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Oak Ridge, Tennessee OAK RIDGE, TENN., June 15 -- Details of a program for the nationwide distribution of'beneficial radioactive isotopes to be Lahoratories here, which conducted basic research in development of plutonium atom bomb xateritl during the war, w a s announced today by the Manhattan Engineer District of the War Department. The radioactive isotopes to he made available will be used in research vork in fundamental m d applied sciences, particularly in biology and medicine. They will be used in two inportant ways: "tracers", for following the coiirse of atoms in chernical, biological and technical processes; and possibly second, after considerable research, as therapeutic agents for treatments of certain special diseases. They have been generally heralded as making The announcement, which followed many months of coordinated effort smong scientists of the Manhattan Project at the Government facilities at Clinton Laboratories, at the University of California, at 2 the University of Chicago and Iowa State College, in developing methods and arranging for producticn, said that the increased. and general distribution of the radioactive isotopes may well have far-reaching importance in peace-time research in physics, chemistry, metallurgy and the medical sciences. The radioisotopes--which are radioactive forms of common elements vith the sane chemical properties of the stable element but having R different atomic weight--will be prepared largely in the Clinton Laboratories operated for the Army by the Mons~ntoChemical Company. The bombardment facilities of the Hanford Engineer Tforks at Pasco, Tashington, now operatod by the du Pant Company and which will be taken over by the Gcnercl Electric Company around September 1 will also be used insofar as the flexibility cf that operation allows. In addition, the Argonne National LRboratory, to be opernted for the Army by the -: University of Chicago under the general guidance of representatives of some twenty-five participating universities, will aid materially in Distribution will be coordinated and supervised by an Advisory Committee on Isotope Distribution Policy, members of which were appointed by Major Genere1 L. R . Groves, Chief of the Manhattan Project, on the reconmendation and nomination by the National Academy of Sciences. judge radioisotopes' rsquests and recommend ?istrihution, this Advisory Committee will have sub-Committees on Allocations and on Human Applications. A technical committee on isotopes composed of representntlves from the major laboratories of the hnhsttan Project will aid the Pro.ject in coordinating production and developmcrrt of requested isotopes. In accordance with the policies recommended by the non-pro.ject advisory group only qualified institutions such as -accredited.hospitais, universities, recognized research laboratories including industrial research laboratories, m d clinical investigation groups will be able to obtain the radioactive miterial. An additional qualification will require all groups using tho isotopes for fundamental research or applied science to publish or othorwise make available their findings, thereby promoting further applications and scientific advances. ?he Manhattan District has set up a spocinl Isotopes Branch in its Resowch Division to administer and coordinate the distribution program in cooperation with the scientific committees nominated by the
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Project ' s Rndietion 'Laboratory of the University 01 la li for nia and formerly engnged i n work with cyclotron-produced radioisotopes, was-~ named chief of the branch. A group of scientists working at Clinton Laboratories has been doing extensive research to develop suitable Production , These methods are necessarily far from simple; they deal with minute quantitiesof the end product and are most difficult, sorne1l:hat The availability of radioactive isotopes fnom the Project for non-project distribution, it WQs Pointed Out, possible only through therese gr ch, development nnd production efforts of the many technic81 personnel in all parts of the Project. and costlyto produce. The basis for tho final plans for the distribution program was given a number of months &go when t h e National Academy of Sciences, n t General Groves' request, nominlted a.representative committee of out s tending scientists to roconmend policies and help make arrange - ments for a scientifically desirable distribution of radioactive th nt the Project should e,w it h out strong outside scientific aid, undertake t o determine eligibility snd policy on distribution matters National Acadcmy of Sciences nominated the Interim Advisory Committee on Isotope Distribution Policy, headed. by Dr. Lee DuBridge, i n charge of the Physics Depsrtment of the University of Rochester 2nd who recently was appointed t o bscome president of the California institute of Technology n t Pasadena. It was on th nt bn s is that the I t was pointed out :;y Dr. Aebersold, Project coordinator of the distribution program which i s heiEg announced, that the program i s a n unprecedented a E fort on a nation cl scale $nd that many problems are expected which will hnve t o be handled as they n rise. I n t.his connaction, it was emphzsized thst it will probably be impossible t o meat nll of the demands of th s country until additional pile facilities are built specifically for radioactive isotope product ion. This isnot contemplated inthe immediate future. It was also stated that it might be possible,although no production scale steps have been taken, for the electromagnetic facilities developed for concentrating U-235 a t Oak Ridge toent5rth o isotope production pr6gram i n tb future by concentrating non - r sdio ac tires table isotopes. Concent rated stable isotopes can be used as trnc er atoms by msans of a mass Properties of the atomic nucleus. imediatelY suitable for concentration of desired isotopes on?a wide scale, and the processes are still very expensive. They are also uniquely valuable in studying Present plant equipment i s not Under t h o program being announcad, spprcximately one hundred radioactive isotopes ail1 be o btn in s hle in vrirying qu n nti ties. Some . of the nost imnortmt. of.th csc include Cnrhon 14, Sulphur 35, Fhosphorus tothe mass of th s isotope, Yn3t is to the tok nl of protons plus neutrons and 13, Sulphur of 52, 33 and 34, Phosphorus of 31 and Iodine of 127. Thc numbers fol lo xing the nsns of the element refer Ordinarily st n ble cerbon con5sts of isotopes of mass 1 2 Sincc Carbon i s one of th3principal elea ents found i n organic mztterial, the Isotope Cnrhon 14 is expectzd to give great impetus tothe study of all org s nic processes including ths nechmism and growth of normal nn? cbnornql tis s uc sind all plant and anincll functions.Inthe benefits not directly in tre it ment of disease but as tools for finding the causes of d is e is es. Phosphorus, which i s important in plant nnd miml rcatabolism and hunr.n h?notoloE;r, is nl so expectsd to reveal mnny biological secrets through experimental use of its isotope -- Phosphorus 32. time, Sulphur 35 m-iy be used in tracing reactions of sul phi drugs. Fndioiodine i s vxlunble Secquse of its s nec if ic incorporation in thy rox in end thus cnn be used t o study fnnct.ions of the thyroid gland. isotopes my also be useful0st rice rs in industrial chemistry and
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The n ? l ability of radio is c to pes, men ?)of requesting, and arr5nEements for their nll ocR tion and distribution n re now being Rnnounctd i n technico.1 dots il in the nuh li cations of the Arnericqn hs soc in tion for thc Advancement o f Science. (ThD publication SCIENCE) All requests nu st he initiated from accredited re sea rc h3. groups cr educational institutions. h. All rsa uss tsv rill bo initially received by the Isotopes Branch, hse nrc h Division, Thnhattsn District, P. 0. Rox E , Oak Ridge, nllocat.on and distribution of isotopes ncc-ordine to the scientific by the NntionRl Academy of Sciences. t,o &lb-~on7iftee Hllmrt?. An pli cations which mill h ve find veto Requests for materlp.1 for use in h.nrnans will be referred i zed fields of possible applications of isotopes to afford ndvice as deemed necessary on scientific ns tter s connected f. Effective lin is on will he established between the whom functions nrc described. A reasonnhle charge will be msde for all isotopes to cover %he "out-of-pccket" costs to th a Unitcd Stcltes resulting from the HdditionRl producticn incurred by the non-project distribution. Prices will be ds term he d on t h ? SRsis of projected routine production if desired in R pure form, resanrch-program qu n nti ties of important isotopes should not bo prohibitively expensive to the ave rigs scientific institution. It is plnnned t o nalcc nster iRl s available more r np idly nnd ing rent cr qu n nti ty as well as to rd ucc costs, by supplying the Altbough mmy iso tone sere expensive t o produce, especially Ilnny rz dios ct ive iso tops s wore n mil able from cyclotrons as mmy vo rie ties of rn dion ct ive isotopes R SR cyclotron, because it cRn only bonbard vrith ni-utrons while cyclotrons can use many nuclear prng ect i lcs,a pile cm far out dist n ncea cyclotron in quantity product ion of certe.in iso tops s. cRn be madc oquiv912nt i n production t o hundreds of cyclotrons. Wile E. pile cannot prodllcs For somc-.things, like Cnrbon 14, the pile The pu city of iso to pcs under the cy slot ron processes bafore the wnr limited the scope of research done and the number of persons using r sdio isotopes. Nevertheless, nony importnnt results,psr ti cul s rly in biology and medicine, csso frorn the use of the isotopes nvail.able. Now, with the prospect of radiotxctive isotopes being made avn il able on R large scr?le, evm more importnnt a dvm ces nre expected in all sciences by their use. Kore than 400 mnn-mndc rz dion ct ive isotopes are now hovm. There is nt least one such radioisotope for each element. Pluto ni ~ "elements, 95 m d 96, are radioisotopes recently fauna in project researches. The work in conn ict ion with the Plutonium project Of the Atomic Bomb Development has resulted in the production, or hut mOrQ important is the fact that this development given rise to vastly su ? eri @ r methods for the production of mRny isotopes. given rise to fhe trnnsmutntion of elements on n Vreighahle scale of not
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fliominated by National bcadeny of Sciences) Interim Ldv is or y Conlrittoo on Isotope Distribution Policy: Uni vs rsi ty of Rcc hester, Rcchestcri, New York. Professor Linus G. Pauling Chemistry Department, Calif.Inst. of Tech., Pasadena, California * De par he nt of Botacy, University of Chicago, ChicaLo, Illinois. Dept. of Biochemistry,. Iizrvard lk dice l School, Canbridf3, &SS. Gencrel Electric Company, 1F last ics i.venue, Pitts field, Mass. Nntioncl Bureau of Standards, Dept. c f Conmerce, fi'ashington, D. cUniversity of California, Berkeley, Cn li for n in Sub-Conmi tteo on Human Xp p lick t ions : University of Rochester, Rochester, Ilew York Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio. Dr. Gioncchins. Fail lo, Columbia University, New York, New York.
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Clinton Labore to ric s, Ock Ridge, Tennessee University of Chicago Los Alnmos Laboratory Tennsssse Eastman Devolopment Group, Oak Ridge, Tennessee