Rosalie Bertell (third from left) at the International Medical Commission of Bhopal

Rosalie Bertell (April 4, 1929 – June 14, 2012) was an American scientist, author, environmental activist, epidemiologist, and Catholic nun. Bertell was a sister of the Grey Nuns of the Sacred Heart, best known for her work in the field of ionizing radiation. A dual citizen of Canada and the United States, she worked in environmental health since 1970.[1][2]

She wrote the book "No Immediate Danger", describing the dangers of radiation from the nuclear industry. [3] Rosalie won many awards, including the Right Livelihood Award in 1986, for "raising public awareness about the destruction of the biosphere and human gene pool, especially by low-level radiation." She died of cancer in 2012.

Biography

Rosalie Bertell was born to Paul G. and Helen (née Twohey) Bertell in Buffalo, New York, the third of four children. Her mother was Canadian and her father was American. She had an older sister, Mary Katherine Bertell (1925–2011), and a younger brother, John Twohey Bertell (1930–2002). A third sibling, Paul W. Bertell died in infancy in 1921. In 1966, she received a Ph.D in Biometrics from the Catholic University of America. She received her BA in Math/Physics/Education from D'Youville College, and later was an associate professor of mathematics at D'Youville from 1969–1973.[4]

From 1969 to 1978, Bertell was senior cancer research scientist at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center. She was a consultant to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the US Environmental Protection Agency, and to Health Canada.[1] In 1983, she received the "Hans-Adalbert Schweigart"-Medal from the World Union for Protection of Life. She was president of International Institute of Concern for Public Health from 1987 to 2004. She founded the International Medical Commission Chernobyl in 1996. She wrote the books No Immediate Danger: Prognosis for a Radioactive Earth (1985) and Planet Earth: The Latest Weapon of War (2000).

Bertell was a coordinator for the International Medical Commission on Bhopal, and campaigned for an independent body "to coordinate health care, research and rehabilitation" for victims of the Bhopal disaster.[5] Bertell's Nuclear Contamination Act was adopted April 2006, as World Legislative Act 35 by the 9th session of the Provisional World Parliament.[6] She suffered attempts on her life, and attacks on her scientific credentials.[7]

In 2012, Bertell died of cancer at age 83 at Saint Mary Medical Center, Langhorne, Pennsylvania.[8]

Awards

Bertell received many awards, including:

Filmography

Bertell appeared in at least five documentary films between 1985 and 2005. They include:[9]

Title Director Production Company Year
Speaking our peace Bonnie Sherr Klein, Terre Nash National Film Board of Canada 1985
Uranium Magnus Isacsson National Film Board of Canada 1990
Bhopal: The Search for Justice Peter Raymont, Lindalee Tracey White Pine Pictures 2004
Fatal Fallout: The Bush Legacy Gary Null 2004
Poison Dust Sue Harris Lightyear Entertainment 2005

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Dr. Rosalie Bertell profile at rightlivelihood.org Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ↑ ""Anti-Nuclear Nun" Rosalie Bertell Dies at 83". Democracynow.org. Retrieved June 22, 2012.
  3. ↑ "No Immediate Danger". Amazon.
  4. ↑ "Obituary: Dr Rosalie Bertell, GNSH, PhD". Independent Catholic News. June 15, 2012. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  5. ↑ Letter to the Editor: Bhopal's Victims, New York Times (September 27, 2002).
  6. ↑ "World Legislation of the Provisional World Parliament". 2008-03-21. Archived from the original on 2008-03-21. Retrieved 2023-10-19.
  7. ↑ Elston, Suzanne. "Book Review of Rosalie Bertell: Scientist, Eco-Feminist, Visionary (2005), author Mary-Louise Engels".
  8. ↑ "Rosalie Bertell". The Globe and Mail. 2012-08-05. Retrieved 2023-10-19.
  9. ↑ "Rosalie Bertell". IMDb. Retrieved 2015-06-08.
  10. ↑ "Finding aid to the Rosalie Bertell fond at Library and Archives Canada" (PDF). Retrieved July 13, 2020.
  11. ↑ "Rosalie Bertell fond description at Library and Archives Canada". Retrieved July 13, 2020.
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