Jackie Bonasia
Helen Caldicott is a Australian physician, author, and anti-nuclear advocate who has founded several associations dedicated to opposing the use of nuclear power, depleted uranium munitions, nuclear weapons, nuclear weapons proliferation, and military action in general.
Caldicott’s interest in the perils of nuclear energy and weapons was initiated when she read Nevil Shute’s book On the Beach, which centers on a nuclear holocaust set in her home country of Australia. She rose to prominence as a public figure by speaking on the health hazards of radiation. Her activism has resulted in numerous achievements. One of her earliest successes happened when she convinced Australia to sue France over its atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons in the Pacific in 1971 and 1972, which effectively brought an end to the practice.
After the Three Mile Island nuclear accident, Caldicott left her medical career to concentrate more fully on the nuclear arms race. In 1980, she founded the Women’s Action for Nuclear Disarmament (WAND) in the United States. The group focuses on redirecting the government’s attention from nuclear energy towards what they perceive to be “unmet social issues”. Caldicott was also the founding president of the group called Physicians for Social Responsibility. During her time as founder, she helped recruit 23,000 doctors to educate the public and their colleagues on the dangers of nuclear energy . Throughout her career, Caldicott has written several books and appeared in numerous documentaries about nuclear issues. Her commitment to education is so strong because she knew that “Teachers…are the most responsible and important members of society because their professional efforts affect the fate of the earth.”