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AEVISOFU COMMITTIE FOR BIOLCGY AND 14EDICINE Ijr. Charles H. Burnett Dr. Gioacchino Fail la Universitv of Utah Dr. Bowers, Cirector of t h e Fadiobiology Laboratory, opened t h e morning session *by welcoming the Com,ittee. He gave the background and general organization of the Toxicity Study which was initiated in 1950, and which is now being undertaken e t t h e Laboratory. He described the research
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problem a s one i n which studies are being made t o determine the effects of plutonium on blood and bones of animals with a view toward more effective ire at mn5 of himans exposed t o such radiation. methods beixg worked out for more effective measurement of radioactivity within living tissues,particularly the bony stmctiures. He spoke of Dr. Van Dilla,physicist in charge of the physical program for measuring radiation, prcscnted the first item on the ager,da Sy discussing the measurement of the radioactive burden of injected beagles. The decay sch ems of the radicu and mesothorium series were revieved and opportunities for & vivo assay were Fointed out. decay series where penetrating & rays a r e emitted and where radon i s decay produzts, especially in the mesothorium series, were discussed. These occur a t placas icthe The complications due to possible relocation of radioactive Dr. Betsy Stover, biochemist who has charge of ths work i n analytical chemist7, sgoke on the radioactive content and distribution studies and explained in detail the research inthe use of radiun, plutonium and thorium i n dogs. The Committee was particularly interested in the Plutonium and radium excretion data. which are of the principal cor.cern tohis group, and of the studies that are being carried forward (1)where, in relation to the various his to logic structure, Fu, Ra and MsTh are deposited i n bone; (2) what cells are being irradiated and the magnitude of the irradiation dose; and (3) what are the OFFICIAL USE ONLY
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Dr. R. C. Bay i s 5, charge of the veternarian problems and the develop x z t and minte::cnce of the experimental anirral colofiy. lined the history of the colony, reasons for selecting beagles, procurement and breedirg, sanitation and toxicity studies. D r . Jane Gouqharty presented a paper covering a period of or;e year on the hematological chailges i n dogs injected with p1utoniu.n o r radium. The meting adjourned a t 12:30 P.M. The Chairman reconvened the meeting for the after - noon session. Ee asked Cr. Bugher t:, orient the Cornmitteo on the hearings on the application of atomic energy to agri cd ture held 3efore the Subcommittee on Research and Development of t h e JCAE on Yarch 31 and April 1. the responsibility cf the Division for the protection of hwan life and he cl th and for the extension of the fundamental knowledge of the effects of radiation on living things of all kinds. He commended Dr. Pearson for organizing the agenda and for assembling the splendid group of outstanding scientists to partake inthe Dr. Bugher further stated that the Subcommittee expressed a great deal of enthusiasm in the programs pertaining t o biology and they suggested thata similar hearing be held concerning the contributions of OFFICIAL USE ONLY
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atomic energy t o nedicine. Com it tez Dr. Bugher spoke of the hearings held before the House A2proFrietions Committee on t h e AEC 1955 bclget estimates a d explained that it i s proposed that the budget f o r t h e Civision of BiologJ and Yedlcine be reduced by $435,000 orto t26,565,000. He stated that the Cornnittee does not intend t o hamper any productive resaarch project as they felt research i s one of the most important facets of the a tonic energy program, However, they were of the belief that there are always fringe items which research scientists would like to investigate which have a comFaratively slight possibility of producing useful results.Dr. Bugher brought out that th ts is the type of project that the Committee thought should be eliminated i n order t o accomplish the budget objective. Dr. Bugher advised the Conmittee that he was hopeful that the reduction of fwds would be restored atthe hearings before the Senate Appr opi at ions Committee on April 7 , 1954. Review of Research Dr. Bugher opened the over-all discussions Curina Dec., Jan. on the twenty-six new projects which had been approved by t h e Research Committee during December 1953, January, February and March, 1954, with a total allocation of funds of $284,569. Cr. Butts presented the ten biology projects explaining the proposed research in detail and i n conjunction with Cr. b.'orf, reviewed the fourOFFICIAL USE ONLY
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teen medical projects. t h e Radiatiox Instruments Branch. pertaining to the planred research, especially the budget estimatss. were particularly interested in the project at the Utah State Agricultural College wherein under t h e guidance of D r . Lorin E. Harris a study will be made on the "Effect of Radicactive Elements and Radiation i n Zwes Maintained on Ci ffe rent Levels of Nutrition". herzs of stock in the vicinity of the NPG and Cedar City, Utah, will be stuciied so as to relate management practices with lamb production. h-. I'orf spoke of the two projects assigned t o The Committee interjected many questions In this connection several Cr, Bugher reported on the current status of the c 0 ~ ~ 5 .s sion__m- Atomic Bonb Casualty Commission program i n Japan. He spoke of t h e termination of the current genetic program and with tine re-orientation of a new program t o concentrate cn data on ratio among rew born children i n Hiroshima. and Nagasaki in rel a tic n to The aim of the genetic program is to investigate the sexparental exposure tothe atomic bonbs. In connection with the discussion on genetics the Committee agreed unanimously that the analysis of tke ganetic data should be made inthe United States and atthe University of Michigan, under the direction of Dr. Bugher reviewed the accomplishments that have been made inthe Departments of Medicine and Pediatrics at Hiroshima under the direction A copy of the new off - site research contract proposals is attached OFFICIAL USE ONLY
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The administrative requirements of t h e prime contract were discussed i n Exemtive Session. fie folloving motion was made by D r . Stern, seconded by D r . Failla and it was approved unanimously: "The Advisory C'ommittee appreciates and is in full sympathy with Cr. Bugher's concern with the efficient and sound adminlstration of t h e Atomic Boqb Casualty After afull discussion it was suggested that Cr. b'arren and the ABCC contract and its administration before entering intoa renewal for the fi;cal year 1955, Lr. Claus led the discussion of the radiobiology studies at the University of Utah and requested the views of the Committee as to the expansion of the The Corrmittee was favorably impressed with the enthusiasm and the intellectual honesty of the staff working on the project. were of the opinion that the project should not be expanded o r enlarged too extensively at this time - possibly fifteen to twenty percent. It was suggested that instead of expanding the program consideration might be given to starting a similar program elsewhere. inasmuch as the program will be continuing over a span of years at the OFFICIAL USE ONLY
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h dio biology Laboratory and i n order t o hold the interest of the staff-- that they should be given an opportunity t o work on other probleas i n It was further suggested that efforts should be made t o bring forth a closer relationship Setween tfie Medical School atthe University of Utah and t h e Laboratory. After afull discxsFion it was brought out that the sk ff should be encouraged t o strengthen the pathology work and that strmtium should be added tothe studies, The Chai-rman reconvened the mesting for the second Dr. Bugher informed the Committee of the activities of the Tripartite Conference wherein representatives of the United States, Canada and t h e United Kingdom met i n \!ashington on February 15 through the 19th t o discuss mutual biological and inedical problems as they relate to atomic energy. mation under TPC(Area 2) end of the additional topic which had been added t o the agenda "Biological Effects of Atomic Weapons". H e spoke of the Tripartite exchange of inforThe abstracts of the program presented by the United Kingdom were OFFICIAL USE ONLY
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The Committee reiterated their previous views that such conferences are very useful as they contribute toR mutual m-derstanding of the three nat i cns on atom5:: energy problems, and that when feasible they should be held from time t o time. A conplete set of the transcript of this meeting is available in the Civision o f Biology and Medicine. Dr,kgher reviewed the Gabriel Program. Mr, grown reported that Mr. Alfonso Ttimmaro has been appointed Assistant General Manager for Research and Industrial Dcvelopnient. Manager i n coordinating and directing the AEC programs currently under the direct ? - m of the Directors of Reactor Development, Biology and Medicine, and Research, end the Office of Industrial Development. Brown also reported on there orientation of the NYOO end of the added responsibilities that the Eivision of Biclogy end Medicine will assume. -Yinutes of Meet- The Chairman presented the minutes of the meeting ins held at In this position he will assist the General held atthe S900 on February 12-13, 1954, for consider- --and a'iion. After reading, t h e minutes were approved Mar. 13. 1954 unanimously. The Chairman then presented t h e minutes (Reported tothe Commission) of the special meeting held on Farch 13, 1954. Study of t h e Nevada Proving Grounds report. The report was approved unanimously. OFFICIAL USE ONLY
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of two atc ll s in then : nhern Nirshall. Islands together with members of Comdr. Eugene P. Cronkite which has Seen resFonsible for the medical care and Ltudy of the person: exposed. Dr. Frugher led the discussion on the exposure t o radioactive fall - out on Yarch 1, 1954 of k habitants He spoke of the special medical team under the direction of Cr. h3ham followed by reporting on his re csn t visit to the test area. He said that medical and scientific information i s being developed within the area and thet it is more complete than ~ ~ ov.l dnow, i n any case, be possible to derive from the 23 FWJRYT: YARU patients. brought the Committee up to date on ",he injured Japanese fishermen as well as the effect of Pacific tests on commercial tuna fishing. Dr. Claus explained the pattern of tine fall - out in the test area. - It wzs agreed that the forty - fifth meeting of ACBN should be held att > e AEC i n Vashhgton, D. C. on June 25 and 26, 1954. The Chairman suggested that a letter of thanks be forwarded toCr. BoweTs for the many courtesies extended tothe Committee at their meeting atthe University of Utah. enthusiastic appreciation be extended to individual members of his research staff for their scientific contributions to the project. The morning session adjourned a t 12:30 P.M. OFFICIAL USE ONLY
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A visit was made tothe PadiobiologJ TLabora.tory to inspect the fac il it i as and t o vieir ihe work of the project which the besgles are The 6ogs are cod ng to the aid of the scientists in helping solve one of thu great problems sccdenly thrust forward by the advent of atomic such as would be ercountered by those working i n atomic installations, orin on2 big dose, such as t3at released -by ac atomic blast, it is important that toxic levels of radiation bs established. Precisely how much cma human being to ler a5e in daily doses, The dogs are housed i n sane of the most up-to-date kennels inthe country at tx he d to the new radiobiology laboratory which is an addition tothe Carxer .%search Bui1dir.g at Fort Douglas, The radiobiology laboratory was built at a cost of approximately t230,@@0,all. of which vas provided by t h e AEC. After the survey of the facilities the Cod t tse expressed the view that tha monies expended for the laboratory were well spent and it i s believed that much scientific knowledge will be gained from the research OFFICIAL USE ONLY