Wu Dechang (; 22 October 1927 – 10 May 2018) was a Chinese physician and

toxicologist Toxicology is a scientific discipline, overlapping with biology, chemistry, pharmacology, and medicine, that involves the study of the adverse effects of chemical substances on living organisms and the practice of diagnosing and treating ex ...

. He established China's first laboratory for radiation toxicology, and is considered a founder of radiation toxicology and

radiation protection Radiation protection, also known as radiological protection, is defined by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as "The protection of people from harmful effects of exposure to ionizing radiation, and the means for achieving this". Expos ...

studies in the country. He was a professor and president of the

Academy of Military Medical Sciences The Academy of Military Medical Sciences (AMMS) of the PLA Academy of Military Science () is a Chinese military medical research institute. It was established in Shanghai in 1951. It has been based in Beijing since 1958. In October 2011 the drug ...

, and served as president of the China Toxicology Society, deputy representative of China to the

United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation The United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) was set up by resolution of the United Nations General Assembly in 1955. 21 states are designated to provide scientists to serve as members of the committee which ...

, and as a committee member of the

International Commission on Radiological Protection The International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) is an independent, international, non-governmental organization, with the mission to protect people, animals, and the environment from the harmful effects of ionising radiation. Its r ...

. He was elected an academician of the

Chinese Academy of Engineering The Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE, ) is the national academy of the People's Republic of China for engineering. It was established in 1994 and is an institution of the State Council of China. The CAE and the Chinese Academy of Sciences ...

in 1995.

Life and career

Wu was born in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...

on 22 October 1927, with his

ancestral home An ancestral home is the place of origin of one's extended family, particularly the home owned and preserved by the same family for several generations. The term can refer to an individual house or estate, or to a broader geographic area such as a ...

in Wujin,

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an Eastern China, eastern coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is o ...

. After graduating from

Peking University Peking University (PKU; ) is a public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education. Peking University was established as the Imperial University of Peking in 1898 when it received its royal charter ...

in 1949 with a degree in

chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

, he taught as an assistant professor and later lecturer at

Peking Union Medical College Peking Union Medical College (), founded in 1906, is a selective public medical college based in Dongcheng, Beijing, China. It is a Chinese Ministry of Education Double First Class University Plan The World First Class University and First ...

. In 1956, Wu was selected by the Ministry of Health to study in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

for a year. After returning to China, he taught at the

(AMMS) as an associate professor. He was later promoted to professor, Chair of the Department of Toxicology, Dean of the AMMS Institute of Radiation Medicine, and eventually President of AMMS. Outside of the AMMS, Wu served as President of the China Toxicology Society, China's deputy representative to the

(UNSCEAR), and as a member of Committee 1 (Radiation Effects) of the

(ICRP). On 10 May 2018, Wu died at the People's Liberation Army General Hospital in Beijing, at the age of 90.

Contributions

Wu established China's first laboratory for radiation toxicology. He demonstrated the contamination patterns and hazards of nuclear fallouts and proposed corresponding measures of protection. In the 1970s, he studied the toxicology of

plutonium Plutonium is a radioactive chemical element with the symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is an actinide metal of silvery-gray appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, and forms a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibi ...

and discovered the mechanism of

carcinogenesis Carcinogenesis, also called oncogenesis or tumorigenesis, is the formation of a cancer, whereby normal cells are transformed into cancer cells. The process is characterized by changes at the cellular, genetic, and epigenetic levels and abnor ...

in the lung cells and the

lymph nodes A lymph node, or lymph gland, is a kidney-shaped organ of the lymphatic system and the adaptive immune system. A large number of lymph nodes are linked throughout the body by the lymphatic vessels. They are major sites of lymphocytes that includ ...

. In 1976, a failed Chinese

nuclear test Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine nuclear weapons' effectiveness, yield, and explosive capability. Testing nuclear weapons offers practical information about how the weapons function, how detonations are affected by ...

caused large-scale plutonium contamination at the test site. Wu, who was in charge of training medical personnel to prepare for a potential fallout, managed the emergency response after the accident to protect the health of the workers. In the 1980s, he oversaw a systematic study of the emergency medical response to the accident, which won the Special Prize of the

State Science and Technology Progress Award The State Science and Technology Prizes () are the highest honors conferred by the national government of the People's Republic of China in science and technology, in order to recognize citizens and organizations who have made remarkable contribut ...

. He was later involved in designing radiation protection measures at the Qinshan and

Daya Bay Daya Bay (), formerly known as Bias Bay, is a bay of the South China Sea on the south coast of Guangdong Province in China. It is bordered by Shenzhen's Dapeng Peninsula to the west and Huizhou to the north and east. History The bay was a hideou ...

nuclear power plants A nuclear power plant (NPP) is a thermal power station in which the heat source is a nuclear reactor. As is typical of thermal power stations, heat is used to generate steam that drives a steam turbine connected to a generator that produces elec ...

. From the 1990s, Wu studied the molecular mechanism of

alpha particle Alpha particles, also called alpha rays or alpha radiation, consist of two protons and two neutrons bound together into a particle identical to a helium-4 nucleus. They are generally produced in the process of alpha decay, but may also be produce ...

radiation. He published more than 210 scientific papers and 7 books.

Honours and recognition

Wu was conferred the

three times (Special Prize in 1985, and Second Prizes in 1993 and 1995), the

Ho Leung Ho Lee Prize The Ho Leung Ho Lee Foundation (HLHL, ) is a Hong Kong-based non-government organisation which annually bestows prizes upon Chinese scientists. It was established on 30 March 1994, with funds donated from the charitable foundations of Ho Sin Han ...

in Medical Sciences (2003), and many military or ministerial awards. He was elected an academician of the

in 1995.

References

External links

Wu Dechang
at the National Museum for Modern Chinese Scientists {{DEFAULTSORT:Wu, Dechang 1927 births 2018 deaths Chinese expatriates in the Soviet Union Chinese medical researchers Chinese military doctors Chinese toxicologists Biologists from Beijing Members of the Chinese Academy of Engineering National University of Peking alumni Academic staff of Peking Union Medical College Physicians from Beijing Radiation protection