Karl Z. Morgan
Encyclopedia
Karl Ziegler Morgan was an American
physicist
who was one of the founders of the field of radiation health physics. Late in life, after a long career in the Manhattan Project
and at Oak Ridge National Laboratory
, he became a critic of nuclear power
and nuclear weapons production.
Born in Enochville, North Carolina
, Karl Morgan attended the University of North Carolina
, where he graduated with bachelor's and master's degrees in physics and mathematics
. He continued graduate study in physics at Duke University
, where he received a PhD degree in 1934 for research into cosmic radiation. He began an academic career as a faculty member at Lenoir Rhyne College, but in 1943 was recruited to work in the secret project
to develop an atomic bomb.
Initially at the University of Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory and later in Oak Ridge
, Morgan joined a small group of physicists who were interested in the health effects of radiation
.
Morgan became director of health physics
at Oak Ridge National Laboratory
(ORNL), serving from the late 1940s until his retirement in 1972. In 1955 he became the first president of the Health Physics Society, and was editor of the journal Health Physics from 1955 to 1977. After his retirement from ORNL, he joined the faculty of Georgia Institute of Technology
as professor of nuclear energy in the school of nuclear engineering
, retiring from that position in 1982, when he became a consulting professor at Appalachian State University
.
After decades as a "pillar of the nuclear establishment", Morgan had a "change of heart" about nuclear weapons production and nuclear power
. He began to offer court testimony which was friendly to people who said they had been harmed by nuclear weapons and the nuclear power industry. In October 1982, he testified in a lawsuit brought by nearly 1,200 people who accused the government of negligence in atomic weapons testing at the Nevada Test Site
in the 1950s, which they said had caused leukemia
and other cancer
s. Morgan, then 75 years old, testified that radiation protection measures in the tests were substandard.
Morgan also testified on behalf of Navajo
uranium miners and their survivors, saying government officials had known about mine radiation dangers but had not protected the miners. He also testified in the case of Karen Silkwood
against Kerr-McGee
.
Morgan's autobiography, The Angry Genie: One Man's Walk Through the Nuclear Age was published in 1999 by the University of Oklahoma Press. He died in Oak Ridge, Tennessee
, on June 8, 1999, apparently from a ruptured aortic
aneurysm
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
physicist
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
who was one of the founders of the field of radiation health physics. Late in life, after a long career in the Manhattan Project
Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project was a research and development program, led by the United States with participation from the United Kingdom and Canada, that produced the first atomic bomb during World War II. From 1942 to 1946, the project was under the direction of Major General Leslie Groves of the US Army...
and at Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Oak Ridge National Laboratory is a multiprogram science and technology national laboratory managed for the United States Department of Energy by UT-Battelle. ORNL is the DOE's largest science and energy laboratory. ORNL is located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, near Knoxville...
, he became a critic of nuclear power
Anti-nuclear
The anti-nuclear movement is a social movement that opposes the use of nuclear technologies. Many direct action groups, environmental groups, and professional organisations have identified themselves with the movement at the local, national, and international level...
and nuclear weapons production.
Born in Enochville, North Carolina
Enochville, North Carolina
Enochville is a census-designated place in Rowan County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 2,851 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Enochville is located at ....
, Karl Morgan attended the University of North Carolina
University of North Carolina
Chartered in 1789, the University of North Carolina was one of the first public universities in the United States and the only one to graduate students in the eighteenth century...
, where he graduated with bachelor's and master's degrees in physics and mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
. He continued graduate study in physics at Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
, where he received a PhD degree in 1934 for research into cosmic radiation. He began an academic career as a faculty member at Lenoir Rhyne College, but in 1943 was recruited to work in the secret project
Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project was a research and development program, led by the United States with participation from the United Kingdom and Canada, that produced the first atomic bomb during World War II. From 1942 to 1946, the project was under the direction of Major General Leslie Groves of the US Army...
to develop an atomic bomb.
Initially at the University of Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory and later in Oak Ridge
Oak Ridge, Tennessee
Oak Ridge is a city in Anderson and Roane counties in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Tennessee, about west of Knoxville. Oak Ridge's population was 27,387 at the 2000 census...
, Morgan joined a small group of physicists who were interested in the health effects of radiation
Ionizing radiation
Ionizing radiation is radiation composed of particles that individually have sufficient energy to remove an electron from an atom or molecule. This ionization produces free radicals, which are atoms or molecules containing unpaired electrons...
.
Morgan became director of health physics
Health physics
Health physics is a field of science concerned with radiation physics and radiation biology with the goal of providing technical information and proper techniques regarding the safe use of ionizing radiation...
at Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Oak Ridge National Laboratory is a multiprogram science and technology national laboratory managed for the United States Department of Energy by UT-Battelle. ORNL is the DOE's largest science and energy laboratory. ORNL is located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, near Knoxville...
(ORNL), serving from the late 1940s until his retirement in 1972. In 1955 he became the first president of the Health Physics Society, and was editor of the journal Health Physics from 1955 to 1977. After his retirement from ORNL, he joined the faculty of Georgia Institute of Technology
Georgia Institute of Technology
The Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States...
as professor of nuclear energy in the school of nuclear engineering
Nuclear engineering
Nuclear engineering is the branch of engineering concerned with the application of the breakdown as well as the fusion of atomic nuclei and/or the application of other sub-atomic physics, based on the principles of nuclear physics...
, retiring from that position in 1982, when he became a consulting professor at Appalachian State University
Appalachian State University
Appalachian State University is a comprehensive , public, coeducational university located in Boone, North Carolina, United States. Appalachian State, also referred to as Appalachian, App State, or simply App, is the sixth largest institution in the University of North Carolina system...
.
After decades as a "pillar of the nuclear establishment", Morgan had a "change of heart" about nuclear weapons production and nuclear power
Nuclear power
Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...
. He began to offer court testimony which was friendly to people who said they had been harmed by nuclear weapons and the nuclear power industry. In October 1982, he testified in a lawsuit brought by nearly 1,200 people who accused the government of negligence in atomic weapons testing at the Nevada Test Site
Nevada Test Site
The Nevada National Security Site , previously the Nevada Test Site , is a United States Department of Energy reservation located in southeastern Nye County, Nevada, about northwest of the city of Las Vegas...
in the 1950s, which they said had caused leukemia
Leukemia
Leukemia or leukaemia is a type of cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal increase of immature white blood cells called "blasts". Leukemia is a broad term covering a spectrum of diseases...
and other cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
s. Morgan, then 75 years old, testified that radiation protection measures in the tests were substandard.
Morgan also testified on behalf of Navajo
Navajo people
The Navajo of the Southwestern United States are the largest single federally recognized tribe of the United States of America. The Navajo Nation has 300,048 enrolled tribal members. The Navajo Nation constitutes an independent governmental body which manages the Navajo Indian reservation in the...
uranium miners and their survivors, saying government officials had known about mine radiation dangers but had not protected the miners. He also testified in the case of Karen Silkwood
Karen Silkwood
Karen Gay Silkwood was an American labor union activist and chemical technician at the Kerr-McGee plant near Crescent, Oklahoma, United States. Silkwood's job was making plutonium pellets for nuclear reactor fuel rods...
against Kerr-McGee
Kerr-McGee
The Kerr-McGee Corporation, founded in 1929, was an energy company involved in the exploration and production of oil and gas. On June 23, 2006, Houston-based Anadarko Petroleum Corporation agreed to acquire Kerr-McGee in an all-cash transaction totaling $16.5 billion plus the assumption of $2.6...
.
Morgan's autobiography, The Angry Genie: One Man's Walk Through the Nuclear Age was published in 1999 by the University of Oklahoma Press. He died in Oak Ridge, Tennessee
Oak Ridge, Tennessee
Oak Ridge is a city in Anderson and Roane counties in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Tennessee, about west of Knoxville. Oak Ridge's population was 27,387 at the 2000 census...
, on June 8, 1999, apparently from a ruptured aortic
Aorta
The aorta is the largest artery in the body, originating from the left ventricle of the heart and extending down to the abdomen, where it branches off into two smaller arteries...
aneurysm
Aneurysm
An aneurysm or aneurism is a localized, blood-filled balloon-like bulge in the wall of a blood vessel. Aneurysms can commonly occur in arteries at the base of the brain and an aortic aneurysm occurs in the main artery carrying blood from the left ventricle of the heart...
.
See also
- Anti-nuclear movement in the United StatesAnti-nuclear movement in the United StatesThe anti-nuclear movement in the United States consists of more than 80 anti-nuclear groups which have acted to oppose nuclear power or nuclear weapons, or both, in the United States. These groups include the Abalone Alliance, Clamshell Alliance, Institute for Energy and Environmental Research,...
- List of nuclear whistleblowers
- Nuclear safetyNuclear safetyNuclear safety covers the actions taken to prevent nuclear and radiation accidents or to limit their consequences. This covers nuclear power plants as well as all other nuclear facilities, the transportation of nuclear materials, and the use and storage of nuclear materials for medical, power,...
External links
- Human Radiation Studies: Remembering the Early Years; Oral History of Health Physicist Karl Z. Morgan, Ph.D., conducted January 7, 1995, DOE/EH-0475, U.S. Department of Energy