DOCSLIB.ORG

Information to Users

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Information to Users INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. in the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand comer and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6” x 9” black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. ProQuest Information and Learning 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 USA 800-521-0600 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with with permission permission of the of copyright the copyright owner. owner.Further reproductionFurther reproduction prohibited without prohibited permission. without permission. COLLISIONS OF HISTORY AND LANGUAGE: NUCLEAR WEAPONS TESTING, HUMAN ENVIRONMENTAL RIGHTS ABUSES, AND COVER-UP IN THE REPUBLIC OF THE MARSHALL ISLANDS by Holly M. Barker submitted to the Faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences of American University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Anthropology' Chair William Leap. Ph.D 'tj'OjtL UjjdljLuOnrv0 Bistt/Wiil Peter Kuzmck. P Dean ofthe College Date O 2000 American University Washington. D.C. 20016 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number. 3035440 Copyright 2000 by Barker, Holly M. All rights reserved. __ _® UMI UMI Microform 3035440 Copyright 2002 by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. © COPYRIGHT By Holly M. Barker 2000 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to: Jeilar and Mejjan Kabinmeto, my Marshallese parents from Nallu, Mili, for teaching me the language and culture, for adopting me as one of their family members, and for demonstrating the giving and loving nature of the Marshallese people; And to the Marshallese people whose lives have been dramatically altered by the U.S. nuclear weapons testing program. With special thanks to: Banny deBrum and Wilfred Kendall for their continuous encouragement and for allowing me to undertake this research; And to Tony deBrum for his mentorship and for showing me where to find evidence of the injustices and cover-ups. Final thanks to: Newton Lajuan, Alfred Capelle and the students at the Nuclear Institute of the College of the Marshall Islands, Bill Graham, Kristina Stege, Barbara Rose Johnston, Bill Leap, Brett Williams, Peter Kuznick, and my husband, William Sherman, for his constant support. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. COLLISIONS OF HISTORY AND LANGUAGE: NUCLEAR WEAPONS TESTING, HUMAN ENVIRONMENTAL RIGHTS ABUSES, AND COVER-UP IN THE REPUBLIC OF THE MARSHALL ISLANDS BY HOLLY M. BARKER ABSTRACT Nuclear weapons, the English language and American colonialism arrived in the Marshall Islands at approximately the same time. Atomic and thermonuclear weapons tested by the U.S. Government in the Marshall Islands from 1946-1958 spread radiation throughout the region. Exposure to radiation dramatically altered the lives and environments of the Marshallese who experience acute illness, exile from their home islands, and a variety of radiation-related problems. U.S. Public Law narrowly defines radiation exposure and U.S. Government responsibility for the consequences of the testing program in the Marshall Islands. The legal definition is limited in time and space, and fails to take into account the knowledge and experiences of several populations affected by radiation. As a result, radiation exposure is a legally binding, imposed identity that Marshallese radiation populations actively resist because it does not comport with the experiences of a substantial number of people exposed to radiation from the tests. u Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. This dissertation identifies and analyzes sources of information outside of the official U.S. Government history to the testing program. Using oral histories and life stories, recently declassified internal U.S. Government documents, and recent changes in Marshallese language, this dissertation deconstructs the experiences of one community downwind of the U.S. tests, Rongelap, to illustrate the breadth and complexity of radiation-related problems faced by the Marshallese. Analysis of a Marshallese radiation language, used by the Rongelapese and other radiation communities, demonstrates how speakers resist U.S. Government efforts to minimalize the effects of radiation. The existence of a Marshallese radiation language also shows that the Marshallese claim experiences with radiation as their own. This research challenges existing U.S. Government policy and demands the writing of a new historical narrative to incorporate the knowledge and experiences of silenced radiation populations. iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CONTENTS ABSTRACT......................................................................................................... » LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS........................................................................ viii LIST OF TABLES............................................................................................... ix Chapter I. HISTORY, COLONIALISM, AND GENERAL BACKGROUND INFORMATION ABOUT THE REPUBLIC OF THE MARSHALL ISLANDS (RM I).................... I Location and Ecology Early Migration Structure of Society The Marshallese Language and its Dialects Colonial Expansion U.S. Naval Administration of the Marshall Islands Early Anthropology in the Trust Territory Move Toward Self-Governance Compact of Free Association The Official U.S. History of its Nuclear Weapons Testing Program 2. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY............................................... 53 Developing Bonds of Trust Archival Research iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Preliminary Fieldwork Return to the Field Public Education and the Training of Students Identification of Key Informants Life Story and Oral History Collection Transcription and Translation Exploration of a Cultural Domain Close Observation and Fieldnotes Other Data Sources Final Visit to the Field 3. THE "CRACKS”: LOCATING AND AMPLIFYING THE VOICE OF UNDOCUMENTED RADIATION POPULATIONS TO PROVIDE A MORE ACCURATE HISTORY..................... A New Narrative of the History of Rongelap’s Radiation Exposure Preparations for the Tests Events on Rongelap and Ailinginae Evacuation and Exile Decision to Return Documented Human Health Consequences of Systematic and Cumulative Exposure 4. CURRENT ERASURE OF THE EXPERIENCES OF THE RONGELAPESE PEOPLE.......................................................... Further Erasure Exile from Rongelap Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Human Radiation Experiments A Broader Understanding of the Consequences of the Testing Program Different Risk Factors within the Community A New Narrative of History 5. A MARSHALLESE RADIATION LANGUAGE: ANALYSIS OF LINGUISTICE DATA AND THE LANGUAGE OF RESISTANCE.................................................................................... 187 A Colonial Language of Control Language as Resistance Linguistic Data Themes A Unique Radiation Language 6. CONCLUSIONS: LOOKING TO THE PAST, AND LOOKING TOWARD THE FUTURE............................................. 245 Importance of Applied Anthropology Applied Outcomes of this Project Looking Toward the Future APPENDICES 1. Interview with Ellyn (Marshallese) ............................................ 255 2. Interview with Ellyn (English) ................................................... 264 3. Interview with Seiko (Marshallese) .......................................... 274 4. Interview with Seiko (English) ................................................... 278 5. Interview with Kiora and Kajitok (Marshallese) ....................... 283 6. Interview with Kiora and Kajitok (English) .............................. 290 vi Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Teaching Nuclear Issues Through Popular Culture Texts
    Social Education 82(3), pp. 149–150, 151–154 ©2018 National Council for the Social Studies The Bomb and Beyond: Teaching Nuclear Issues through Popular Culture Texts Hiroshi Kitamura and Jeremy Stoddard America’s atomic attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki—on August 6 and 9, 1945, of ways, but often revolves around an respectively—instantly killed some 200,000 Japanese and precipitated the end of effort to understand how and why the World War II. They also helped usher in the Cold War, a new era of global tension Truman administration unleashed a that pushed the world towards the brink of destruction. In this menacing climate, in pair of destructive weapons on a mass which the United States and the then-Soviet Union pursued a fierce international of civilians. Often a debate or delibera- rivalry, nuclear issues became central to top-level diplomacy and policymaking. tion model is used to engage students in Citizens around the world experienced a full spectrum of emotions—fear, paranoia, exploring the motives and implications rage, and hope—as they lived in this “nuclear world.” of official U.S. decision making—such as to save American lives, check Soviet Presently, nearly three decades after classroom, including films, TV shows, expansionism, or justify the two-billion- the fall of the Berlin Wall, the original video games, photography, and online dollar cost of the Manhattan Project. But nuclear arms race has subsided, but databases. These cultural texts illustrate this intellectual exercise also carries the nuclear issues remain seminal. Continued diverse societal views from different risk of reducing the experience to strate- challenges related to the development points in time.
    [Show full text]
  • Nuclear Weapon Test Site
    Alamogordo, USA Nuclear weapon test site The world’s rst nuclear explosion took place near Alamogordo on July 16, 1945. This detonation marked the beginning of the “nuclear age,” epitomized by weapons of in- humane destructive power. Since the rst detonation in Alamogordo, more than 2,000 nuclear test explosions have led to the radioactive contamination of the entire Earth. History Alamogordo is a small town in southern New Mexico. Located in the nearby Jornada del Muerto desert, the U.S. Army’s White Sands Missile Range was the site of the world’s fi rst nuclear explosion. The so-called “Trin ity” Test was carried out as part of the Manhattan Proj ect, a nuclear weapon research operation begun In 2010, the Los Alamos Document Retrieval and As- in 1939. The project took place simultaneously in sev- sessment Project (LAHDRA) of the U.S. Centers for eral locations: the weapons were developed in Los Al- Dis ease Control and Prevention published their fi nal amos, New Mexico; uranium-235 was enriched at Oak report on radioactive exposure. They found that peo- Ridge, Tennessee; and plutonium-239 was pro duced ple were exposed to levels of up to 1,000 mSv in the at Hanford, Washington. The desert near Alamogordo, fi rst two weeks after the blast (10,000 times natural New Mexico was chosen as the test site. background radiation) and were also exposed to inter- nal radiation through ingestion of contaminated fl uids On July 14, 1945, the world’s fi rst nuclear bomb, a and food. There is, however, a lack of studies evaluat- plutonium implosion device code-named “The Gad- ing the internal doses of residents.
    [Show full text]
  • Radiation Exposure Compensation
    Human Impacts of our Nuclear System How are communities in the US How are downwinders affected by affected by the nuclear system? nuclear testing? ● Downwinders are individuals who were ● Studies since the 1930’s have shown a exposed to radiation from the clear link between deadly illnesses, such explosion of nuclear weapons tests. as cancers, and nuclear radiation. In the ● During nuclear tests, radioactive 1960s, numerous studies on Uranium materials are released and the wind miners in the US found increased carries the fallout hundreds of miles illnesses and deaths linked to exposure. away from the nuclear testing site ● A 1997 study estimated that testing from exposing people in the surrounding the Nevada Test Site could have led to areas to unsafe levels of radiation. 11,000 to 212,000 thyroid cancer cases ● Uranium miners were exposed to (only one type of cancer of the many dangerous levels of radiation. Many of caused by radiation exposure). these mines are still open and ● Another study found that just the New continue to release radiation into, Mexico Trinity Test likely caused up to mainly indigenous, communities. 1,000 cancer cases. ● Since the government did not adequately What is RECA? measure the levels of human radiation exposure or start counting certain cancer ● RECA, or the Radiation Exposure deaths as attributed to radiation Compensation Act, provides exposure until much after the initial compensation to approved individuals tests, we do not know the true impact of that have illnesses caused by nuclear these tests on downwinders, but it is weapons activities. likely higher than many studies suggest.
    [Show full text]
  • Radiation Exposure Screening and Education Program (RESEP)
    Radiation Exposure Screening And Education Program (RESEP) RESEP Coordinator Office: 928-283-2939 Have you or a loved one suffered from an illness following the testing of nuclear weapon or RESEP Patient Navigator production of uranium for the Nation’s defense? Office: 928-283-1802 If so, you may be eligible for compensation. P.O. Box 600 • 167 N Main St. Tuba City, AZ 86045 Deadline for Claims All Claims under RECA must be filed by July 2022 For more information about RESEP or to see if you qualify, call 928-283-1802 Visit our website: https://www.tchealth.org/radiation-exposure This Radiation Exposure Screening and Education Program (RESEP) is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of an award totaling $221,661 with 0 percentage financed with non-governmental sources. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government. For more information, please visit HRSA.gov. Logo on White Logo with Reverse Type on dark background What is RESEP? See If You Qualify for Downwinders RECA Compensation Categories The Radiation Exposure $50,000 Compensation Downwinders $50,000 Screening & Education Program Uranium Miners $100,000 (RESEP) helps individuals who Have you or a family member living in any of the downwind live (or lived) in areas where U.S. Uranium Millers $100,000 regions during January 21, 1951, through October 31, nuclear weapons testing occurred.
    [Show full text]
  • Duck and Cover: How Print Media, the U.S. Government, and Entertainment Culture Formedamerica's Understanding of the Atom
    DUCK AND COVER: HOW PRINT MEDIA, THE U.S. GOVERNMENT, AND ENTERTAINMENT CULTURE FORMEDAMERICA’S UNDERSTANDING OF THE ATOM BOMB A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts By Daniel Patrick Wright B.A., University of Cincinnati, 2013 2015 Wright State University WRIGHT STATE UNIVERSITY GRADUATE SCHOOL May 5, 2015 I HEREBY RECOMMEND THAT THE THESIS PREPARED UNDER MY SUPERVISION BY Daniel Patrick Wright ENTITLED Duck and Cover: How Print Media, the U.S. Government and Entertainment Culture Formed America’s Understanding of the Atom Bomb BE ACCEPTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF Master of Arts ________________________________ Jonathan Winkler, Thesis Director ________________________________ Carol Herringer, Chair History Department Committee on College of Liberal Arts Final Examination ________________________________ Drew Swanson, Ph.D. ________________________________ Nancy Garner, Ph.D. ________________________________ Robert E. W. Fyffe, Ph.D. Vice President for Research and Dean of the Graduate School ABSTRACT Wright, Daniel Patrick. M.A. Department of History, Wright State University, 2015. Duck and Cover: How Print Media, the U.S. Government and Entertainment Culture Formed America’s Understanding of the Atom Bomb This research project will explore an overview of the different subsections of American post-war society that contributed to the American “atomic reality” in hopes of revealing how and why the American understanding of atomic weapons did not slowly evolve over the course of a generation, but instead materialize rapidly in the years following the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. By analyzing government sources and programs, print media sources such as newspapers and magazines, and the American entertainment culture of the 1940s and 1950s, this research project will answer exactly why and how the American public arrived at its understanding of the atom bomb.
    [Show full text]
  • Post-Nuclear Monuments, Museums, and Gardens
    Post~nuclear Monuments, Museums, and Gardens * MIRA ENGLER INTRODUCTION Mira Engler, Associate Professor of Lanrucape Architecture at Iowa ARKED BY THE SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY of atomic energy, the nuclear age, which State University, Ames, Iowa 50011, spans the twentieth century, has changed the nature of culture as well as M United States of America. l the landscape. Vast, secret landscapes play host to nuclear arms and commercial Email: [email protected] energy producers.2 Nuclear sites concern not only scientists and politicians, but also environmental designers/artists. The need to evoke a cultural discourse, protect future generations, reveal or conceal radioactive burial sites and recycle retired installations engenders our participation. How do we intersect with these hellish places? Do we have a potent role in addressing this conundrum? In what follows, I confront the consumption and design of today's most daunting places - the landscapes of nuclear material production, processing, testing and burial. The first part of this essay examines the cultural phenomenon of "danger consumption" embodied in atomic museums and landmarks across the United KEY WORDS States. The second part reviews the role of artists and designers in this paradoxical Nuclear culture undertaking, particularly designers who mark the danger sites, making them Nuclear landscape publicly safe and accessible, or who fashion 'atomic monuments'. The role of Post-nuclear monuments design and art is further examined using the submissions to the 2001 Bulletin of Atomic museums Atomic Scientists Plutonium Memorial Contest, which highlights a range of Post-nuclear gardens/wilderness design approaches to creating a memorial to the world's storage of the lasting, Nuclear waste glowing poison.
    [Show full text]
  • In Pursuit of Justice for All Those Who Were Damaged Tularosa Basin
    In Pursuit of Justice for All Those Who Were Damaged Date: March 22, 2021 To: The Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties U.S. House of Representatives From: Tina Cordova Co-Founder Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium (TBDC) Re: Hearing Scheduled for March 24, 2021 2:00 PM EST Examining the Need to Expand Eligibility Under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act Written Testimony along with Attachments Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium | 7518 2nd St. NW | Albuquerque, New Mexico 87107 Phone 505.897.6787 | fax 505.890.0157 | [email protected] | www.trinitydownwinders.com 1 Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium 7518 2nd St. NW Albuquerque, NM 87107 (505) 897-6787 [email protected] www.trinitydownwinders.com March 22, 2021 The Honorable Jerrold Nadler Chairman House Committee on the Judiciary Washington, DC 20515 The Honorable Steve Cohen Chair Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties The Honorable Mike Johnson Ranking Member Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties Re: Examining the Need to Expand Eligibility Under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act Good Afternoon Chairman Nadler, Chair Cohen, Ranking Member Johnson and Members of the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties, It is an honor and a privilege to provide this testimony on behalf of the many people I represent. Thank you for inviting me to participate. I want to acknowledge that I also feel very honored to be a part of this distinguished panel to offer testimony on behalf of all the Downwinders of New Mexico. My name is Tina Cordova.
    [Show full text]
  • The Captive Lab Rat: Human Medical Experimentation in the Carceral State
    Boston College Law Review Volume 61 Issue 1 Article 2 1-29-2020 The Captive Lab Rat: Human Medical Experimentation in the Carceral State Laura I. Appleman Willamette University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://lawdigitalcommons.bc.edu/bclr Part of the Bioethics and Medical Ethics Commons, Criminal Law Commons, Disability Law Commons, Health Law and Policy Commons, Juvenile Law Commons, Law and Economics Commons, Law and Society Commons, Legal History Commons, and the Medical Jurisprudence Commons Recommended Citation Laura I. Appleman, The Captive Lab Rat: Human Medical Experimentation in the Carceral State, 61 B.C.L. Rev. 1 (2020), https://lawdigitalcommons.bc.edu/bclr/vol61/iss1/2 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Journals at Digital Commons @ Boston College Law School. It has been accepted for inclusion in Boston College Law Review by an authorized editor of Digital Commons @ Boston College Law School. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE CAPTIVE LAB RAT: HUMAN MEDICAL EXPERIMENTATION IN THE CARCERAL STATE LAURA I APPLEMAN INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................ 2 I. A HISTORY OF CAPTIVITY AND EXPERIMENTATION .................................................................... 4 A. Asylums and Institutions ........................................................................................................ 5 B. Orphanages, Foundling
    [Show full text]
  • NAS Report Calls for Scientific Approach to Radiation Exposure
    Date: April 28, 2005 Contacts: Bill Kearney, Director of Media Relations Megan Petty, Media Relations Assistant Office of News and Public Information 202-334-2138; e-mail <[email protected]> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Report Calls for Scientific Approach to Radiation Exposure Compensation Act WASHINGTON -- Congress should establish new scientific criteria for decisions about awarding federal compensation to people who developed certain cancers or other specific diseases as a result of exposure to radioactive fallout from U.S. nuclear weapons tests, says a new report from the National Academies' National Research Council. Because fallout from the tests covered a wide geographic area, the new approach should consider people in all parts of the United States and its territories. However, the changes that Congress may make in eligibility criteria based on this report would probably result in few additional successful claims, said the committee that wrote the report. Currently, only "downwinders" who lived in certain counties of Arizona, Nevada, and Utah at the times of the tests -- along with civilian test-site participants and some workers who mined and milled uranium for the nuclear weapons program -- are eligible for compensation under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act; military personnel are covered under a separate program. But the committee found that residents in other counties and states, even some far from the Nevada Test Site, may have been exposed to higher amounts of radiation than those in the currently eligible areas. Other factors -- age at the time of exposure, consumption of contaminated milk or food, and age when a disease is diagnosed -- are also important when determining whether someone's illness was likely caused by radiation, the committee said.
    [Show full text]
  • 9. References
    IODINE 325 9. REFERENCES Abbott A, Barker S. 1996. Chernobyl damage 'underestimated'. Nature 380:658. Abdel-Nabi H, Ortman JA. 1983. Radiobiological effects of 131I and 125I on the DNA of the rat thyroid: I. Comparative study with emphasis on the post radiation hypothyroidism occurrence. Radiat Res 93:525-533. *Abdullah ME, Said SA. 1981. Release and organ distribution of 125I from povidone-iodine under the influence of certain additives. Arzneim Forsch 31(1):59-61. Abel MS, Blume AJ, Garrett KM. 1989. Differential effects of iodide and chloride on allosteric interactions of the GABAA receptor. J Neurochem 53:940-945. *Aboul-Khair SA, Buchanan TJ, Crooks J, et al. 1966. Structural and functional development of the human foetal thyroid. Clin Sci 31:415-424. Aboul-Khair SA, Crooks J, Turnbull AC, et al. 1964. The physiological changes in thyroid function during pregnancy. Clin Sci 27:195-207. Absil AC, Buxeraud J, Raby C. 1984. [Charge-transfer complexation of chlorpromazine in the presence of iodine; thyroid side effect of this molecule.] Can J Chem 62(9):1807-1811. (French) ACGIH. 1992. Iodine. In: Documentation of the threshold limit values and biological exposure indices. Sixth Edition. Volume II. American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists Inc. Cincinnati, OH. *ACGIH. 2000. Threshold limit values for chemical substances and physical agents and biological exposure indices. American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists Inc. Cincinnati, OH. Adamson AS, Gardham JRC. 1991. Post 131I carcinoma of the thyroid. Postgrad Med J 67:289-290. *Ader AW, Paul TL, Reinhardt W, et al. 1988. Effect of mouth rinsing with two polyvinylpyrrolidone­ iodine mixtures on iodine absorption and thyroid function.
    [Show full text]
  • Epigraphs Note on Terminology Acknowledgments Introduction
    Notes Epigraphs 1. “Muskie Hearings”: Hearings before a subcommittee on air and water pollution of the committee on public works of the U.S. Senate, 59th Congress, June 7–15, 1966 (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Print- ing Office), pp. 113–343. Note on Terminology 1. For volatility: “At atmospheric pressure C-216 may combine with almost all known elements, with almost explosive rapidity, giving off extreme heat.” Manhattan Project Memo, “Safety and Health Con- ference on Hazards of C-216 (Code for Fluorine)” To: Safety Section Files. RHTG Classified Doc., 1944-94, Box 166, Building 2714-H, Vault #82761. Such violence also makes fluorine difficult to isolate. Although it is the thirteenth-most abundant element in the earth’s crust, it was not until 1886 that a French scientist, Henri Moissan, was finally able to segregate the volatile element. R. E. Banks, “Isolation of Fluorine by Moissan: Setting the Scene,” J. Fluorine Chem., vol. 33 (1986), pp. 1–26. 2. J. Emsley et al., “An unexpectedly strong hydrogen bond: Ab initio calculations and spectroscopic studies of amide-fluoride systems,” J. Am. Chemical Soc., vol. 103, (1981), pp. 24–28. 3. The National Research Council, for example, “uses the term ‘fluoride’ as a general term everywhere, where exact differentiation between ionic and molecular forms or between gaseous and particulate forms is uncertain or unnecessary.” Biological Effects of Atmospheric Pollut- ants: Fluorides (National Academy of Sciences, 1971), p. 3. Acknowledgments 1. Said Ralph Nader: “Once the U.S. government fifty years ago decided to push fluoridation, they stopped doing what Alfred North White- head once said was the cardinal principle of the scientific method, and that is to leave options open for revisions, and it became a party line, it became a dogma, and they weren’t interested in criticism.” Introduction 1.
    [Show full text]
  • The Historical Film As Real History ROBERT A. ROSENSTONE
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Revistes Catalanes amb Accés Obert The Historical Film as Real History ROBERT A. ROSENSTONE Let's face the facts and admit it: historical films trouble and disturb (most) professional historians. Why? We all know the obvious answers. Because, historians will say, films are inaccurate. They distort the past. They fictionalize, trivialize, and romanticize important people, events, and movements. They falsify History. As a subtext to these overt answers, we can hear some different, unspoken answers: Film is out of the control of historians. Film shows that academics do not own the past. Film creates a historical world with which the written word cannot compete, at least for popularity .Film is a disturbing symbol of an increasingly postliterate world (in which people can read but won't). Let me add an impolite question: How many professional historians, when it comes to fields outside their areas of expertise, learn about the past from film? How many Americanists, for example, know the great Indian leader primarily from Gandhi ? Or how many Europeanists the American Civil War from Glory , or Gone with the Wind ? Or how many Asianists early modern France from The Return of Martin Guerre ? My point: the historical film has been making its impact upon us (and by «us» I mean the most serious of professional historians) for many years now, and its time that we began to take it seriously. By this I mean we must begin to look at film, on its own terms, as a way of exploring the way the past means to us today.
    [Show full text]