How does a Student in International
Affairs end up co-authoring a book on radiation?
When I originally started my internship at
PGS in January of 2011, I had no idea I would end up writing a book with the
then PGS Executive Director, Dr. Dale Dewar. At the start, Dale introduced me
to the mandate of PGS and tasked me with finding possible research topics that
matched the organization’s objectives.
During the next couple of weeks, we
discussed all kinds of topics such as women’s rights, peaceful conflict
resolution as well as the issue of nuclear weapons and radiation more broadly.
At this point, I did my very best to create useful annotated bibliographies
that would assist Dale and other members of PGS in their research. However, I
thought that the internship would end with the academic semester and focused on
trying to find a job for the summer…
Then, Fukushima happened….At once my
research scope was narrowed down to what Dale and I referred to as “radiation
and health”. [1] It
became clear very quickly that the Canadian population was concerned about
Fukushima, but that access to transparent, trustworthy and easily
comprehensible information was hard to come by…. Dale and I often joked about
the two “experts” arguing on TV, one downplaying the risk of Fukushima, the
other warning of the devastating consequences.
How was the average Canadian viewer without
a scientific background supposed to know who or what to trust? After all, for every
argument found on google, you can find a counter argument.
It was in this context that the idea was
born to create a “booklet” over the summer that would utilize information from
both the pro and anti-nuclear camps. The idea was that a reader without a
scientific background could create an informed opinion on the subject
matter. That is why I, a non-scientist,
seemed a good fit for this task. Someone with a lot of expertise in the subject
matter risked complicating thing too much for the average reader.
Thus, I had my summer job and stayed at PGS
after all. However, it soon became apparent to Dale that I was “getting carried
away” with my task (in a positive sense). Towards the end of the summer, she
first hinted at the possibility of this project one day becoming a book. As a
result, I continued to work part time at PGS on this project while I finished
my Master’s Degree at Carleton University.
Dale continued to critique my work, gave me
feedback, and guided me towards areas still missing in the book. All the while,
she tirelessly pursued the goal of finding a publisher. A very tedious and
frustrating task indeed.
I admit, without Dale, my research never
would have found its way into print. She was the one who first recognized the
potential of my work. She was the one who searched tirelessly for a publisher
and found one. She critiqued and guided my work and included much of her own
experience and research. She was the one who gave me a chance. Thank you Dale.
-Florian Oelck
[1] In fact, the earliest drafts of the book had this title (I must
admit the new title is much better).
