Rosalie Bertell: Scientist, Eco-Feminist, Visionary

Rosalie Bertell: Scientist, Eco-Feminist, Visionary is a bright green book in the Women Who Rock series, a catchy name for a collection of tributes to outstanding women.

The opening image of six-day-old Rosalie with pneumonia is striking because illness became her companion and teacher throughout her life. In fact, her frail constitution meant that from an early age, she was "under no obligation or pressure to conform to the social values of her peers or the times ... She could thus concentrate instead on developing strength of mind and spirit ... with an abiding concern for the vulnerable." With this compassion for the dispossessed, she became a nun, scientist, advocate, activist and prophetic voice.

From 1945 on, when atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, when 66 bombs were tested in the Pacific and over 1000 nuclear tests were conducted in the U.S, the amount of radioactive fallout that poisoned the planet remained a secret for almost 50 years. Rosalie Bertell was one of the scientists who gradually began to realize the human costs.

She stated that the idealism at the time believed that "benign, surgically accurate weapons (could) revolutionize war by targeting military objectives only, never hitting schools or hospitals." This was considered by many a fine thing for humanity. "I believed all that," she said, and was one of the many scientists "seduced, funded and misled by the military." Her research took her to the Roswell Institute for Cancer Research in 1970, where she realized "the leukemia effect (that) was coming from medical x-rays." As her credentials and authority grew, so did the attacks, ridicule, dismissals, threats from her adversaries, and even firings from jobs. She asserted that "the U.S. authorities consistently concealed, minimized or lied about radiation effects from atomic blasts, weapons, production, bomb tests and nuclear power plants." This drew vehement opposition.

But not from many women's groups, who came to her lectures and invited her to speak in places where mysterious illnesses were emerging. From Port Hope Ontario to Chernobyl, Russia; from Malaysia to Australia, women's groups supported Bertell and asked her to speak about the lurking perils described in her book, No Immediate Danger Rosalie began to win awards for her activism, even if she could not find jobs in academic or scientific circles.

Her own health began to fail as invitations took her around the globe. She admits, that wandering over radioactive mounds with a Geiger counter obviously did not do her body good. She likened her own body to the earth's body. Comparing the environmental concept of sustainable development to personal experience, she said: "if you have gotten beyond youth and good health and suddenly have to confront chronic illness, you begin to realize what it is to sustain what you are doing."

This book explains, in easy-to-read-layman's terms, the scientific principles of nuclear fission and radioactivity. It discusses many of the world's most disastrous mishaps, from Three Mile Island to Chernobyl, and how scientists are still discovering negative effects. Having had quite a few x-rays myself, I was uneasy reading this in bed. Rosalie Bertell clearly denounces nuclear power as a colossal experiment on human beings.

One of the recommendations her commission made after the Union Carbide Bhopal disaster in India, was that "global economy requires global rules: minimum universal standards with respect to a safe working (and living) environment, binding to all.

"Standards must be based on the bedrock principle that companies should not harm people or the environment. Ultimately, it should be enforceable by the United Nations."

Rosalie Bertell points out that if Canada sells uranium and nuclear reactors for export, there is no guarantee they will be used for peaceful purposes or monitored for safety. She asserts "You can't say 'I'm for peace, but here's a lot of money in star wars'. You cannot serve two masters, Jesus says. Which will Canada serve?

Kate Flaherty writes from Toronto.

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