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

toxicologist Toxicology is a scientific discipline (academia), 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 diagnos ...

. 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". Exposu ...

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 People's Liberation Army Academy of Military Sciences () is a Chinese military medical research institute. It was established in Shanghai in 1951. It has been based in Beijing since 1958. In ...

, 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 United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

, 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 ...

. 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 a ...

in 1995.

Life and career

Wu was born in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

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 ...

Wujin Wujin District (; postal: ''Wutsin'') is a district under the jurisdiction of Changzhou in Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. In 2005 Wujin was ranked as 8th in the top 100 best cities and counties in mainland China. History In ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administra ...

. After graduating from

Peking University Peking University (PKU) is a Public university, public Types of universities and colleges in China#By designated academic emphasis, university in Haidian, Beijing, China. It is affiliated with and funded by the Ministry of Education of the Peop ...

in 1949 with a degree in

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

, he taught as an assistant professor and later lecturer at

Peking Union Medical College Peking Union Medical College, also as Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, is a national public medical sciences research institution in Dongcheng, Beijing, Dongcheng, Beijing, China. Originally founded in 1906, it is affiliated with the Nationa ...

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

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

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 chemical element; it has symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is a silvery-gray actinide metal that tarnishes when exposed to air, and forms a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibits six allotropes and four ...

and discovered the mechanism of

carcinogenesis Carcinogenesis, also called oncogenesis or tumorigenesis, is the formation of a cancer, whereby normal cell (biology), cells are malignant transformation, transformed into cancer cells. The process is characterized by changes at the cellular, G ...

in the lung cells and the

lymph nodes A lymph node, or lymph gland, is a kidney-shaped Organ (anatomy), 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 lymphoc ...

. In 1976, a failed Chinese

nuclear test Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine the performance of nuclear weapons and the effects of their explosion. Nuclear testing is a sensitive political issue. Governments have often performed tests to signal strength. Bec ...

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 hideo ...

nuclear power plants A nuclear power plant (NPP), also known as a nuclear power station (NPS), nuclear generating station (NGS) or atomic power station (APS) is a thermal power station in which the heat source is a nuclear reactor. As is typical of thermal power s ...

. 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 ...

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