Denis Henshaw

Honorary Member 2014

Professor Denis Henshaw 

BSc(Lond), PhD(Nott), Senior Research Fellow in Chemistry, Emeritus Professor, University of Bristol

Denis Henshaw gained his B.Sc. in Physics from London, Westfield College and his Ph.D. in Astrophysics from Nottingham. He joined the Physics Department at Bristol as a post-doc in 1973. In 1978, the plastic CR‑39 was found to record tracks of alpha-particles. Working with teacher Dr Geoff Camplin, Denis devised a DIY radon detector using CR-39 housed in a yogurt pot with which primary-school children identified high domestic radon levels. In 1991, school children carried out the first national survey of radon in UK domestic water supplies. 
Denis used CR-39 to produce alpha-particle autoradiographs of autopsy tissues and mapped the microdistribution of retained alpha-emitters in the lung. Over a 24-year period with MRC Programme Grant support, Denis led a team investigating alpha-radioactivity in the body, especially the skeleton, including transplacental transfer to the foetus. Alpha-particle levels in orthodontic teeth showed independent correlations with traffic pollution and domestic radon levels. In 1990 Denis revealed a correlation between leukaemia and other childhood cancers with domestic radon exposure, supported by radon-derived alpha-dose calculations to bone marrow. This unexpected feature of alpha-emitters was paralleled by studies of the bystander effect and genomic instability, an exciting time for radiobiology.  
Denis was appointed Professor of Human Radiation Effects in 1995. His research included field projects within the Chernobyl zone. He co-developed novel techniques for measuring radon and established Track Analysis Systems Ltd, TASL, a company that won the Queen’s Award for Innovation in 2013.
Since 1996, Denis has been interested in the health effects of electric and magnetic fields. Electric field gradients on high voltage powerline cables can ionise the air, emitting corona ions into the atmosphere. These progressively attach to particles of air pollution, increasing their charge state causing them to have a greater probability of lung deposition if inhaled. Denis’s team’s extensive research at Bristol into powerline corona ion emission may explain the reported increased incidence of leukaemia in adults and children, at substantial distances from power lines. Additionally, magnetic fields have been related to increased cancer incidence and Denis has studied the underlying mechanisms. 
Denis retired in July 2011, acting since as Scientific Director of Children with Cancer UK, which funds research into the causes, prevention and treatment of childhood cancer. He is also an Associate Editor of IJRB.

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