Paul Brodeur (born May 16, 1931) is an investigative science writer and author, whose writings have appeared in
The New Yorker, where he began as a staff writer in 1958. He lives on
Cape Cod. For nearly two decades he researched and wrote about the health hazards of
asbestos. He has also written about the dangers of household
detergents, the depletion of the
ozone layer,
microwave radiation and
electromagnetic fields from
power lines. In 1992 he donated 300 boxes of papers accumulated during his research to the
New York Public Library. In 2010 he was informed that the NYPL had finished culling the papers it chose to retain in its collection. Brodeur publicly objected, stating that the materials to be removed were essential to understanding his investigative process. Science writer
Gary Taubes has said Brodeur's writings on electromagnetic radiation are part of what inspired him to switch from writing about bad practices in physics to epidemiology and public health.