Rosalie Bertell


Rosalie Bertell was an American scientist, author, environmental activist, epidemiologist, and Catholic nun. Bertell was a sister of the Grey Nuns of the Sacred Heart, best known for her work in the field of ionizing radiation. A dual citizen of Canada and the United States, she worked in environmental health since 1970. In 1986, she was awarded the Right Livelihood Award for "raising public awareness about the destruction of the biosphere and human gene pool, especially by low-level radiation."

Biography

Rosalie Bertell was born to Paul G. and Helen Bertell in Buffalo, New York. Her mother was Canadian, her father a citizen of the USA. In 1966, she received a Ph.D in Biometrics from the Catholic University of America.
From 1969–1978, Bertell was senior cancer research scientist at Roswell Park Cancer Institute. She was a consultant to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the US Environmental Protection Agency, and to Health Canada.
In 1983, she received the "Hans-Adalbert Schweigart"-Medal from the World Union for Protection of Life. She was president of International Institute of Concern for Public Health from 1987 to 2004. She founded the International Medical Commission Chernobyl in 1996.
Bertell was a coordinator for the International Medical Commission on Bhopal, and campaigned for an independent body "to coordinate health care, research and rehabilitation" for victims of the Bhopal disaster.

Filmography

Bertell appeared in at least five documentary films between 1985 and 2005. They include:
TitleDirectorProduction CompanyYear
Poison DustSue HarrisLightyear Entertainment2005
Fatal Fallout: The Bush LegacyGary Null2004
Bhopal: The Search for JusticePeter Raymont, Lindalee TraceyWhite Pine Pictures2004
UraniumMagnus IsacssonNational Film Board of Canada1990
Speaking our peaceBonnie Sherr Klein, Terre NashNational Film Board of Canada1985

Death

Bertell died of cancer at age 83 at Saint Mary Medical Center, Langhorne, Pennsylvania.

Awards

Bertell received many awards, including:
There is a Rosalie Bertell fond at Library and Archives Canada. The archival reference number is R6847, former archival reference number MG31-K39. The fond covers the date range 1942 to 2001. It contains textual records, audio-visual material and graphic material.