LA Times Article on Don Collins

[schadt@interserv.com]

Radsafers,  The following article on Don Collins by Joan Hart 
appeared in the November 3, 1995 issue of the Los Angeles Times. 
I thought you might be interested.

"Donald L. Collins of Glendale will appear on Japanese national 
television in a documentary produced by the Japanese in 
observance of the 50th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima 
and Nagasaki.
  Japanese reporters and photographers interviewed Collins at his 
Glendale home because he was there in Nagasaki less than a week 
after the atomic bomb was dropped.
  Collins, a nuclear health physicist, was one of the first U. S. 
Medical Corps teams of 17 men sent to Nagasaki the day after 
MacArthur went to Tokyo.
  His mission was to test the effects of radiation on the people 
there to facilitate their medical treatment.
  Did he feel at risk when we was there?  Collins said no.  When 
he arrived in Nagasaki, much of the radiation had dissipated.  
Also, he felt safe since he personally designed many of the 
instruments used at the time to measure the radioactivity in the 
city.
  Collins said he felt the documentary was a fair presentation. 
'It didn't appear to be one-sided,' he said.
  'It presented a bit of history for all of us to never forget,' 
he said.  Collins said that the Japanese produced the film to 
better educate their young people about the event.
  The documentary began with the production and delivery of the 
atomic bomb, the destruction of the people, buildings and even 
the plant life.
  Japanese reporters asked Collins during the 2-1/2 hour 
interview to verify names, places and dates.
  Many other Americans were interviewed for the film.
  President Clinton was among those questioned.  Collins said 
Clinton was asked, 'Should we (Americans) apologize for the 
bombing?' His response, Collins recalled, was 'No, we should not 
apologize.  President Truman made the right decision given the 
information he had at the time thought it appropriate.'
  Collins agrees with Clinton and feels that the decision 
ultimately saved lives in both countries.
  Still on a mission to save lives, Collins has been involved 
since the war in helping people deal with radiation for safety 
purposes.  For more than 28 years, he was a United States 
delegate for the International Radiation Protection Association 
which meets to discuss the uses and safety of radioactivity all 
over the world.
  Collins personally supplied the Russians with instruments to 
measure radioactivity at the Chernobyl disaster.
  Although retired now, Collins still feels strongly about the 
events he witnessed."

L.A. Times, November 3, 1995, Page 4 by Joan Hart


Sincerely,

Bill Schadt   (301) 622-9644 (voice)
              (301) 622-1582 (fax)
              schadt@interserv.com