Robin Russell-Jones

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Robin Russell-Jones (born 5 March 1948) is a medical doctor with an abiding interest in environmental pollution and the way it impinges on public health. His activities have influenced several key areas of environmental policy in the UK, including the decision to ban lead in petrol, introduce catalytic converters in petrol driven vehicles, and change official guidelines on exposure to ionising radiation. His letters and articles have raised awareness of ozone depletion and global warming.

Contents

Education

Although Russell-Jones was a medical scholar at Peterhouse, Cambridge he graduated with a degree in the History of Art. He completed his clinical training at St Thomas’ Hospital, London, obtained his MRCP in 1974 and specialized in dermatology. He holds both FRCP and FRCPath.

Biography

In 1981 Russell-Jones became Medical and Scientific Advisor to CLEAR, The Campaign for Lead-Free Air. [1] In 1982 he organized an international conference on the biological effects of low- level lead exposure, and the subsequent proceedings, Lead versus Health, [2] were edited with Michael Rutter FRS, Professor of Child Psychiatry at the Institute of Psychiatry. In 1983 Russell-Jones gave evidence to the Royal Commission on Environmental pollution whose Ninth report, Lead in the Environment, [3] persuaded the UK Government to introduce lead-free petrol.

In 1986 he organized a conference on the biological effects of low level exposure to ionizing radiation, and the subsequent proceedings [4] were edited with Sir Richard Southwood FRS, Professor of Zoology at Oxford, and Chair of the NRPB. International cancer risk estimates were subsequently revised upwards and dose limits for nuclear workers and the public were lowered.

In 1988 he organized a conference on ozone depletion, and the subsequent proceedings [5] were edited with Tom Wigley who at that time was head of the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia.The following year Margaret Thatcher hosted a UN conference in London on ozone depletion [6] which led eventually to the Montreal protocol.

In 1989 he wrote an editorial for The Lancet, Health in the Greenhouse, [7] which concluded as follows: “Any strategy to combat global warming must be conducted on a global scale and is bound to involve enormous investment in energy conservation, re-afforestation, renewable sources of energy and changing patterns of agriculture and transportation This approach will require a new agenda for world leaders, a new role for the United Nations Environmental Programme, and a new awareness of man’s fundamental reliance on the integrity of world ecosystems. The expense may be considerable, but the cost of doing nothing is incalculable.”

In 2012 he established a small educational charity Help Rescue the Planet and organized an international conference [8] at the Royal Institute of British Architects, London on climate change.

Publications

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Montreal Protocol</span> 1987 treaty to protect the ozone layer

The Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer is an international treaty designed to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production of numerous substances that are responsible for ozone depletion. It was agreed on 16 September 1987, and entered into force on 1 January 1989. Since then, it has undergone nine revisions, in 1990 (London), 1991 (Nairobi), 1992 (Copenhagen), 1993 (Bangkok), 1995 (Vienna), 1997 (Montreal), 1999 (Beijing) and 2016 (Kigali). As a result of the international agreement, the ozone hole in Antarctica is slowly recovering. Climate projections indicate that the ozone layer will return to 1980 levels between 2040 and 2066. Due to its widespread adoption and implementation, it has been hailed as an example of successful international co-operation. Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan stated that "perhaps the single most successful international agreement to date has been the Montreal Protocol". In comparison, effective burden-sharing and solution proposals mitigating regional conflicts of interest have been among the success factors for the ozone depletion challenge, where global regulation based on the Kyoto Protocol has failed to do so. In this case of the ozone depletion challenge, there was global regulation already being installed before a scientific consensus was established. Also, overall public opinion was convinced of possible imminent risks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ozone layer</span> Region of the stratosphere

The ozone layer or ozone shield is a region of Earth's stratosphere that absorbs most of the Sun's ultraviolet radiation. It contains a high concentration of ozone (O3) in relation to other parts of the atmosphere, although still small in relation to other gases in the stratosphere. The ozone layer contains less than 10 parts per million of ozone, while the average ozone concentration in Earth's atmosphere as a whole is about 0.3 parts per million. The ozone layer is mainly found in the lower portion of the stratosphere, from approximately 15 to 35 kilometers (9 to 22 mi) above Earth, although its thickness varies seasonally and geographically.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Radiation</span> Waves or particles moving through space

In physics, radiation is the emission or transmission of energy in the form of waves or particles through space or a material medium. This includes:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electromagnetic radiation and health</span> Aspect of public health

Electromagnetic radiation can be classified into two types: ionizing radiation and non-ionizing radiation, based on the capability of a single photon with more than 10 eV energy to ionize atoms or break chemical bonds. Extreme ultraviolet and higher frequencies, such as X-rays or gamma rays are ionizing, and these pose their own special hazards: see radiation poisoning. The field strength of electromagnetic radiation is measured in volts per meter (V/m).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ozone depletion</span> Atmospheric phenomenon

Ozone depletion consists of two related events observed since the late 1970s: a steady lowering of about four percent in the total amount of ozone in Earth's atmosphere, and a much larger springtime decrease in stratospheric ozone around Earth's polar regions. The latter phenomenon is referred to as the ozone hole. There are also springtime polar tropospheric ozone depletion events in addition to these stratospheric events.

Ionizing radiation, including nuclear radiation, consists of subatomic particles or electromagnetic waves that have sufficient energy to ionize atoms or molecules by detaching electrons from them. Some particles can travel up to 99% of the speed of light, and the electromagnetic waves are on the high-energy portion of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Radiation protection, also known as radiological protection, is defined by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as "The protection of people from harmful effects of exposure to ionizing radiation, and the means for achieving this". Exposure can be from a source of radiation external to the human body or due to internal irradiation caused by the ingestion of radioactive contamination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hormesis</span> Characteristic of biological processes

Hormesis is a two-phased dose-response relationship to an environmental agent whereby low-dose amounts have a beneficial effect and high-dose amounts are either inhibitory to function or toxic. Within the hormetic zone, the biological response to low-dose amounts of some stressors is generally favorable. An example is the breathing of oxygen, which is required in low amounts via respiration in living animals, but can be toxic in high amounts, even in a managed clinical setting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Linear no-threshold model</span> Deprecated model predicting health effects of radiation

The linear no-threshold model (LNT) is a dose-response model used in radiation protection to estimate stochastic health effects such as radiation-induced cancer, genetic mutations and teratogenic effects on the human body due to exposure to ionizing radiation. The model assumes a linear relationship between dose and health effects, even for very low doses where biological effects are more difficult to observe. The LNT model implies that all exposure to ionizing radiation is harmful, regardless of how low the dose is, and that the effect is cumulative over lifetime.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Radiation hormesis</span> Hypothesis regarding low doses of ionizing radiation on health

Radiation hormesis is the hypothesis that low doses of ionizing radiation are beneficial, stimulating the activation of repair mechanisms that protect against disease, that are not activated in absence of ionizing radiation. The reserve repair mechanisms are hypothesized to be sufficiently effective when stimulated as to not only cancel the detrimental effects of ionizing radiation but also inhibit disease not related to radiation exposure. It has been a mainstream concept since at least 2009.

Uranium in the environment is a global health concern, and comes from both natural and man-made sources. Beyond naturally occurring uranium, mining, phosphates in agriculture, weapons manufacturing, and nuclear power are anthropogenic sources of uranium in the environment.

Radiation damage is the effect of ionizing radiation on physical objects including non-living structural materials. It can be either detrimental or beneficial for materials.

Radiobiology is a field of clinical and basic medical sciences that involves the study of the effects of ionizing radiation on living things, in particular health effects of radiation. Ionizing radiation is generally harmful and potentially lethal to living things but can have health benefits in radiation therapy for the treatment of cancer and thyrotoxicosis. Its most common impact is the induction of cancer with a latent period of years or decades after exposure. High doses can cause visually dramatic radiation burns, and/or rapid fatality through acute radiation syndrome. Controlled doses are used for medical imaging and radiotherapy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christopher Busby</span> British scientist

Christopher Busby is a British scientist primarily studying the health effects of internal ionising radiation. Busby is a director of Green Audit Limited, a private company, and scientific advisor to the Low Level Radiation Campaign (LLRC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Non-ionizing radiation</span> Harmless low-frequency radiation

Non-ionizingradiation refers to any type of electromagnetic radiation that does not carry enough energy per quantum to ionize atoms or molecules—that is, to completely remove an electron from an atom or molecule. Instead of producing charged ions when passing through matter, non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation has sufficient energy only for excitation. Non-ionizing radiation is not a significant health risk. In contrast, ionizing radiation has a higher frequency and shorter wavelength than non-ionizing radiation, and can be a serious health hazard: exposure to it can cause burns, radiation sickness, many kinds of cancer, and genetic damage. Using ionizing radiation requires elaborate radiological protection measures, which in general are not required with non-ionizing radiation.

Exposure to ionizing radiation is known to increase the future incidence of cancer, particularly leukemia. The mechanism by which this occurs is well understood, but quantitative models predicting the level of risk remain controversial. The most widely accepted model posits that the incidence of cancers due to ionizing radiation increases linearly with effective radiation dose at a rate of 5.5% per sievert; if correct, natural background radiation is the most hazardous source of radiation to general public health, followed by medical imaging as a close second. Additionally, the vast majority of non-invasive cancers are non-melanoma skin cancers caused by ultraviolet radiation. Non-ionizing radio frequency radiation from mobile phones, electric power transmission, and other similar sources have been investigated as a possible carcinogen by the WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer, but to date, no evidence of this has been observed.

The Committee on the Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation (BEIR) is a committee of the American National Research Council. It publishes reports on the effects of ionizing radiation.

CLEAR, the Campaign for Lead Free Air, was started in 1981 when a wealthy property developer, Godfrey Bradman, recruited the veteran campaigner and former Director of Shelter, Des Wilson to get lead-free petrol into the United Kingdom. Wilson ran the public campaign and co-opted Dr Robin Russell-Jones as the unpaid medical and scientific advisor.

Michael Harry Repacholi is an Australian biophysicist and radiation protection expert. He is one of the pioneer scientists and foremost authorities in Radiobiology in the world, including radiation protection standards for ionizing radiation and non-ionizing radiation across the electromagnetic spectrum. He was one of the founders and past presidents of the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) and founder and director of several projects in the World Health Organization, including the International Electromagnetic Fields (EMF) Project. Repacholi was also active in the study of the health consequences of the Chernobyl accident in the nuclear reactor, in Ukraine.

References

  1. ↑ "Fracking debate: what does the battle for lead-free air teach us?". the Guardian.
  2. ↑ AMBG (1983). "Lead Versus Health: Sources and Effects of Low Level Lead Exposure". Public Health. 97 (3): 184–5. doi:10.1016/S0033-3506(83)80097-3.
  3. ↑ "[ARCHIVED CONTENT] RCEP - Reports". nationalarchives.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 2011-03-22.
  4. ↑ Jones, R.R. "Radiation and health: The biological effects of low-level exposure to ionizing radiation (Book) - SciTech Connect". Osti.gov. OSTI   5133794.
  5. ↑ "9780471923169: Ozone Depletion: Health and Environmental Consequences - AbeBooks: 0471923168". abebooks.co.uk. 14 February 1989.
  6. ↑ "Press Conference closing London Saving the Ozone Layer Conference". margaretthatcher.org.
  7. ↑ "Health in the Greenhouse". The Lancet. 333 (8642): 819–20. 1989. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(89)92275-7.
  8. ↑ "International Conference on Climate Change". Help Rescue The Planet.
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