PRESS ADVISORY

WHAT: “The Effects of the Nuclear Age on Society”
the 8th in the “Know Nukes” education series

WHEN: Thursday, August 11, 2005, 6:30 – 9:00 p.m.

WHERE: Sulzer Regional Public Library, 4455 N. Lincoln, Chicago

WHO: guest speakers include:
Dr. Ernest Sternglass, Radiation and Public Health Project (RPHP)
Dr. David Rothstein, board member, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Chicago
Moderated by David Kraft, Director, NEIS

WHY: To commemorate the 60th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

WHAT: “The unleashed power of the atom has changed everything save our modes of thinking and we thus drift toward unparalleled catastrophe.” -- Albert Einstein

Using the 60th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as a backdrop, two long-time peace and environment activists will share their perspectives of how the Nuclear Age has come to shape society since those historic events. Each has spent a lifetime attempting to “put the nuclear genie back in the bottle,” and make the world a less-nuclear and safer place.

After their presentations, they will dialog with the audience on their perspectives.

The event will be video-taped by CAN-TV, Chicago Cable Access, Chan. 21, for later broadcast.

Biographical material:

Dr. Ernest Sternglass: Contact: 4601 Fifth Ave. #824, Pittsburgh, PA 15213; Tel/Fax: 412-687-7543; e-m: ejsternglass (at) comcast.net
Dr. Ernest J. Sternglass is Emeritus Professor of Radiological Physics in the Department of Radiology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. He joined the University in 1967 to direct the Radiological Physics and Engineering Laboratory to develop new imaging techniques to reduce the dose in X-ray and nuclear medicine examinations. In addition, Dr. Sternglass has carried out extensive epidemiological studies of the effect of nuclear fallout and reactor releases on human health, in connection with which he has testified at hearings of the U.S. Congress, the National Academy of Sciences, State Legislatures and U.S. Government Regulatory Agencies. In 1963, Dr. Sternglass was invited to testify before the congressional Joint Committee on Atomic Energy, as to how the exponential increase in strontium-90 in baby teeth caused by bomb-test fallout was associated with increased childhood leukemia. His research and testimony played a role in President Kennedy's decision to sign the Partial Test Ban Treaty.
His 1981 book Secret Fallout: Low-level Radiation from Hiroshima to Three Mile Island established him as a pioneer in the study of the health effects of low-level radiation. He is also the author of "Low -Level Radiation" (Ballantine 1972), "Secret Fallout", (McGraw - Hill 1981) and "Before the Big Bang" (Four Walls Eight Windows 1997). Presently, he is Scientific Director of the Radiation and Public Health Project, a not-for profit research organization in New York City.
He was elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society, and was formerly a member of the Radiological Society of North America and a number of other professional societies.

Dr. David Rothstein: Contact: rothsteind (at) aol.com
He was a consultant to the Warren Commission and to the Eisenhower Commission (National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence) and has studied and written about psychiatric understanding of violence and role of violence in identity formation, with respect to such things as Presidential assassination, leaders, war, ethnic violence, terrorism. He has practiced psychiatry in Chicago since 1965, and is on staff currently at Swedish Covenant, Illinois Masonic, and Weiss Hospitals, previously Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry University of Chicago Medical School. He is on the Board of Directors of the Chicago Chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility.