =
beckoned=20
again. Massive atomic bomb testing by both superpowers was spreading =
fallout=20
across the globe in unprecedented amounts, and the world came perilously =
close=20
to nuclear war during the Cuban missile crisis of October 1962. Gofman =
headed a=20
biology and medicine lab; with an annual budget of more than $3 million, =
he=20
formed a crackerjack staff of 150. </P>
<P>With scientists like Linus Pauling and Andrei Sakharov warning about =
hazards=20
of bomb fallout, and with the government issuing repeated denials, a =
moral=20
crisis was imminent for Gofman. Soon after he took over the lab, an =
official at=20
Livermore asked him to help suppress publication of the work of AEC =
scientist=20
Harold Knapp, who concluded that doses of radioactive iodine from bomb =
tests in=20
Utah were much higher than the AEC had publicly admitted. Despite the =
warning=20
that "we can't afford to have him publish that evidence," Gofman =
reviewed=20
Knapp's analysis with his staff, and found it accurate. Refusing to =
yield to=20
political heat, Gofman urged publication of the data, which the AEC =
reluctantly=20
allowed. </P>
<P>Nuclear tensions eased after the Partial Test Ban Treaty of 1963, =
signed by=20
President John F. Kennedy and Premier Nikita Khrushchev, banned =
atmospheric=20
nuclear tests. But the treaty did not mean the end of the battle over =
fallout's=20
harm. In 1969 University of Pittsburgh physicist Ernest Sternglass =
startled many=20
when he published an article in <I>Esquire</I> magazine showing that for =
the=20
first time in the twentieth century, the steady rate of decline in US =
infant=20
death rates had halted as bombs were tested in the atmosphere. =
Sternglass=20
calculated that 400,000 additional American infants died in the 1950s =
and early=20
'60s, and suggested that fallout was the cause. </P>
<P>The AEC called on Gofman and his colleague Arthur Tamplin to debunk =
the=20
article. Although Gofman later acknowledged that "Sternglass may have =
been=20
right," the two estimated that excess infant deaths were about 4,000, =
not=20
400,000. But even that wasn't enough for AEC officials, who told them to =
publish=20
only a critique with no estimates. They ignored the AEC and published =
the paper=20
using the 4,000 figure. </P>
<P>By now, Gofman had built a reputation for being an obstacle to the =
AEC party=20
line, but he had yet to be disciplined. A more cautious person might =
have=20
stopped insisting that nuclear power was harming people, to preserve his =

professional status. But that wasn't John Gofman. Just months after the=20
Sternglass controversy, he turned to radiation routinely emitted by =
nuclear=20
power reactors, the darlings of the nuclear industry, heralded as a =
"peaceful"=20
use of the atom. </P>
<P>In late 1969 Gofman and Tamplin were among the first scientists to =
oppose=20
nuclear power in a paper asserting that even low-dose radiation harmed =
humans.=20
"I realized that the entire nuclear power program was based on a =
fraud--namely=20
that there was a 'safe' amount of radiation, a permissible dose that =
wouldn't=20
hurt anybody," recalled Gofman. The duo calculated a worst-case scenario =
in=20
which 32,000 additional Americans would die of cancer each year if =
everybody=20
received the permissible AEC dose from reactors. </P>
<P>He proposed a five-year moratorium on new nuclear plants, declaring =
that=20
"licensing a nuclear power plant is in my view, licensing random =
premeditated=20
murder." Gofman had now become too much for the establishment. In 1972 =
the AEC=20
removed funding for twelve of thirteen of Tamplin's staff members. =
Later, it=20
threatened to remove Gofman's $250,000 in funds for cancer research at=20
Livermore. He applied to the National Cancer Institute for replacement =
funding=20
but was rejected, as the blacklist extended throughout the federal =
government.=20
Gofman resigned and went back to Berkeley. </P>
<P>Being ousted from Livermore didn't stop Gofman from investigating =
radiation=20
risks. His 1985 book <I>X-rays: Health Effects of Common Exams</I>, =
co-written=20
with Egan O'Connor, stated that 75 percent of cancer cases are caused by =
medical=20
radiation, including X-rays, mammograms and CT scans. Doctors howled =
about how=20
wrong and inflammatory Gofman was--while giving no evidence proving =
safety. He=20
had now incurred the wrath of both of his chosen professions: physics =
and=20
medicine. But he never stopped speaking out against the human toll =
radiation=20
exacts, predicting that nearly 1 million people would develop cancer =
from=20
Chernobyl, far more than any other estimate. </P>
<P>Gofman was certainly a courageous scientist. But was he right, and is =
his=20
work relevant? </P>
<P>Are even small radiation doses harmful? A 2005 blue-ribbon panel of =
the=20
National Academy of Sciences examined hundreds of articles and concluded =
that no=20
safe threshold exists. The panel used reports from up to fifty years =
ago, when=20
pelvic X-rays to pregnant women were found to raise the chance that the =
fetus=20
would die of cancer as a child. </P>
<P>Could up to 32,000 Americans a year die from cancer from reactor =
emissions? A=20
1994 General Accounting Office report to Senator John Glenn estimated =
that the=20
maximum exposure permitted by the government to every American would =
result in a=20
lifetime premature cancer death risk of one in 300--or 1 million deaths, =
or=20
about 14,000 cancer deaths a year--which fits Gofman's prediction, made =
when=20
limits were higher. </P>
<P>Will 1 million people develop cancer from exposure to Chernobyl =
radiation?=20
For years the International Atomic Energy Agency insisted that only =
4,000 would=20
die. But in 2006 a Greenpeace report from scientists who reviewed =
statistics=20
from Belarus projected that 270,000 would develop cancer. Research =
continues,=20
but with 5 million to 8 million people still living in highly =
contaminated=20
areas, Gofman's estimate may yet prove to be correct. </P>
<P>Did thousands of infants die from bomb fallout half a century ago? =
The period=20
1950-1963 remains as the only part of the twentieth century in which =
infant=20
deaths did not fall sharply, and is still unexplained. In 1992 British =
scientist=20
R.K. Whyte published a paper in the <I>British Medical Journal</I> =
concluding=20
that bomb fallout was the likely reason. </P>
<P>Do medical X-rays give people cancer? A storm of protest is growing =
over the=20
number of X-rays, especially CT scans, administered to children, who are =
most=20
susceptible to harm from radiation. The National Cancer Institute =
cautions that=20
physicians should only conduct pediatric CT scans when necessary, adjust =

exposure parameters, minimize use of multiple scans in a single =
examination and=20
consider alternatives to CT scans. </P>
<P>Validation of Gofman's findings is vital to the current debate over =
nuclear=20
power. After a long decline, the nuclear industry has seized on concerns =
over=20
global warming and costs of fossil fuels to tout reactors as a "clean =
and safe"=20
alternative. Bush Administration regulators have thus far granted =
permission for=20
more than half of US reactors to operate twenty years past their =
expected life=20
span of forty years. Just last month the first order for a new US =
reactor since=20
1978 was made (at the <A=20
href=3D"http://www.constellation.com/portal/site/constellation/menuitem.%=
200275303d670d51908d84ff10025166a0/">Calvert=20
Cliffs</A> plant near Washington, DC). Congress is considering $50 =
billion in=20
loan guarantees for construction of other new reactors. </P>
<P>Utility companies and the Bush Administration claim that reactors are =

safe--without furnishing any hard evidence backing their claim. They =
turn a=20
blind eye to potential risks of a major meltdown and actual risks of =
ongoing=20
radioactive emissions. Objective research and educating people of these =
risks=20
regardless of political fallout was Gofman's legacy. There is no time =
like now=20
for citizens and scientists to embrace this legacy to protect public =
health.=20
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