Letter from Linus Pauling to Homer Dudley. February 24, 1958. Page 1  Larger Images / More Information. 1 p.  View Transcript

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Activity Listings

• Article: "An Exclusive: Nobel Prize Winner Linus Pauling Answers Edward Teller's recent Life Magazine Article on The Compelling Need for Nuclear Tests," IF Stone's Weekly, February 24, 1958. [Filed under LP Biographical: (LP Scrapbooks, 1956-1960), Box #6.007, Folder #7.93]
• Article: "An Exclusive: Nobel Prize Winner Linus Pauling Answers Edward Teller's..." by LP, in I. F. Stone's Weekly. [Filed under LP Correspondence: (Teller, Edward) #406.8] Original copy found: [Filed under LP Correspondence: (Teller, Edward) #406.9]
• Journal Article: "Blessed are the Peacemakers, but not in Washington D.C.," I.F. Stone's Weekly, February 24, 1958. [Filed under LP Newspaper Clippings: 1958n.16]
• Letter from Guy B. Tabacchi, Purdue University, to LP. RE: Asks what advantage it is for a physics student to study speech. [Filed under LP Correspondence: (T: Correspondence, 1958) #411.3]
• Letter from James F. Corwin, Antioch Collge, to LP. RE: Informs him that he would like to visit on April 11th. [Filed under LP Correspondence: (C: Correspondence, 1958) #75.1]
• Letter from John Jenkisson, Chief Life Correspondent, to LP. RE: Informs him that his article has not been accepted for publication. Explains why. [Filed under LP Correspondence: (Life) #219.3]
• Letter from L. Kelley Mayhew, to LP. RE: Suggests a week long fast as a publicity stunt for the ban on nuclear testing. [Filed under LP Correspondence: (M: Correspondence, 1958) #257.3]
• Letter from LP to Al S. Waxman, Waxman Publication Inc.. RE: Thanks him for his letter. Encloses a copy of his letter to Dorais. [Filed under LP Correspondence: (W: Correspondence, 1958) #444.6]
• Letter from LP to Donald B. Chesnut, Duke University. RE: Informs him what happened to his letters to LP. [Filed under LP Correspondence: (C: Correspondence, 1958) #75.1]
• Letter from LP to Homer Dudley. [Filed under LP Correspondence: (D: Correspondence, 1958) #98.23]

  24 February 1958

  Mr. Homer Dudley

  150 Ashland Road

  Summit, New Jersey

  Dear Mr. Dudley:

  I thank you for your letter of 8 February, with the implied suggestion in it that we do something about the effects of radium in our drinking water.

  I agree that this is a serious problem. I estimate (I do not have statistics at hand right now) that 300,000 people per year die in the United States from cancer. Our biologists, and I think others that have studied the question, estimate that about 10 to 20 percent of the cases of cancer are due to background radiation - let us take 10 percent. This means that 30,000 deaths from cancer each year in the United States can be attributed to background radiation. Of the background radiation half is due to radium that gets into the bones. Hence we now have the figure 15,000 deaths per year from the radium that we get from our drinking water.

  Your suggestion that we stop drinking the water is of course a facetious one.

  Have you considered the possibility that radium could be removed from the drinking water? As an engineer, you may have had experience in these fields. I believe that this is a possibility. I am not at all sure that the job is a practical one, but some people in the House and the Senate have been talking about appropriations of the order of 500 million dollars a year for attack on the cancer problem, and it seems evident that to remove the radium from drinking water is one possibility.

  Because of my interest in decreasing the total amount of human suffering of the world in every possible way, including the control of cancer, I should be interested to know if, as a result of your professional experience, you think that it would be reasonable to try to prevent the 15,000 deaths each year in the United States (perhaps 200,000 per year in the world) that may be attributed to the radium in the drinking water.

  Sincerely yours,

  Linus Pauling:w

• Letter from LP to James Dorais. RE: Informs him that any questions he had regarding the signatures on the treaty should be asked directly of LP. [Filed under LP Correspondence: (D: Correspondence, 1958) #98.23]
• Letter from Mortimer Elkind to LP, RE: Elkind is working with Selove on their introduction for "Radiation and Man." Elkind asks for LP to clarify some of statements that he made in his Appeal last May. Elkind does not want to oversimplify LP's statements. [Filed under LP Peace: (Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, 1948-1964), Box #3.016, Folder #16.4]
• Letter from Oleg Jardetzky, Department of Pharmacology, to LP. RE: Encloses the first of the manuscripts. Asks for comments. [Filed under LP Correspondence: (Jardetzky, Oleg and Christine) #188.3]
• Letter from Paul F. Hirschfelder, to Cyrus Stephen Eaton. RE: Discusses the current international situation, including nuclear testing, unemployment, religion, and language. [Filed under LP Correspondence: (H: Correspondence, 1958) #167.3]
• Letter from Thein Nyun to LP, RE: Encloses a list of signatures he was able to obtain from the Applied Research Institute and the University. Explains that he was unable to get signatures from the Burma Science Association and the Burma Research Council. Says that he is glad LP liked his article and that he sent a copy of it to him. Discusses remembering reading a discussion of reality in one of LP's textbooks. Handwritten note labels it number 40. [Filed under LP Safe Contents, Drawer 3 Folder 3.004]
• Magazine Article: "A First Step in Disarmament," by Linus Pauling, Chemical and Engineering News, February 24, 1958. [Filed under LP Biographical: (LP Scrapbooks, 1956-1960), Box #6.007, Folder #7.86]
• Newspaper Clipping: "Nobel scientist calls for conscientious objection," Stanford Daily, February 24, 1958. [Filed under LP Biographical: (LP Scrapbooks, 1956-1960), Box #6.007, Folder #7.92]
• Note from George Boroff to LP RE: Describes the Circle Theatre's new play, "Tomorrow's Children," which discusses the effects of radiation and the scientists responsibility in the matter. Invites LP to the opening night performance of the play on March 13, 1958. Mentions that, because of LP's important work and activism in the field, the writer, Jan Leman, and the cast would be honored by his presence. [Letter from LP to George Boroff, March 3, 1958] [Filed under LP Correspondence: (B: Correspondence, 1958), #39.1]