RE: Dr Eric Voice

["Jaro" <jaro-10kbq@sympatico.ca>]

http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=3501496

Plutonium Test Scientist Dies

By Paul O’Hare, Scottish Press Association



A nuclear scientist who volunteered to inhale plutonium as part of a

groundbreaking experiment has died.



Dr Eric Voice, who worked at the Dounreay nuclear plant in Caithness, took

part in the National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB) research in the

late 1990s.



He lived in good health after the tests but died at the weekend from motor

neurone disease, aged 80.



John Thurso, MP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, today led

tributes to Dr Voice.



The Liberal Democrat said: “He was an extremely intelligent and articulate

man. He was a true scientist.

“He did not allow himself to be blinded by the emotion of the debate and

always tried to get to the science of the matter.”



He said Dr Voice had made several trips to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant

in Ukraine to study the effects of the 1986 disaster.



The MP also revealed he had offered his expertise to the Government after

the start of the second Gulf war.

“After we had gone to war with Iraq he volunteered to go and see if there

was any nuclear material that needed to be cleaned up.”



The scientist was a “very fit and sprightly man” and remained active in his

retirement.



Dr Voice was one of the volunteers who took part in an experimental study of

inhaled plutonium which was controlled by the NRPB in late 1997 and early

1998.



At the beginning of the experiment, volunteers inhaled trace amounts of two

isotopes of plutonium, different from the ones normally encountered in the

nuclear industry.

The amounts inhaled resulted in very low radiation doses to the volunteers.

External measurements were then made of amounts in the lungs and other body

organs. Readings were also taken from blood and excreta samples.

The study was designed to find out how to treat people in the event of a

nuclear accident.



Dr Voice said in 1999: “People still do not understand plutonium and there

is such a lot of nonsense talked about it.

“There is no evidence that any human on earth has ever suffered in health

from plutonium and I have no adverse effects.

“This is a safe experiment to establish how plutonium moves around the body

and how the body deals with it - vital information in the event of an

accident.”



He said the radioactive dosage in the plutonium involved a “minuscule

 amount”.



An NRPB spokeswoman said: “We extend our condolences to Dr Voice’s family at

this sad time.”



Dr Voice, who lived in Thurso, Caithness, is survived by his wife Joan and

three children.

======



http://lifestyle.scotsman.com/families/columnist_specific.cfm?articleid=2823

&columnist=FC1

Radio head

Kath Gourlay

Tuesday, 6th March 2001

The Scotsman



<SNIP>





 -----Original Message-----

From: owner-radsafe@list.vanderbilt.edu

[mailto:owner-radsafe@list.vanderbilt.edu]On Behalf Of Rick Orthen

Sent: Wednesday, September 15, 2004 1:06 PM

To: Radsafe BBS

Subject: Dr Eric Voice







September 14, 2004 - Daily Record - Atomic doc does aged 80 - Ascots

scientist described as the most radioactive man on the planet will have to

be buried in a lead-lined coffin. Nuclear physicist Dr Eric Voice, who has

died at 80 after an illness, volunteered to be given injections of plutonium

to examine the effects of radioactivity on the body. He also inhaled

plutonium and his bodily waste had to be taken away by armoured car. He

could not be cremated. Dr Voice had said: 'The practicalities can be a bit

irksome, but I'm used to it. 'When I arrive at people's houses with a

carrier bag of bottles, people assume I've brought them a gift. 'When I

explain I can't use their facilities, their expressions are extremely

comical.' The Thurso-based expert was one of a dozen volunteers who signed

up as human guinea pigs in 1997. They took part in experiments tracking the

movement of plutonium in blood, bone and organs. Dr Voice worked at the

Dounreay nuclear complex in Caithness and, as part of his work, visited the

site of the Chernobyl disaster. He believed allowing his body to be filled

with plutonium would prove its safety.





Richard F. Orthen, CHMM

Senior Project Manager

Civil & Environmental Consultants, Inc.

Four Triangle Lane, Suite 200

Export, PA  15632-9255

724/327-5200, ext. 231

www.cecinc.com



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