Ian Fairlie


Ian Fairlie, Ph.D., is a U.K. based Canadian consultant on radiation in the environment and former member of the three person secretariat to Britain’s Committee Examining the Radiation Risks of Internal Emitters. He is a radiation biologist who has focused on the radiological hazards of nuclear fuel and he has studied radioactive releases at nuclear facilities since before the Chernobyl accident in 1986.
Ian Fairlie has published many papers relating to nuclear issues, dating back to at least 1992, in journals such as Annual Review of Public Health, International Journal of Cancer, and Radiation Protection Dosimetry. Fairlie and David Sumner were commissioned by the European Parliament to write the 2006 TORCH report, a health impacts report, for the twentieth anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster. In 2016, an updated TORCH report was written. Both Fairlie and Sumner are members of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War.

Academic and consulting work

Fairlie studied chemistry at the University of Western Ontario in Canada and radiobiology at Barts Medical College in London. His doctorate examined the impacts of radioactive contamination around Sellafield and La Hague nuclear facilities. He completed doctoral studies at the Imperial College in London and Princeton University, about the health impact of nuclear waste disposal on human health.
Fairlie is a radiation biologist and independent consultant who has focused on the radiological hazards of nuclear fuel. He has acted as a consultant to the British government and was the scientific secretary of the British Government's Commission for investigation of radiation risks of internal emitters. He has researched radioactive releases at nuclear facilities since before the Chernobyl accident in 1986. Fairlie lives in London.

Selected publications

Ian Fairlie has published some papers relating to nuclear issues, dating back to at least 1992. He conducted a detailed epidemiological research study of childhood leukemia cases near nuclear facilities and the hazards of working with tritium.
As a response to the 2006 Chernobyl Forum report he and co-author David Sumner were commissioned by the European Parliament to write the TORCH report: The Other Report on Chernobyl, a health impacts report, for the twentieth anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster. In 2016, an updated TORCH report was written. Both Fairlie and Sumner are members of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, an organization awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1985. Fairlie's publications include:
He has published 17 papers which are listed in the Web of Knowledge database, his h-index is six.