U.S. National Institutes of Health

Harriet Louise Hardy, MD — public health

Courtesy Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University

In 1946, Dr. Harriet L. Hardy (1906–1993), physician and industrial toxicologist, identified beryllium as the cause of a chronic respiratory disease. In 1952, she established the National Beryllium Registry, one of the first registries to collect long-term data on a chronic health disorder. She worked with the Atomic Energy Commission, the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers Union, United Mine Workers, and Coal Workers’ Safety Board. Committed to social reform, she hoped science would solve workplace hazards and improve the well being of workers.

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