History: N. Nielson, 71, used radiation to purify water

["Michael P. Grissom" <mpg1@coastside.net>]

radsafe'ers,

The following item was in the December 6, 2000 issue
of the San Jose Mercury News:


                N. Nielson, 71,
                used radiation
                to purify water

               by Michael Cronk
                 Mercury News

Almost 25 years ago in Morgan Hill [California], a
California state official scooped up a plastic
container of water and took a swig.

"Good. Very good," he declared.

The significance of this seemingly mundane task was
that just three days earlier that water had been
sewage waste water -- until it was transformed by a
radiation cleansing treatment developed by Niel
Nielson, a Silicon Valley scientist, educator and
businessman.

Mr. Nielson, 71, formed several local companies
aimed at harnessing nuclear power to recycle waste
water and reducing the spoilage and contamination of
food supplies. He died November 30, 2000 after a
13-year battle with a series of life-threatening
illnesses that included leukemia, Parkinson's
disease and heart disease.

"He was committed to the advancement and use of
high-level laser and radiation technology that
benefited people and the environment," said Martin
Nielson, his son.

Mr. Nielson was an engineer with Ampex for several
years in the 1960s before joining the management team
of the space systems division of Lockheed Missiles &
Space Company, where he was a key member of the Aegena,
Gemini, and Apollo space programs and oversaw many
launch activities in California and Florida. While at
Lockheed, he developed a nuclear laser device that was
later patented by the company.

After leaving Lockheed, Mr. Nielson formed Aqueonics
Inc. in Los Altos. Aqueonics was created to explore
alternatives to conventional water treatment methods.

His water purification system involved bombarding
wastewater with large doses of gamma radiation from
Cobalt 60 and Cesium 137. Gamma rays -- high-energy,
short-wavelength electromagnetic radiation similar to
that of X-rays -- provided a powerful instantaneous
treatment for sterilizing bacterial and viral pathogens
and parasites and eliminating toxic chemicals. Rapid-decay
gamma rays, he said, posed no health risk even to workers
around them every day.

"It is readily apparent that wastewater disposal will
forever affect 'fresh' water supplies," Mr. Nielson
said in a 1977 interview. "Water is simply too important
for the world to continue to mismanage. Abundant supplies
of clean water are an absolutely indispensable need of
mankind."

Mr. Nielson later founded Emergent Technologies of San
Jose. With Emergent Technologies, he conducted extensive
pioneering research into the use of nuclear energy in
the processing of food. Included in Mr. Nielson's
research was an understanding of how to apply the
technology to specific food types.

The food irradiation process was approved in the
mid-1980s by Congress and the Food and Drug Administration.
The technology, however; is used more widely in other
countries.

"Mr. Nielson was instrumental in securing the regulatory
approval of this technology," said Dr. Manuel Lagunas-Solar
of the Crocker Nuclear Lab at the University of
California-Davis, who was a research collaborator with Mr.
Nielson.

"He also played a significant role in making the food
irradiation process better known to the public,"
Lagunas-Solar said.

Mr. Nielson's pioneering research lead to the publication
of numerous articles. He presented papers on his research
to scientific organizations in Norway, Austria, Switzerland
and China and served as a consultant to many governments
and organizations around the world who were developing
commercially viable uses of the technology.

Mr. Nielson grew up in Redding. After a stint in the U.S.
Navy as an electronics instructor, he graduated from
Humboldt State University [California] with a degree
in physical science and later did postgraduate work in
physics, electronics and management. He moved to the
[San Francisco] Bay Area in the 1950s.

As an educator, he taught math and physics and coached
basketball at Menlo College [San Mateo County, San
Francisco peninsula] in the 1950s. In the '60s and '70s,
he taught technology courses to professionals at the
College of San Mateo. When illnesses limited his work
in his later years, Mr. Nielson returned to teaching
math in the Evergreen School District in San Jose.

During his many years in the Bay Area, Mr. Nielson
volunteered his time as a coach with Little League,
and as a Scoutmaster of Troop 33 [Boy Scouts of
America] in Los Altos. An active outdoorsman, he
served several terms as president of the San Jose Rod
& Gun Club.

"My father taught me to be an individual. He said if
you believe strongly in something, go for it," said
Martin Nielson. "It was what characterized both his
professional and private life. He was a man of
compassion and convictions."

__________
Contact Michael Cronk at mcronk@sjmercury.com or
(408) 343-4523.

The article above included a photograph and side-bar
summary of Mr. Nielson's activities and final services.
************************************************************************
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