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ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE vember 7 , 1968 - Nevada Test Site vember 8-9, 1968 - Nevada Oprns. Office FFIICUAL USE ONLV
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The AEC Advisory Committee for Biology and Medicine held its 127th meeting atthe Nevada Test Site and the Nevada Operations Office on November 7-9, 1968. Committee members present were Drs. Green (Chairman), and Rosemary Elmo (Executive Secretary). Also present were Dr s.Totter (Director),Storer (Deputy Director), and various members of the staff of the Division of B'iology and Medicine. The program on November 7consisted of a field trip by plane and bus of the Nevada Test Site.Dr.William Rhodes, of EGM;, Inc.,briefed the group on some responses of plants exposed t o gamma and beta radiations in the vicinity of Pahute Mesa. This was followed by a visit to the Civil Effects Test Office at-Mercury with briefings by several members of the Test Site staff,particularly in regard to ecological studies on animals and plants indigenous tothe area. The tour was concluded with a visit to the BREN Tower and the National Reactor Development Station. The program on November 8 took place atthe Nevada Operations Office and provided an opportunity for a more detailed consideration of the activities at the Nevada Test Site. This included presentations on Laboratory, Livermore, (2) " Industry ' s Interest and Participation in Industrial Proposals for Plowshare Projects and the SiteS election Southwest Radiological Health Laboratory, (7) "The Isthmian Studies - A. W . Klement, Jr., of the Canal Studies Group, (8) A review of the Aerial Radiological Monitoring Service - Vernon Weisman, NVOO, (9) Dosimetry Studies - H. Lucas, EGM;, Inc., (1) Studies of Plant Life in the Vicinity The ACBM metin Executive Session on November 9. The first item of business concerned the Minutes of the 126th meeting, which were approved with minor corrections. The 128th meeting was scheduled for January 10-11, 1968, i n Washington, D. C. It is possible, however, that this meeting may be cancelled since the Committee agreed with the suggestion that the number o f meetings might be changed from five to four per year.Dr.Totter will discuss this with Dr. English and advise the Chairman of the ACBM about the desirability of a meeting i n January. A meeting has also been tentatively Mr. Stanwood briefed the members of the Committee on the current status ofthe AEC contract at UCLA. It appears that UCLA has taken the necessary steps to implement the recommendations inthe ACBM Subcommittee's Report,
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but that certain considerations raised by the JCAE staff will remain t o be his recent visit to UCLA and the evaluation of Dr. Lehman's research activities there. The review revealed that Dr. Lehman's work, while generally well done, was peripheral to the main activities of the UCLA Project. Consequently, his departure will not create a significant program Apropos of the UCLA situation,Dr. Wood advised the Committee of Dr.Storer discussed the problem of assuring stable financial support for the ABCC and the attempts to obtain greater Japanese financial part ici - pati on in the program. development of a position paper on the ARCC program and projection. Dr. Darling will soon visit DBM to assist in the Dr.Totter noted that all aspects of the move to center the human radium toxicity and radio biology program atthe Argonne National Laboratory have not yet been settled. It is possible that the Moseley Subcommittee o f ACBM may have to consider further the organization of various aspects of Dr.Totter indicated that the Department of Health,Education and Welfare would like AEC support for a retrospective study of the uranium miners. However, Dr. Lough expressed the view that expert epidemiological opinion should be sought before the AEC makes a commitment. It was suggested that this might be a proper item for a discussion with Dr. Paul Tompkins and others at the next ACBM meeting. Dr.Totter advised the Committee of the resignation of Dr. Max Zelle as Director of the Division of Biological and Medical Research atthe Argonne National Laboratory. The following were suggested as possible replacements for retiring Committee members. Genetics : Neel, Sc hull, Owen and Lederberg. Biochemistry: McElroy, Boyer, Carter and Kennedy. Radiological Physics : Sinclair,Rossi and Laughlin. Agriculture : Stout, Brady, Aldrich, Norman "and Robinson. All of the above were considered t o be highly qualified for service on the Committee, and the order of the names does not necessarily There was some discussion about the safety of hot particles from a reactor effluent in response to the presentation by Dr.Barth, of the Public Health Service. It was noted that DBM is already supporting relevant work in this area, but that further studies might perhaps be undertaken in large animals. In general,the Committee had a very favorable impression of the activities at the Nevada Test Site.It was particularly impressed with the potential industrial developments of the Plowshare Program. While the .Committee recognized that the elaborate monitoring procedures added
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appreciably to the cost, it i s of the opinion that it i s too soon t o consider any reduction of the extensive safety measures that are now Advisory Committee f o r Biology