This collection includes a range of publications, reports, research, and promotional materials, as well as audiovisual materials including 35mm slideshows and digitized audio and video. There are administrative documents, historical papers, advocacy materials, and photos from the work of the Oregon chapter of the Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR). There are also 6 boxes of 35mm slides from slideshow presentations.
This collection is organized into five main series: I. Organizational records, II. Subject files, III. Publications, IV. Events and activism, V. Audiovisual and presentation materials.
The first series, "Organizational records", which dates from 1977 to 2012, includes administrative materials, founding documents, memorabilia, and accolades.
The second series, "Subject files", which dates from 1983 to 2017, consists of research materials and data collected on many of the issues that PSR worked on over the decades.
The third series, "Publications", which dates from 1980 to 2019, includes books, research papers, educational materials, and issues of Portland PSR's newsletter "The Folded Crane," spanning from 1981-2019.
The fourth series, "Events and activism", which dates from 1962 to 2019, is largely made up of promotional and administrative materials for Oregon PSR's yearly Hiroshima and Nagasaki memorial event. Additionally, it holds posters and programs from other activism events, awards dinners, conferences, and collaborations.
The fifth series, "Audiovisual and presentation materials", which dates from 1977 to 2018, contains 35mm slideshow presentations and scripts. There are also videocassettes, DVDs and CD-ROMs some of which have been digitized.
The collection is open to the public.
OHSU Historical Collections & Archives (HC&A) is the owner of the original materials and digitized images in our collections, however, the collection may contain materials for which copyright is not held. Patrons are responsible for determining the appropriate use or reuse of materials. Consult with HC&A to determine if we can provide permission for use.
Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility records, Collection Number 2010-007, Oregon Health & Science University, Historical Collections & Archives
This material was donated to OHSU by Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility; additional items donated by Joy Spalding Ph.D., a long-standing member of the group.
Founded in 1961, Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) soon made its mark by documenting the presence of Strontium-90, a highly radioactive waste byproduct of atmospheric nuclear testing, in children's teeth. This finding led to the Limited Nuclear Test Ban treaty that ended atmospheric nuclear testing.
In 1985, PSR shared in the Nobel Peace Prize awarded that year to the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW), for building public pressure to reverse the nuclear arms race. In the 1990s, PSR built on its record of achievement by helping to end nuclear warhead production and winning U.S. passage of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty that still offers the possibility of a world without nuclear tests.
In 1992, PSR expanded its mission to apply its medical expertise to environmental health issues, in recognition of the grave risks to human health posed by global climate change and toxic pollution. That same year, PSR's mobilization of the medical community on environmental health issues led to a collaboration among MIT, the Harvard School of Public Health, Brown University, and PSR's Greater Boston chapter that resulted in
In 2006, PSR launched an Energy Security Initiative focused on environmental health and security issues and their impact on public health. They produced and held briefings on their report, "Powering Foreign Policy: The Role of Oil and Diplomacy in Conflict", that brought together a diverse array of public policy organizations, congressional policymakers, embassy staff, security experts, and the media; and mobilized thousands of PSR activists to send a letter to President Bush for inadequately funding research and development of renewable energy technologies and for failing to implement the most effective tools for decreasing U.S. oil consumption, and increasing conservation and energy efficiency.