News Archive

31 March 2021
Herbert M. Parker Foundation Spring 2021 Lecture: "Radium in Pennsylvania—Miracle or Menace"

Wayne M. Glines, President, Board of Trustees, Herbert M. Parker Foundation

David Allard

The Herbert M. Parker Foundation continues its public lecture series with its Spring 2021 Parker Lecture Wednesday, 21 April 2021, 5–6 pm PDT (USA). David J. Allard, MS, CHP, FHPS, Director, Pennsylvania State Bureau of Radiation Protection, will present the lecture "Radium in Pennsylvania—Miracle or Menace." In cooperation with Washington State University Tri-Cities and Northwest Public Broadcasting, this lecture is free and open to the public and will be streamed live on the Washington State University Tri-Cities YouTube channel.

Allard's lecture will address the historical benefits of radium as well as its health effects on workers and members of the public. The presentation will also illustrate how the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has led in radium-related research and controls, including the ongoing efforts to monitor and mitigate radon in buildings from naturally occurring radium in soil, as well as a recent extensive evaluation of radium that returns with oil and gas production. Radium has had many benefits in treating cancer and other areas, but it has also served as a detriment in others. This presentation will provide a look into the origins of the use of radium and its impact on our world.

As the Pennsylvania state's director for the Bureau of Radiation Protection, Allard is responsible for accelerator, x-ray, environmental surveillance, nuclear safety, radiological emergency response, radioactive materials, decommissioning and site clean-up, low-level radioactive waste, and radon programs. He is the governor's official liaison to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission and technical lead on oil and gas radium, as well as industry-generated naturally and technologically enhanced radioactive material issues.

Herbert M. Parker Foundation lectures have been approved for continuing education credits by both the American Academy of Health Physics and the National Registry of Radiation Protection Technologists.

The Herbert M. Parker Foundation was founded in 1987. Herbert M. Parker was a pioneer in radiation protection and safety in the 1940–1960s. He was specifically chosen to develop and implement health and safety programs for the Manhattan Project at the Hanford Site and was the first manager of the Hanford Laboratories, the predecessor to the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The Herbert M. Parker Foundation was established to honor and perpetuate Herbert M. Parker's legacy of ethical and scientific standards, and his concern for the protection of people and the environment, by sponsoring programs that support scientific and educational activities promoting technical advances and enhancing public understanding of science and technology as applied to radiation protection and related sciences.

To learn more about the Herbert M. Parker Foundation and its activities including the Parker lectures, visit the foundation's website or contact Wayne M. Glines by email or by phone at 1-509-366-8382.