Helen Caldicott

Caldicott's interest in the dangers of nuclear energy was sparked when she read the 1957 Nevil Shute novel On the Beach, about a nuclear holocaust set in Australia.[2] In the 1970s, she gained prominence in Australia, New Zealand and North America, speaking on the health hazards of radiation from the perspective of paediatrics.

Her early achievements included convincing Australia to sue France over its atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons in the Pacific in 1971 and 1972, which brought the practice to an end. She also informed Australian trade unions about the medical and military dangers of uranium mining which led to the 3 year banning of the mining and export of uranium.[3]

After visiting the Soviet Union in 1979 with an AFSC delegation and upon learning the impending US deployment of cruise missiles (which would end arms control) and Pershing II missiles that could hit Moscow from Europe in 3 minutes,[4] Caldicott left her medical career to concentrate on calling the world's attention to what she referred to as the "insanity" of the nuclear arms race and the growing reliance on nuclear power. In 1980, she founded the Women's Action for Nuclear Disarmament (WAND) in the United States, which was later renamed Women's Action for New Directions. It is a group dedicated to reducing or redirecting government spending away from nuclear energy and nuclear weapons towards what the group perceives as unmet social issues.[5]

During her time in the United States from 1977 to 1986, Caldicott was the founding president from 1978 to 1983 of Physicians for Social Responsibility (founded in 1961 and dormant from 1970 to 1978), and she helped to recruit 23,000 doctors committed to educating the public and their colleagues on the dangers of nuclear energy. She also worked abroad to establish similar national groups that focused on education about the medical dangers of nuclear energy, nuclear weapons and nuclear war. As well as servicing the US chapters and continually recruiting new members she travelled extensively overseas initiating similar organisations in Britain, Ireland, Scotland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, India, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, and Australia. While visiting the Soviet Union and Moscow in 1979 she attempted to initiate a similar organisation in that nation, however she did not have access to the appropriate people in power. In 1985 the umbrella group of physicians that Caldicott had helped to create International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In 1994 Caldicott published a revised edition of her 1978 book Nuclear Madness: What You Can Do, a book describing the medical implications of nuclear power. The book was criticized by Ian Fells of Newcastle University, who wrote that "She damages her own case by providing an account that is anything but objective. As far as she is concerned the nuclear industry and its supporters are evil."[6]

In 1995 Caldicott returned to the US where she lectured for the New School of Social Research on the Media, Global Politics, and the Environment. She also hosted a weekly radio show on WBAI (Pacifica) and became the Founding President of the STAR (Standing for Truth About Radiation) Foundation.

Her sixth book, The New Nuclear Danger: George W. Bush’s Military Industrial Complex, was published in 2001. While touring with that book, she founded the Nuclear Policy Research Institute (NPRI), headquartered in Washington, D.C. NPRI facilitated an ongoing public education campaign in the mainstream media about the dangers of nuclear energy, including weapons and power programs and policies. It was led by both Caldicott and Executive Director Julie R. Enszer. NPRI attempted to create a consensus to end all uses of nuclear energy by means of public education campaigns, establishing a presence in the mainstream media, and sponsoring high-profile symposia. NPRI has now morphed into Beyond Nuclear.

In 2008 Caldicott founded the Helen Caldicott Foundation for a Nuclear Free Future which, for over four years, produced a weekly radio commentary, "If You Love This Planet".[7]

In an editorial article in 2009 she urged Barack Obama to work towards a world without nuclear weapons. She pointed out that while George H.W. Bush had withdrawn some Tactical Nuclear Weapon from Europe, Bill Clinton had failed to negotiate the elimination of strategic nuclear weapons.[8]

In April 2011, Caldicott was involved in a public argument in The Guardian with British journalist George Monbiot. Monbiot expressed great concern at what he saw as a failure by Caldicott to provide adequate justification for many of her arguments. Regarding Caldicott's book Nuclear Power is Not The Answer, he wrote: "The scarcity of references to scientific papers and the abundance of unsourced claims it contains amaze me."[9][10] Caldicott replied: "As we have seen, he and other nuclear industry apologists sow confusion about radiation risks and, in my view, in much the same way that the tobacco industry did in previous decades about the risks of smoking.".[11] During her debate with George Monbiot she did suggest that he read her book, suggesting that she considers herself to be an authority on nuclear issues. However, the book has been accused of misrepresenting the contents of references.[12]

In 2014, Physicians for Social Responsibility hosted a lecture on "Fukushima's Ongoing Impact" by Caldicott in Seattle, Washington.[13]

Caldicott is critical of Donald Trump. She expressed the view that he never reads books and knows nothing about global or USA politics.[14]

After founding The Helen Caldicott Foundation for a Nuclear Free Future, she organised two symposia at the New York Academy of Medicine. The first, in 2013, on the medical and ecological consequences of the Fukushima nuclear catastrophe, led to the publication of Crisis Without End by the New Press; and another two years later on the threat of nuclear annihilation which was followed by the book Sleepwalking to Armageddon - The New Press 2017.