[ RadSafe ] Question re atomic tests

[Steven Dapra]

June 13

         The Rowland at Argonne is Robert Edmund Rowland, Ph. D.  In 1995 
he was interviewed by Dr. Darrell Fisher in a series of oral histories 
conducted by the Department of Energy.  The link to Rowland's interview is 
<http://www.hss.energy.gov/healthsafety/ohre/roadmap/histories/0461/0461_a.html#Foreword>.

         According to a brief introduction to the interview, "The oral 
history covers Dr. Rowland's epidemiology studies of populations carrying 
internal depositions of radionuclides, his research of the metabolism of 
radionuclides in the skeleton, and his involvement in follow-up studies of 
the living plutonium injectees."  I think it unlikely that this Rowland is 
the one doing work on chromosomal aberrations on A-bomb tests in the 
Pacific.  Rowland was born in 1923.  If he is the New Zealand Rowland, that 
would make him 84 years old when his chromosomal aberrations paper was 
published.  Hmmmmm.  The NZ Rowland is probably a different Robert Rowland.

         Recurring again to the oral history interview, it says, "Dr. 
Rowland has published approximately fifty articles in open-literature 
publications. These publications have focused primarily on mineral 
metabolism, and the effects of internally deposited radioisotopes in human 
bone."  Regardless of his present age or location, I doubt that the Argonne 
Rowland is in New Zealand doing work on chromosomal aberrations.

Steven Dapra


At 11:50 AM 6/13/09 -0400, J. Marshall Reber wrote:

>I assume R.E. Rowland is the same person who authored "Radium in
>Humans" (ANL/ER-3 or UC-408) while at the Argonne National Laboratory
>in 1994.