Mathematician, nuclear science researcher, nun in the order of the Grey Nuns of the Sacred Heart, human rights activist and author Dr. Rosalie Bertell knows a thing or two about uranium, and how it effects the human body. Dr. Bertell has devoted her life to speaking out on behalf of those most vulnerable and affected by radiation – women and children, aboriginals and workers in uranium mines and nuclear facilities.
Bertell is an activist of protecting the health of the planet through peace, writing in her book Planet Earth: The Newest Weapon of War,
“It is my belief that we have been treating the symptoms but not the cause of the disease of the Earth. We have been abusing Earth’s natural systems, the way it regulates temperature and water supply, recycles waste and protects life. For me, some of the most fundamental abuses have occurred because of our continued reliance on the military.”
Dr. Bertell is especially vocal about the consequences of the 1984 Union Carbide explosion in Bhopal, India and the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear reactor meltdown. Both disasters killed and sickened hundreds of thousands of people and still have an effect today on people who live near the accident sites.
The dual Canadian and U.S. citizen knew from childhood that she would become a nun, but her interest and abilities in the field of science were also clear from an early age. She took a research job at Roswell Park Cancer Institute, the world’s first cancer research facility, and it was then that she became interested in radiation and nuclear-related subjects.
Bertell told interviewer Wendy Jewell,
“I was a senior cancer research scientist studying the harm done to a large population by unnecessary uses of diagnostic medical X-ray. I became outraged when I found that nuclear power plants were releasing radioactive materials (like X-rays) at this same level routinely, indiscriminately exposing the unsuspecting public. My first experience was a nuclear plant, which wanted to locate its facility next to the Gerber’s Baby Food Farm in Barker, NY. That plant was never built.”
After suffering a heart attack in 1972, Dr. Bertell spent much of her recovery time in a monastery studying the effects of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki nuclear bombings and emerged as the field’s top expert. She quit her job at the Roswell Institute, which accepted research money from the nuclear industry, after they put pressure on her to keep quiet.
Dr. Bertell is an outspoken critic of the use of depleted uranium in warfare, which has extremely destructive effects on the planet and human health.
Rosalie Bertell has written several books and was among 1,000 women peace activists from around the world nominated as a group for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005. She has also received numerous awards including the Alternative Nobel Prize, the Right Livelihood Award and the World Federalist Peace Award.
Dr. Rosalie Bertell’s Green Score: 79,995
