Alice Stewart

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Lore & Background

Alice Stewart was born in Sheffield, England, on 4 October 1906, the daughter of two physicians, Lucy (née Wellburn) and Albert Naish, both pioneers in paediatrics. She studied pre-clinical medicine at Girton College, Cambridge, and in 1932 completed her clinical studies at the Royal Free Hospital, London. After hospital posts in Manchester and London, she passed the examinations for membership of the Royal College of Physicians in 1936. In 1941 she moved to Oxford for a temporary residency at the Radcliffe Infirmary, after which she was recruited by Radcliffe professor Dr. Leslie Witts as his senior assistant at the Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine, where she developed her interest in social medicine researching health problems of wartime munitions workers. The department of social and preventive medicine at Oxford was created in 1942, with Stewart as assistant head. In 1950 she succeeded as head of the unit, but was not granted the title of "professor" because the post was considered not of great importance. In 1953 the Medical Research Council allocated funds to her pioneering study of x-rays as a cause of childhood cancer, which she worked on from 1953 until 1956. Her results were initially regarded as unsound, but her findings on fetal damage caused by x-rays of pregnant women were eventually accepted worldwide, and the use of medical x-rays during pregnancy and early childhood was curtailed as a result, although it took around two and a half decades. Stewart retired in 1974. Her most famous investigation came after her formal retirement, while an honorary member of the department of social medicine at the University of Birmingham. Working with Professor Thomas Mancuso of the University of Pittsburgh, she examined the sickness records of employees at the Hanford plutonium production plant, Washington state, and found a far higher incidence of radiation-induced ill health than was noted in official studies. Sir Richard Doll attributed her anomalous findings to a "questionable" statistical analysis supplied by her assistant, George Kneale. Stewart herself acknowledged that her results were outside the range considered statistically significant. In 1986 she was added to the roll of honour of the Right Livelihood Foundation. Stewart eventually gained her coveted title of "professor" through her appointment as a professorial fellow of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford. In 1997 she was invited to become the first Chair of the European Committee on Radiation Risk.

Reader's Guide

Alice Stewart's significance lies in her role as a pioneering epidemiologist who challenged established views on radiation safety. Her discovery of the link between prenatal x-rays and childhood cancer led to major changes in medical practice, though acceptance took around two and a half decades. Her later work on Hanford workers remains controversial: it is frequently cited by those arguing that even very low doses of radiation cause substantial hazard, while critics like Sir Richard Doll noted her results were outside the range considered statistically significant and attributed them to questionable statistical analysis by her assistant George Kneale. The Right Livelihood Award in 1986 recognized her "for bringing to light in the face of official opposition the real dangers of low-level radiation." Her career illustrates the tension between independent research and institutional resistance, and her legacy includes influencing radiation risk assessment and the precautionary principle in public health.

Did You Know?

• Alice Stewart was the first person to demonstrate the link between x-rays of pregnant women and high cancer rates in their children.
• Her study of Hanford workers found a far higher incidence of radiation-induced ill health than was noted in official studies.
• She was awarded the Right Livelihood Award in 1986 for bringing to light the real dangers of low-level radiation in the face of official opposition.
• Stewart eventually gained the title of 'professor' through her appointment as a professorial fellow of Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford.
• In 1997 she was invited to become the first Chair of the European Committee on Radiation Risk.