This blog summarizes my book, Atomic Pilgrim, which tells about two journeys in my life. The first is the Bethlehem Peace Pilgrimage and how it led to the second—my pursuit of the truth about the production and testing of nuclear weapons. It is a tale of sorrow, persistence, and hope for a peaceful world.

In August 2023, I accompanied two U.S. archbishops on a Pilgrimage of Peace and participated in the commemoration ceremonies marking the 78th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The experience gave me a new sense of urgency to rid the world of nuclear weapons.

This weekend, December 2-3, marks the 74th anniversary of the largest radiation emission from the Hanford plutonium factory in south central Washington and serves as an apt reminder that citizens have an indispensable role in protecting democracy and public health. Conducted during the night of December 2-3, 1949, the Green Run was an intentional release of more than 11,000 curies of radioactive iodine-131

Plutonium processing plant at Hanford in south-central Washington state, circa 1955