Hunt, Vilma R.

Vilma Rose Hunt (November 15, 1926 – December 29, 2012) was a scientist noted for research into radiation and workplace safety for women. After beginning a dentistry career in Australia and New Zealand, Hunt traveled to the United States where she earned her A.M. in Physical Anthropology at Radcliffe College and began researching public health and radiation biology. In 1964, Hunt discovered that polonium 210 is a natural contaminant of tobacco, providing additional evidence for the link between smoking and bronchial cancer. In 1974, she wrote a 121-page report on workplace hazards for pregnant women, which made the front page of the New York Times. She published a book, Work and the Health of Women, in 1979. From 1979 to 1981, Hunt served as an administrator for the United States Environmental Protection Agency, enacting public health solutions to environmental contamination at sites like Love Canal, New York, and Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station, Pennsylvania. Hunt retired in Gloucester in 1985, though she served as an environmental consultant and visiting lecturer until her death.