This book presents a history of radioecology, from World War II through
to the critical years of the Cold War, finishing with a discussion of
recent developments and future implications for the field.
Drawing on a vast array of primary sources, the book reviews,
synthesizes and discusses the implications of the ecological research
supported by the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) of the United States
government, from World War II to the early 1970s. This was a critical
period in the history of ecology, characterized by a transition from the
older, largely descriptive studies of communities of plants and animals
to the modern form of the science involving functional studies of energy
flow and mineral cycling in ecosystems. This transition was in large
part due to the development of radioecology, which was a by-product of
the Cold War and the need to understand and predict the consequences of
a nuclear war that was planned but has never occurred. The book draws on
important case studies, such as the Pacific Proving Grounds, the Nevada
Test Site, El Verde in Puerto Rico, the Brookhaven National Laboratory
and recent events such as the nuclear disasters at Chernobyl and
Fukushima. By revisiting studies and archived information from the Cold
War era, this book offers lessons from the history of radioecology to
provide background and perspective for understanding possible
present-day impacts from issues of radiation risks associated with
nuclear power generation and waste disposal. Post-Cold War developments
in radioecology will be also reviewed and contrasted with the
AEC-supported ecology research for further perspectives.
This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of
radioecology, environmental pollution, environmental technology,
bioscience and environmental history.
