Radiation and Public Health Project
A United States nonprofit organization that studies alleged relationships between low-level nuclear radiation and public health.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
The Radiation and Public Health Project (RPHP) is a United States nonprofit educational and scientific organization founded in 1985 by statistician and epidemiologist Jay M. Gould, Benjamin A. Goldman, and Ernest Sternglass. Its stated area of interest is the relationship between low-level exposure to ionizing radiation and public-health outcomes, particularly in communities located near nuclear facilities. The organization has also questioned the safety of nuclear power and promoted research intended to identify possible health effects associated with nuclear operations and radioactive fallout. RPHP has operated as a small advocacy-oriented research organization rather than as a large institutional research center. Reference accounts describe its resources as limited, with much of its work conducted from informal offices, including space associated with Joseph J. Mangano. Mangano became a prominent figure in the organization's later research and public communications, often working with physician and epidemiologist Janette D. Sherman. The group's activities have included statistical analyses of cancer and mortality records, public discussion of nuclear contamination, and the use of archived biological samples to investigate historic exposure. The organization's most visible project involved approximately 85,000 children's baby teeth collected during the Baby Tooth Survey, a mid-twentieth-century research effort associated with Dr. Louise Reiss and colleagues. The teeth were recovered in 2001 and transferred to RPHP. Using the collection and linked mortality information, RPHP-affiliated researchers reported that people who later died of cancer before age 50 had approximately twice the strontium-90 levels in their stored baby teeth compared with individuals who were alive at age 50. The study was presented as evidence that radioactive exposure may have contributed to later cancer risk. RPHP has also published analyses concerning childhood leukemia near nuclear reactors and alleged health effects in the United States after the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. Its publications claimed increases in childhood leukemia mortality near older reactors, excess deaths in the United States after Fukushima fallout, higher infant mortality on the American West Coast, and an increase in congenital hypothyroidism in several states. These claims attracted media attention because they linked relatively low levels of radiation exposure with substantial short-term population-health effects. The organization and its researchers have been strongly criticized by mainstream scientific and regulatory institutions. The United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission has said that numerous peer-reviewed studies do not support RPHP's conclusions and has characterized the credibility of its studies as very limited. Critics have identified methodological concerns including small or inconsistent samples, absent control populations, failure to account for other cancer risk factors, inadequate environmental measurements, selective data choices, incorrect radioactive-decay assumptions, and the risk of mistaking correlation for causation. The National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, nuclear-industry organizations, and individual radiation-health specialists have likewise disputed important RPHP findings. Popular Science described some of the group's work as junk science, while other critics have argued that its analyses are not sufficiently evaluated or reproducible. RPHP therefore occupies a contested position: it is a recognizable public-health and anti-nuclear advocacy organization whose work has contributed to public debate about radiation risks, but its central epidemiological claims have not been broadly accepted by the scientific and regulatory establishment. Public information supplied for this dossier does not establish the organization's current legal status, headquarters, leadership structure, or official website.
History
The Radiation and Public Health Project was established in 1985 by Jay M. Gould, Benjamin A. Goldman, and Ernest Sternglass. The founders brought statistical, epidemiological, and radiation-related expertise to an organization intended to investigate possible connections between low-level nuclear radiation and adverse health outcomes. From its beginning, RPHP also questioned the safety of nuclear power and sought to bring attention to risks that its members believed were underestimated by government agencies and the nuclear industry. RPHP developed as a small nonprofit research and educational group rather than as a major university or government laboratory. Accounts of its operations emphasize its limited resources and informal structure. Joseph J. Mangano later became closely associated with the organization and its published analyses, frequently collaborating with Janette D. Sherman. Their work generally used public mortality records, disease statistics, historical exposure data, and archived biological materials to argue that nuclear facilities or radioactive fallout could produce detectable health effects. One of the organization's most important resources emerged in 2001, when approximately 85,000 baby teeth collected through the Baby Tooth Survey were located and transferred to RPHP. The original survey, associated with Louise Reiss and colleagues, had measured radioactive contamination in children's teeth during the era of atmospheric nuclear testing. RPHP used the collection to examine strontium-90 levels and later-life outcomes. In a 2010 publication, its researchers reported that individuals who died of cancer before age 50 had roughly twice the strontium-90 concentration in their stored teeth as those who survived to that age. The finding was presented as evidence of a relationship between childhood radioactive exposure and later cancer mortality. The baby-tooth analysis became a focus of scientific criticism. Reviewers argued that the study lacked adequate controls, did not address other cancer risks, did not provide sufficient environmental sampling, and could not demonstrate that strontium-90 caused the reported outcomes. Stephen Musolino of Brookhaven National Laboratory criticized the interpretation as confusing correlation with causation. The National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and nuclear-industry representatives also described the study as methodologically flawed. The NRC maintained that available evidence did not show excess cancer risk from living near nuclear facilities. RPHP-affiliated researchers also examined childhood leukemia near nuclear reactors. A 2008 study by Mangano and Sherman disputed a large National Cancer Institute analysis from the late 1980s and reported that leukemia mortality among children near United States reactors had increased relative to national patterns, with the greatest increases near older plants. The authors also reported declines around reactors that had closed. Critics pointed to contrary studies from the United States and United Kingdom and argued that the observed patterns did not establish a causal radiation effect. The 2011 Fukushima Daiichi disaster generated another major phase of RPHP activity. Articles associated with Mangano and Sherman claimed that radioactive fallout from Japan produced measurable health effects in the United States. A 2011 article reported a 35 percent rise in West Coast infant mortality during a selected post-disaster period. A 2012 analysis attributed almost 14,000 excess United States deaths to the accident, and a 2013 paper reported an increase in congenital hypothyroidism in five states. These claims were widely challenged. Critics argued that the studies selected favorable time periods, changed the cities or populations included in comparisons, relied on unstable short-term fluctuations, used questionable disease definitions, and did not establish a credible biological pathway linking the reported exposure to the alleged immediate effects. The organization's public profile has consequently been shaped as much by controversy as by its research agenda. The NRC has stated that peer-reviewed evidence does not support many RPHP claims and has assigned little credibility to its studies. Popular Science similarly criticized the group's methods and described its output as junk science. RPHP's work remains relevant to discussions of nuclear risk communication, environmental health activism, and contested epidemiology, but its conclusions are not accepted by the mainstream scientific and regulatory consensus. Publicly available material supplied for this entry does not establish a current executive roster, headquarters, official website, or confirmed operating status.
- 2019
Janette Sherman dies
[1]Janette Sherman, a recurring collaborator in RPHP-associated studies, dies.
- 2013
Congenital-hypothyroidism analysis published
[1]An RPHP-affiliated paper reports increased congenital hypothyroidism in five states after Fukushima and is criticized for its methodology.
- 2012
Excess-deaths estimate published
[1]A study attributes nearly 14,000 excess United States deaths to Fukushima fallout, a conclusion disputed by critics.
- 2011
Post-Fukushima health claims begin
[1]RPHP-affiliated researchers publish claims linking Fukushima fallout with increased infant mortality in the United States.
- 2010
Strontium-90 baby-tooth study published
[1]An RPHP-affiliated study reports higher stored strontium-90 levels among people who later died of cancer before age 50.
- 2008
Childhood-leukemia study published
[1]Mangano and Sherman publish an analysis claiming increased childhood leukemia mortality near older United States nuclear reactors.
- 2001
Baby Tooth Survey collection transferred to RPHP
[1]Approximately 85,000 archived baby teeth from the Baby Tooth Survey are recovered and given to the organization.
- 1985
Organization founded
[1]Jay M. Gould, Benjamin A. Goldman, and Ernest Sternglass establish the Radiation and Public Health Project to study low-level nuclear radiation and public health.
Products and positioning
A small, research-oriented public-health advocacy organization focused on highlighting possible health risks from low-level nuclear radiation and challenging official assessments of nuclear safety.
Research and education · 1985
Radiation and public-health research reports
RPHP's principal outputs are research papers, statistical analyses, and educational communications concerning possible health effects from low-level nuclear radiation. The work has addressed cancer, leukemia, infant mortality, thyroid disease, radioactive fallout, and populations living near nuclear facilities.
Biological-sample research · 2001
Baby Tooth Survey analysis
This research program uses archived children's teeth collected during the Baby Tooth Survey to measure strontium-90 and examine possible relationships between childhood radioactive exposure and later health outcomes. Its published conclusions have been challenged by regulators and radiation-health specialists.
Brand decisions
2011
Shift public-health research toward Fukushima falloutStrategyBackground
The Fukushima Daiichi disaster created intense public concern about radioactive fallout and possible effects outside Japan.
Action taken
RPHP-affiliated researchers published analyses asserting that the accident was followed by adverse health effects in the United States.
Aftermath
The claims received media attention but were strongly disputed because of data-selection, statistical, and biological-plausibility concerns.
2001
Use archived baby teeth to investigate long-term radiation effectsStrategyBackground
The recovery of a large Baby Tooth Survey collection created an opportunity to study historic strontium-90 exposure and later-life health outcomes.
Action taken
RPHP accepted the collection and used it in subsequent epidemiological analyses.
Aftermath
The resulting research became one of the organization's most prominent projects but was criticized for study-design and causal-inference weaknesses.
Recent events
- 2019
Janette Sherman dies[1]
Leadership change
Janette Sherman, who collaborated with Joseph Mangano on several RPHP-associated radiation and public-health analyses, died from a combination of dementia and Addison's disease.
- 2014
Popular Science criticizes RPHP research as scientifically unreliable[1]
Other
A Popular Science article characterized the organization's work as junk science and questioned whether its publications had received adequate scientific evaluation.
- 2013
Post-Fukushima congenital-hypothyroidism paper draws methodological criticism[1]
Other
A paper by RPHP-affiliated researchers claimed a rise in congenital hypothyroidism in five United States states after Fukushima. Critics said the analysis converted random variation into a trend and relied on an inadequate definition based mainly on thyroid-stimulating hormone results.
- 2012
Study attributes excess United States deaths to Fukushima fallout[1]
Other
Mangano and Sherman claimed that Fukushima fallout was associated with nearly 14,000 excess deaths in the United States during the fourteen weeks after the accident. Critics cited inconsistent city samples, contradictory geographic patterns, and the absence of a plausible mechanism for immediate mass mortality from the exposure levels involved.
- 2011
RPHP researchers claim post-Fukushima infant-mortality increase on the United States West Coast[1]
Other
An article by Mangano and Sherman claimed a sharp increase in infant mortality during a selected ten-week period after the Fukushima disaster. Critics argued that the result depended on the chosen comparison windows and was inconsistent with broader annual trends.
- 2010
Baby-tooth strontium-90 study reports an association with later cancer mortality[1]
Other
Using archived teeth from the Baby Tooth Survey, RPHP-affiliated researchers reported higher strontium-90 levels among people who later died of cancer before age 50. National health agencies and radiation specialists challenged the study's sampling, controls, confounding analysis, environmental evidence, and radioactive half-life assumptions.
- 2008
RPHP-affiliated researchers publish a childhood leukemia study near nuclear reactors[1]
Other
A study by Joseph Mangano and Janette Sherman reported that childhood leukemia death rates near United States nuclear reactors had risen relative to national trends, particularly around older plants. Critics noted that other United States and United Kingdom research had found different patterns, including declines in some areas after plants began operating.
Sources1 sources
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