For the British politician of the same name, see Edward Martell (politician)Edward Drewett Martell was a British politician and libertarian activist.-Family and education:Martell was the eldest son of E E Martell and Ethel Horwood. He was educated at St. George's School, Harpenden. In 1932 he married Ethel Maud Beverley. They had one son.-Career:Martell worked in the coal...
Edward A. Martell (1920? – July 12, 1995) was a
radiochemistRadiochemistry is the chemistry of radioactive materials, where radioactive isotopes of elements are used to study the properties and chemical reactions of non-radioactive isotopes...
for the
National Center for Atmospheric ResearchThe National Center for Atmospheric Research conducts collaborative research in atmospheric and Earth system science, encompassing meteorology, climate science, atmospheric chemistry, solar-terrestrial interactions, environmental and societal impacts, and more...
(NCAR) in
Boulder, ColoradoBoulder is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and most populous city of Boulder County, Colorado, in the United States. Boulder is the 11th most populous city in the state of Colorado. The United States Census Bureau estimates that in 2008 the population of the city of Boulder was...
. He fought fervently throughout his life against the medical establishment and the National Institute of Health for what he perceived to be insufficient research into radiation-induced
lung cancerLung cancer is a disease of uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. This growth may lead to metastasis, which is the invasion of adjacent tissue and infiltration beyond the lungs. The vast majority of primary lung cancers are carcinomas of the lung, derived from epithelial cells...
, particularly in regard to
cigaretteA cigarette is a product consumed through smoking and manufactured out of cured and finely cut tobacco leaves and reconstituted tobacco, often combined with other additives, then rolled or stuffed into a paper-wrapped cylinder...
smoking.
Martell received his education the U.S.
For the British politician of the same name, see Edward Martell (politician)Edward Drewett Martell was a British politician and libertarian activist.-Family and education:Martell was the eldest son of E E Martell and Ethel Horwood. He was educated at St. George's School, Harpenden. In 1932 he married Ethel Maud Beverley. They had one son.-Career:Martell worked in the coal...
Edward A. Martell (1920? – July 12, 1995) was a
radiochemistRadiochemistry is the chemistry of radioactive materials, where radioactive isotopes of elements are used to study the properties and chemical reactions of non-radioactive isotopes...
for the
National Center for Atmospheric ResearchThe National Center for Atmospheric Research conducts collaborative research in atmospheric and Earth system science, encompassing meteorology, climate science, atmospheric chemistry, solar-terrestrial interactions, environmental and societal impacts, and more...
(NCAR) in
Boulder, ColoradoBoulder is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and most populous city of Boulder County, Colorado, in the United States. Boulder is the 11th most populous city in the state of Colorado. The United States Census Bureau estimates that in 2008 the population of the city of Boulder was...
. He fought fervently throughout his life against the medical establishment and the National Institute of Health for what he perceived to be insufficient research into radiation-induced
lung cancerLung cancer is a disease of uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. This growth may lead to metastasis, which is the invasion of adjacent tissue and infiltration beyond the lungs. The vast majority of primary lung cancers are carcinomas of the lung, derived from epithelial cells...
, particularly in regard to
cigaretteA cigarette is a product consumed through smoking and manufactured out of cured and finely cut tobacco leaves and reconstituted tobacco, often combined with other additives, then rolled or stuffed into a paper-wrapped cylinder...
smoking.
Education
Martell received his education the U.S. Military Academy in West Point,
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant after graduating in 1942 and served in the Okinawa campaign of World War II, retiring with the rank of lieutenant colonel. He received a Ph. D. in
radiochemistryRadiochemistry is the chemistry of radioactive materials, where radioactive isotopes of elements are used to study the properties and chemical reactions of non-radioactive isotopes...
from the
University of ChicagoThe University of Chicago is a private, coeducational research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by oil magnate and benefactor John D...
in 1950.
Research
After receiving his Ph. D., he became a group leader at the Fermi Institute for Nuclear Studies at the University of Chicago and also took up a position at the Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratory in
BedfordBedford is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is within the Greater Boston area, north-west of the city of Boston. The population of Bedford was 12,595 at the 2000 census.- History :...
,
MassachusettsThe Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. Most of its population of...
. He managed radiation-effects projects studying a series of nuclear weapons tests in Nevada and the 1954 hydrogen bomb tests at the
Bikini AtollBikini Atoll is an atoll in one of the Micronesian Islands in the Pacific Ocean, part of Republic of the Marshall Islands. It consists of 23 islands surrounding a lagoon...
in the
South PacificOceania is a geographical, often geopolitical, region consisting of numerous lands—mostly islands in the Pacific Ocean and vicinity. The term "Oceania" was coined in 1831 by French explorer Dumont d'Urville...
.
In 1962, after witnessing the devastating effects of nuclear weapons, Martell decided to pursue a different direction in his life and took up a position as a radiochemist in the Atmospheric Chemistry Division at NCAR in
Boulder, ColoradoBoulder is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and most populous city of Boulder County, Colorado, in the United States. Boulder is the 11th most populous city in the state of Colorado. The United States Census Bureau estimates that in 2008 the population of the city of Boulder was...
.
In 1980 he published a paper in
Newscript in which he argued that
radiumRadium is a radioactive chemical element which has the symbol Ra and atomic number 88. Its appearance is almost pure white, but it readily oxidizes on exposure to air, turning black. Radium is an alkaline earth metal that is found in trace amounts in uranium ores. It is extremely radioactive...
progeny, particularly
poloniumPolonium is a chemical element with the symbol Po and atomic number 84, discovered in 1898 by Marie and Pierre Curie. A rare and highly radioactive metalloid, polonium is chemically similar to bismuth and tellurium, and it occurs in uranium ores. Polonium has been studied for possible use in...
-210, are responsible for the cancer-causing effects of cigarettes. He followed this up in 1983 with a
subsequent research paper in which he calculated that smokers who die of lung cancer have been exposed to 80-100
radsThe rad is a unit of absorbed radiation dose, with symbol rad. The rad was first proposed in 1918 as "that quantity of X rays which when absorbed will cause the destruction of the [malignant mammalian] cells in question..." It was defined in CGS units in 1953 as the dose causing 100 ergs of energy...
of radiation.
In 1993 he published a paper in which he theorized that ionizing radiation in artesian groundwater was the energy source which fueled the evolution of DNA and the first living cells, after exchanging ideas with the
University of ColoradoThe University of Colorado at Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado. It is the flagship university of the University of Colorado system and was founded five months before Colorado was admitted to the union in 1876...
's
Nobel prizeThe Nobel Prize is a Sweden-based international monetary prize. The award was established by the 1895 will and estate of Swedish chemist and inventor Alfred Nobel. It was first awarded in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and Peace in 1901...
-winning chemist Tom Cech. At the time of his death, he was working on a book called "Natural Radionuclides and Life".
Positions and efforts
During his time at NCAR he served as president of the International Commission on Atmospheric Chemistry and Radioactivity within the International Association of Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences. He was also a fellow of the
American Association for the Advancement of ScienceThe American Association for the Advancement of Science is an international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation between scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsibility, and supporting scientific education and science outreach for...
and a member of numerous other scientific societies.
He served as an expert witness during hearings before the U.S. Congress and United Nations on radioactive fallout. He also spearheaded the cleanup of
plutoniumPlutonium is a rare transuranic radioactive element. It is an actinide metal of silvery-white appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, forming a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibits six allotropes and four oxidation states. It reacts with carbon, halogens, nitrogen and...
contamination in the soil surrounding the Rocky Flats nuclear weapons manufacturing facility located outside of
BoulderBoulder is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and most populous city of Boulder County, Colorado, in the United States. Boulder is the 11th most populous city in the state of Colorado. The United States Census Bureau estimates that in 2008 the population of the city of Boulder was...
, after measuring levels of radioactivity surrounding the site. He also supported the
Southern Poverty Law CenterThe Southern Poverty Law Center is an American non-profit legal organization, internationally known for its tolerance education programs, its legal victories against white supremacists and its tracking of organizations it calls hate groups....
which represented the victims of government-sponsored radiation testing on low-income black citizens.
External links