John
Gofman received the 1992 Right Livelihood award "...for his pioneering work in
exposing the health effects of low-level radiation." As a graduate student in
1942, John Gofman was one of the early nuclear pioneers. In the early 1960s he
was director of the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory's Biomedical Research Division,
studying the effects of radiation on human health. He became very concerned with
his findings on the damaging effects of low-level radiation, and quit when faced
with pressure not to reveal the results of his research. His 1971 book based on
his findings, Poisoned Power: The Case Against Nuclear Power Plants, helped
inspire the anti-nuclear movement of the 1970s. He has written hundreds of scientific
papers and several books about the health concerns associated with nuclear energy
and nuclear medicine, including his 1995 work, Preventing Breast Cancer,
which claims that 75% of breast cancer in the USA is caused by medical radiation.
