Lauriston Taylor: The Radiation Protection Man
Main Article Content
Abstract
This work explores the formative years of Lauriston Taylor, a pivotal American physicist in the history of radiation protection, from the origins of his career until the shift brought about by World War II. It draws primarily on his lengthy and largely unexplored unpublished autobiography, along with archival sources and published materials. It examines Taylor’s early involvement in the field at a time when few scientists in the United States had both the formal education or experience—and perhaps even the interest—in X-rays and radium. Taylor's work was not confined to scientific laboratories and experiments. His significant role in national and international organizations highlights how scientific expertise, institutional power, and political context intertwined in shaping radiation protection as a field. By tracing Taylor’s steps, this paper illuminates the making of radiation standards and the emergence of radiological protection as both a scientific and diplomatic enterprise.
Keywords:
History, 20th Century, Radiation Protection, Standardization, Science Policy, International Organizations
Article Details
How to Cite
DIMITROKALI, Myrto; RENTETZI, Maria.
Lauriston Taylor: The Radiation Protection Man.
Medical Research Archives, [S.l.], v. 13, n. 5, may 2025.
ISSN 2375-1924.
Available at: <https://esmed.org/MRA/mra/article/view/6453>. Date accessed: 23 june 2025.
doi: https://doi.org/10.18103/mra.v13i5.6453.
Section
Editorial
The Medical Research Archives grants authors the right to publish and reproduce the unrevised contribution in whole or in part at any time and in any form for any scholarly non-commercial purpose with the condition that all publications of the contribution include a full citation to the journal as published by the Medical Research Archives.
References
1. Taylor LS. From the cupboards of Lauriston S. Taylor. American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library & Archives, College Park, MD 20740, USA; 1985.
2. Grigg ERN. Trail of the Invisible Light: From X-Strahlen to Radio(bio)logy. Charles C. Thomas Publisher Ltd; 1965.
3. Radiation Martyrs. The British Journal of Radiology. 1956;29(341):273.
4. Taylor LS. X-Ray Measurements and Protection 1913-1964: The Role of the National Bureau of Standards and the National Radiological Organizations. U.S. Department of Commerce, National Bureau of Standards, Special Publication 625; December 1981. Accessed March 10, 2025. https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/Legacy/SP/nbsspecialpublication625.pdf.
5. Cf Quimby EH. A Method for the Study of Scattered and Secondary Radiation in X-Ray and Radium Laboratories. Radiology. 1926;7(3):211–217.
6. Taylor LS, Sauer KG. Vignettes of Early Radiation Workers: Transcripts of the Videotape Series. Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Food and Drug Administration, Center for Devices and Radiological Health; 1984. Available at: American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library & Archives, College Park, MD 20740, USA.
7. Social Networks and Archival Content. Taylor Lauriston S. (Lauriston Sale): 1902-2004. Accessed March 10, 2025. http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6pr7x7k.
8. Lindell B. The Labours of Hercules: The History of Radiation, Radioactivity, and Radiological Protection, Part III. 1950–1966. Accessed March 10, 2025. https://nsfs.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Hercules_Downloadable_V1.pdf.
9. Rentetzi M, Nielsen AH. Setting Radiation Protection Standards: The First Radiology Congress in 1925. Medical Research Archives. 2024;12(6). https://doi.org/10.18103/mra.v12i6.5445.
10. For example: Taylor NW, Sinclair WK, Gorson R O. In Memoriam: Lauriston Taylor. Health Physics Society. Accessed March 10, 2025. https://hps.org/aboutthesociety/people/inmemoriam/LauristonTaylor.html.
11. Whittemore G. Lauriston Sale Taylor – Session II. Niels Bohr Library & Archives, American Institute of Physics, College Park, MD, USA, August 16, 1990. Accessed March 10, 2025. https://www.aip.org/history-programs/niels-bohr-library/oral-histories/5153-2.
12. This became even more obvious after the establishment of the International Atomic Energy Agency in 1957. See: Patil K, Rentetzi M. Too Strict or Too Lax? IAEA and the Evolution of Nuclear Safety Standards. In Negotiating Radiation Protection in the Nuclear Age, edited by Rentetzi M, Creager A, and Lindee S, University of Pittsburgh Press, 2025.
13. Sekiya M, Yamasaki M. Rolf Maximilian Sievert (1896–1966): Father of Radiation Protection. Radiological Physics and Technology. 2015;9: 1–5. doi.org/10.1007/s12194-015-0330-5.
14. Taylor LS. Rolf Sievert (1896–1966). Radiation Research. 1968;33(3): 681–684. Accessed April 9, 2025. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3572426.
15. Taylor LS. Organization for Radiation Protection: The Operations of the ICRP and the NCRP, 1928-1974. US Department of Energy; 1979.
16. Boudia S. Global Regulation: Controlling and Accepting Radioactivity Risks. History and Technology. 2007;23(4), 389–406. doi.org/10.1080/07341510701527443.
17. Rentetzi M. The Politics of Radiation Protection. NTM. 2022;30: 125–135. doi.org/10.1007/s00048-022-00332-z.
18. Rentetzi M. The Global Experiment: How the International Atomic Energy Agency Proved Dosimetry to Be a Techno-Diplomatic Issue. NTM. 2022;30: 167–195. doi.org/10.1007/s00048-022-00336-9.
19. The International Commission on Radiological Protection at 90. Annals of the ICRP. 2018;47(3–4): 343–413. doi.org/10.1177/0146645318795909.
20. Kang KW. History and Organizations for Radiological Protection. Journal of Korean Medical Science 2016;31(1): 4–5. doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2016.31.S1.S4.
21. Clarke RH, Valentin J. The History of ICRP and the Evolution of Its Policies: Invited by the Commission in October 2008. Annals of the ICRP. 2009;39(1): 75–110. doi.org/10.1016/j.icrp.2009.07.009.
22. Hallmark E. "Radiation Protection Standards and the Administrative Decision-Making Process." Environmental Law. 1978;8(3): 785–825. Accessed April 9, 2025. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43265469.
23. Mazuzan GT, Walker JS. Controlling the Atom: The Beginnings of Nuclear Regulation, 1946-1962. Berkeley: University of California Press; 1984.
24. Walker JS. The Atomic Energy Commission and the Politics of Radiation Protection, 1967-1971. Isis. 1994;85(1): 57–78. Accessed April 9, 2025. http://www.jstor.org/stable/235896.
25. Semendeferi I. Legitimating a Nuclear Critic: John Gofman, Radiation Safety, and Cancer Risks. Historical Studies in the Natural Sciences. 2008;38(2): 259–301. doi.org/10.1525/hsns.2008.38.2.259.
26. Taylor LS. Judgment in Achieving Protection Against Radiation. IAEA Bulletin 1980;22(1): 15–22.
27. Gorson R. Robert Gorson’s Tribute to the Life and Scientific Accomplishments of Lauriston S. Taylor on behalf of NCRP. March 31, 2005. Accessed March 10, 2025. https://ncrponline.org/news-events/2005-news-events-archive/.
28. Boffey P. Radiation standards: Are the right people making decisions? Science, 1971;171(3973): 780-783.
29. Taylor L. (n.d.). Interview in Archives: Clarence E. Larson Collection, Engineering and Technology History Wiki. Accessed March 10, 2025. https://ethw.org/Archives:Clarence_E._Larson_Collection.
30. Walker JS. Permissible Dose: A History of Radiation Protection in the Twentieth Century. University of California Press; 2000.
2. Grigg ERN. Trail of the Invisible Light: From X-Strahlen to Radio(bio)logy. Charles C. Thomas Publisher Ltd; 1965.
3. Radiation Martyrs. The British Journal of Radiology. 1956;29(341):273.
4. Taylor LS. X-Ray Measurements and Protection 1913-1964: The Role of the National Bureau of Standards and the National Radiological Organizations. U.S. Department of Commerce, National Bureau of Standards, Special Publication 625; December 1981. Accessed March 10, 2025. https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/Legacy/SP/nbsspecialpublication625.pdf.
5. Cf Quimby EH. A Method for the Study of Scattered and Secondary Radiation in X-Ray and Radium Laboratories. Radiology. 1926;7(3):211–217.
6. Taylor LS, Sauer KG. Vignettes of Early Radiation Workers: Transcripts of the Videotape Series. Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Food and Drug Administration, Center for Devices and Radiological Health; 1984. Available at: American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library & Archives, College Park, MD 20740, USA.
7. Social Networks and Archival Content. Taylor Lauriston S. (Lauriston Sale): 1902-2004. Accessed March 10, 2025. http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6pr7x7k.
8. Lindell B. The Labours of Hercules: The History of Radiation, Radioactivity, and Radiological Protection, Part III. 1950–1966. Accessed March 10, 2025. https://nsfs.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Hercules_Downloadable_V1.pdf.
9. Rentetzi M, Nielsen AH. Setting Radiation Protection Standards: The First Radiology Congress in 1925. Medical Research Archives. 2024;12(6). https://doi.org/10.18103/mra.v12i6.5445.
10. For example: Taylor NW, Sinclair WK, Gorson R O. In Memoriam: Lauriston Taylor. Health Physics Society. Accessed March 10, 2025. https://hps.org/aboutthesociety/people/inmemoriam/LauristonTaylor.html.
11. Whittemore G. Lauriston Sale Taylor – Session II. Niels Bohr Library & Archives, American Institute of Physics, College Park, MD, USA, August 16, 1990. Accessed March 10, 2025. https://www.aip.org/history-programs/niels-bohr-library/oral-histories/5153-2.
12. This became even more obvious after the establishment of the International Atomic Energy Agency in 1957. See: Patil K, Rentetzi M. Too Strict or Too Lax? IAEA and the Evolution of Nuclear Safety Standards. In Negotiating Radiation Protection in the Nuclear Age, edited by Rentetzi M, Creager A, and Lindee S, University of Pittsburgh Press, 2025.
13. Sekiya M, Yamasaki M. Rolf Maximilian Sievert (1896–1966): Father of Radiation Protection. Radiological Physics and Technology. 2015;9: 1–5. doi.org/10.1007/s12194-015-0330-5.
14. Taylor LS. Rolf Sievert (1896–1966). Radiation Research. 1968;33(3): 681–684. Accessed April 9, 2025. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3572426.
15. Taylor LS. Organization for Radiation Protection: The Operations of the ICRP and the NCRP, 1928-1974. US Department of Energy; 1979.
16. Boudia S. Global Regulation: Controlling and Accepting Radioactivity Risks. History and Technology. 2007;23(4), 389–406. doi.org/10.1080/07341510701527443.
17. Rentetzi M. The Politics of Radiation Protection. NTM. 2022;30: 125–135. doi.org/10.1007/s00048-022-00332-z.
18. Rentetzi M. The Global Experiment: How the International Atomic Energy Agency Proved Dosimetry to Be a Techno-Diplomatic Issue. NTM. 2022;30: 167–195. doi.org/10.1007/s00048-022-00336-9.
19. The International Commission on Radiological Protection at 90. Annals of the ICRP. 2018;47(3–4): 343–413. doi.org/10.1177/0146645318795909.
20. Kang KW. History and Organizations for Radiological Protection. Journal of Korean Medical Science 2016;31(1): 4–5. doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2016.31.S1.S4.
21. Clarke RH, Valentin J. The History of ICRP and the Evolution of Its Policies: Invited by the Commission in October 2008. Annals of the ICRP. 2009;39(1): 75–110. doi.org/10.1016/j.icrp.2009.07.009.
22. Hallmark E. "Radiation Protection Standards and the Administrative Decision-Making Process." Environmental Law. 1978;8(3): 785–825. Accessed April 9, 2025. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43265469.
23. Mazuzan GT, Walker JS. Controlling the Atom: The Beginnings of Nuclear Regulation, 1946-1962. Berkeley: University of California Press; 1984.
24. Walker JS. The Atomic Energy Commission and the Politics of Radiation Protection, 1967-1971. Isis. 1994;85(1): 57–78. Accessed April 9, 2025. http://www.jstor.org/stable/235896.
25. Semendeferi I. Legitimating a Nuclear Critic: John Gofman, Radiation Safety, and Cancer Risks. Historical Studies in the Natural Sciences. 2008;38(2): 259–301. doi.org/10.1525/hsns.2008.38.2.259.
26. Taylor LS. Judgment in Achieving Protection Against Radiation. IAEA Bulletin 1980;22(1): 15–22.
27. Gorson R. Robert Gorson’s Tribute to the Life and Scientific Accomplishments of Lauriston S. Taylor on behalf of NCRP. March 31, 2005. Accessed March 10, 2025. https://ncrponline.org/news-events/2005-news-events-archive/.
28. Boffey P. Radiation standards: Are the right people making decisions? Science, 1971;171(3973): 780-783.
29. Taylor L. (n.d.). Interview in Archives: Clarence E. Larson Collection, Engineering and Technology History Wiki. Accessed March 10, 2025. https://ethw.org/Archives:Clarence_E._Larson_Collection.
30. Walker JS. Permissible Dose: A History of Radiation Protection in the Twentieth Century. University of California Press; 2000.