Herbert M. Parker Papers

Herbert M. Parker Papers, 1940s-1994

Overview of the Collection

Creator: Parker, Herbert M.
Title: Herbert M. Parker Papers
Dates: 1940s-1994 (inclusive)
19401994
Quantity: 1.5 linear feet of shelf space, (3 boxes)
Collection Number: Cage 811 (collection)
Summary: Research notes, articles, reports and photographs concerning nuclear power and Herbert M. Parker.
Repository: Washington State University Libraries' Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections (MASC)
Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections
Terrell Library Suite 12
Pullman, WA
99164-5610
Telephone: 509-335-6691
mascref@wsu.edu
Access Restrictions: This collection is open and available for research use.
Languages

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

Herbert Parker was born in Accrington, England in 1910 and studied at the University of Manchester. Parker began his career as a medical physicist at the Christie Hospital and Holt Radium Institute in Manchester, England (1932-1938), where, with radiologist Ralston Paterson, he developed a system of dosimetry for radiotherapy known as the Paterson-Parker techniques that is still in use today. In 1938, he moved to the United States to take a comparable position at the Swedish Hospital tumor Institute in Seattle, where he carried out research in supervoltage x-ray therapy. During the war, Parker was one of the first health physicists at the Met Lab in Chicago (1942-1943) and at the Clinton Laboratories in Tennessee (1943-1944). In 1944 he moved to the Hanford Engineer Works, where he remained long after the war, finally becoming manager of Hanford Laboratories, where he built a world renowned radiobiology and health physics research program. After General Electric left Hanford, Parker served as staff consultant to the Pacific Northwest Laboratories of the Battelle Memorial Institute (1965-1971), and, after retirement, formed a consulting company H.M.P. Associates, based in Richland, Washington.

Parker had the onerous task of providing radiation protection for thousands of workers in a new industry, the hazards of which were not well known. In 1944 he put forth for the first time a maximum permissible concentration level for plutonium and subsequently devised standard quantities units of ionizing radiation dose, first the rep (roentgen equivalent physical), also known as the parker, and the rem, the unit of biological dose. These serve as the historic forerunners of modern radiation protection quantities and units. Parker remained a leading force in radiation protection (health physics) for three decades, serving on the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements and numerous national and international committees. He died in 1984.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

This collection consists of some of Herbert M. Parker's lab and research notes from the 1940s, along with collected articles and reports concerning various nuclear power issues from the 1970s, bound publications regarding nuclear issues from the 1970s, correspondence by and about Parker from the 1970s, and material on Hanford radiology and waste management studies. Also included are photographs from Parker's time at the Hanford in the 1940s and additional photographs dating from the early 1990s, including nuclear scientist Glenn Seaborg and the reunion of Section C-1 scientists from the Metallurigical Laboratory at the University of Chicago and the publication of "The Plutonium Story, The Journals of Professor Glenn T. Seaborg, 1939-1946" (Battelle Press, 1994). Items in this collection come from research for the writing of that book.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Restrictions on Use

Preferred Citation

[Item description] Herbert M. Parker Papers, 1940s-1994 (Cage 811)

Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries, Pullman, WA.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

This collection is arranged in four series:

Series 1: Notes: research and lab notes, 1944-1945

Series 2: Collected reports, articles and bound publications, 1970s

Series 3: Correspondence, 1970s

Series 4: Photographs

Acquisition Information

This collection was donated to the Washington State University Libraries by Professor Ron Kathren in 1999.

Processing Note

This collection was processed by Doug Lambeth in 2014.

Related Materials

"The Plutonium Story : the Journals of Professor Glenn T. Seaborg, 1939-1946", Glenn T. Seaborg. Edited and annotated by Ronald L. Kathren, Jerry B. Gough, Gary T. Benefiel. Battelle Press, 1994.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Series 1: Notes: Research and Lab Notes, 1944-1945Return to Top

Container(s)		Description	Dates
Box	Folder
1	1	Research notes, lab notes	1944-1945
1	2	Research notes, lab notes	1944-1945
1	3	Research notes, lab notes	1944-1945

Series 2: Collected reports, articles and bound publications, 1970sReturn to Top

Container(s)		Description	Dates
Box	Folder
1	4	Collected articles and reports	1970s
1	5	Collected articles and reports	1970s
2	6	Collected articles and reports	1970s
2	7	Collected articles and reports	1970s
2	8	Collected articles and reports	1970s
2	9	Aebersold, Paul C., Lawrence, John H., "The Physiological Effects of Neutron Rays" (Reprint, 1942)
2	9	Rowlands, R.P., "Environmental Monitoring Associated with Discharges of Radioactive Waste During 1970 From UKAEA Establishments" (Bound report, 1971)
2	9	Radiology Department, Mol, Belgium, "1970-1971 Reprint Selection List" (Pamphlet)
2	9	Lewis, W. Bennett, "Radioactive Waste Management in the Long Term" (Bound report, 1972)
2	9	Lewis, W. Bennett, Duret, M.F., Craig, D.S., Veeder, J.I., Bain, A.S., "Large-Scale Nuclear Energy From the Thorium Cycle" (Bound report, 1971)
2	9	Branca, G., Breuer, F., Cigna, A.A., Amavis, R., "Principles and Methods for the Derivation of a Formula for the Discharge of Radioactive Liquid Wastes in Surface Waters" (Bound report, 1971)
2	9	Marley, W.G., "Radiological Hazards Associated with Internal Contamination of the Body by Radionuclides"
2	9	Lewis, W. Bennett, "The Super-Converter or Valubreeder a Near-Breeder Unraniu-Hhorium Nuclear Fuel Cycle" (Reprint, 1968)
2	9	Mitchell, N.T., "Radioactivity in Surface and Coastal Waters of the British Isles" (Bound report, 1973)
2	9	Mitchell, N.T., "Radioactivity in Surface and Coastal Waters of the British Isles" (Bound report, 1970)
2	10	Morgan, Karl Z., "Review of Elementary Physics and Electronics" (Reproduced typescript, undated)
2	10	"Nuclear Power Safety in California" (Bound report, 1973
3	11	Williamson, Peter, "The Environment of Nuclear Stations in England and Wales" (Bound report, 1972)
3	11	"Tranwsfynydd Power Station" (Booklet, 1969)
3	11	"The World's Reactors, No. 31 Trawsfynydd" (Folded map, 1970)
3	11	"Berkeley Power Station" (Pamphlet, 1972)
3	11	"Power Progress 14" (Booklet, 1972)
3	11	"National Control Centre" (Booklet, 1971)
3	11	"Hartlepool Nuclear Power Station, Twin Reactor AGR 1250 Mwe" (Booklet, 1969)

Series 3: Correspondence, 1970sReturn to Top

Container(s)		Description	Dates
Box	Folder
3	12	Correspondence	1970s

Series 4: PhotographsReturn to Top

Container(s)		Description	Dates
Box	Folder
3	13	Photos, "Plutonium Story" Publication	1994?
3	14	Photos, Reunion of Section C-1, Metallurgical Laboratory, University of Chicago (at Glenn Seaborg's home, Lafayette, CA)	1992
3	15	Photos, Herbert Parker and co-workers, Richland, WA	1940s
3	16	Photos, X-Ray Equipment	undated (1940s?)
Oversized		Photos, Reunion of Section C-1, Metallurgical Laboratory, University of Chicago (at Glenn Seaborg's home, Lafayette, CA)	1992

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