Progress Report to the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy June Through November, Part V, Biology and Medicine (Partial)

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BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE The biology and medicine program is primarily concerned with evaluating the extent of radiation and other atomic energy hazards, prescribing adequate protective measures f o r atomic energy operations and personnel, and providing related information t o other Government agencies responsible for civilian and military defense. presented special problems and opportunities in this respect, which are Recent weapon tests have Related activities of a continuing nature are also discussed which include protection of workers i n Commission installations,the development of radiation instruments f o r both monitoring and research uses, the study of the effects of radiation on other mammals, and provision of facilities f o r the application of atomic energy techniques t o the study and treatment of cancer. Basi: rese-EchIn the application of atomic energy t o the l i f e sciences continues as the long-range activity.A comprehensive discussion of current research in plant sciences will be included i n the forthcoming Semiannual Report t o the Congress. (End of UNCLASSIFIED section.) Weapon Test Activities (-) During the summer and fall, the Commission's biology and medicine staff contributed t o the planning for the BUSTEA-JANGLE series of weapon tests held i n Nevada i n October and November. with the New York Operations Office, a program for measuring the radioactive fall - out over the, United States from the detonations was planned Several related research projects were also sponsored. Operation RANGEX, carried out i n January and February, 1951, had demonstrated that the Nevada site could be used safely for aboveground shots such as those planned for BUSTER, provided that the energy release i s not too great and weather conditions are favorable. underground shots contemplated f o r JANGLE, however, presented new and more serious problems of radiological safety. The surface and The AEC officials primarily responsible for recommendations tothe Commission as t o the feasibility of the tests met i n May at Los Alamos and again in July at Washington with representatives of the Armed Services, the Geological Survey, and t h e Los Alamos and Sandia Laboratories and with leading AEC scientific consultants t o evaluate the potential contamination and establish criteria for safety. both the surface and underground shots could be conducted without undue radiological hazard, but that the results of the surface shot should be closely.studied t o determine that the underground shot could be carried out with reasonable safety. General agreement was reached that

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Asa basis for later measurement of the lingering radioactivity resulting from these operations, a background survey was made of naturally occurring radioactivity in soils and plants throughout the entire test area. At the sites of the underground and surface shots, analysis of soil samples taken by the Belts ville Soil Laboratory a t various depths down t o 22 f e e t disclosed about 10 times the concentration of calcium, sodium, and potassium normally found i n arable soils. Planning therefore included the expectation t h a t induced radioactivity resulting from neutron capture by these elements would be greater than i n other soils. Exposure of test personnel. Atota1,integrated gamma dose-of 3.9 roentgens over any period of 13 consecutive weeks which included the test period was established for BUSTER-JANGLE test personnel. This level was based on the established standard of 0.3 roentgens per week f o r AEC proliberate exposure beyond 3.9 roentgens. cases of only two persons, the highest exposure being 5.0 roentgens. Only an emergency was considered justification for deThis level was exceeded inthe Monitoring activities within 200 miles. The Test Director's radiation safety unit was assisted by monitors from the Armed Forces, the Public Health Service, the Federal C i v i l Defense Administration, and severa l AEC laboratories; i n addition, seven staff members and AEC fellows i n radiological physics from the University of Rochester assisted in evaluating dust phenomena during JANGLE. Eight mobile teams covered the area within a 200-mile radius and others were assigned t o nearby communities. A s expected, radiation levels i n populated areas during BUSTER rarely attained values i n excess of one-tenth milliroentgen per hour, o r about five times natural background. In a few instances levels up t o about 10 milliroentgens per hour were observed which decayed t o negligible values within a day o r two. Precise timing of the JANGLE detonations in relation t o weather conditions resulted in fall - out on populated areas not sign if i - cantly different from BUSTER. For both series, the cumulative exposure which residents received fell far short of the level agreed upon as the signal -for carrying out evacuation plans. Nation-wide monitoring activities. The New York Operations Office coordinated the procedures t o measure the radioactivity resulting from the BUSTER-JANGLE series i n the atmosphere, rain, and snow throughout the This office earlier i n the year had supervised a sampling network t o measure radioactive fall - out in this country resulting from Operation GREENEOUSE a t Eniwetok. Radioactivity had been measured a t many places throughout the United States with the help of AEC laboratories and contractors and the National Association of Photographic Manufacturers. highest level of fall - out recorded wasat Rochester, New York, where on one day the maximum activity was5x loe1* curies per square foot and of no hazard t o health. For the BUSTER-JANGU tests, the New York Operations Office furnished complete equipment t o 50 Weather Bureau stations, each of which

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made several collections daily and forwarded the samples for uniform processing tothe New York Laboratory, the Argonne, Brookhaven, and Oak Ridge National Laboratories, Hanford, the University of Rochester, o r the Univers it y of California at Los Angeles. The Air Force tracked radioactive clouds across the country and made detailed atmospheric observations along the 85th meridian from Florida into Ontario. All data were brought together i n New York t o analyze the relationship between fall - outad weather conditions and t o study the nature of radioactive dispersion i n the atmosphere. Interpretations were made more difficult,particularly i n October, by the presence i n the atmosphere of other radioactivity originating in Russia. A t no locale i n the United States was the observed level of radiation high enough t o be significant in terms of human and animal health. The fall - out from the Nevada tests was sufficient, however, t o trouble t h e photographic industry, which found it necessary temporarily t o susFCDA participation. (-) . The Federal Civil Defense Administration was invited to participate in the BUSTl3R-JANGLE operations t o test bomb shelters of a backyard-type, which might be installed by shots BAKER, CHARLIE, DOG, and EASY. FCDA representatives a l s o served as monitors and took an active part in other radiological safety act iv i - Twenty-nine shelters of three basic types were exposed t o AEC personnel shelter test. A prototype communal shelter,to accommodate about 50 persons, was exposed tothe same four shots t o determine its suitability for use by AEC and contractor personnel a t key install at ions such as Hanford. With a view to simplicity, economy, and maximum salvage value, the structure tested was built of 90-inch culvert pipe, half of it reinforced concrete and half corrugated iron, and covered with 3to4feet of earth. Its location was 800 feet from ground zero inthe first three of these shots and a greater distance from shot EASY. Shots CHARLIE and Doc each exposed it to blast,radiation, and *herma1 effects of greater severity than would be sustained a t ground zero from a 20-kiloton explosion detonated a t a height of 2,000 feet. Observable damage was slight to moderate. Although recorded measurements are still being studied t o judge the probable effects on occupants, the resistance of the structure to blast confirmed the theoretical design estimates of $he effects of overpressures on the structure. Project GABRIEL isa study begun several years ago t o determine the long-range toxic effects which might result from the detonation of a large number of atomic bombs. light of recent bomb tests by the following --ad hoc committee, whose membership suggests the broad scope of t h e inquiry: This question is being reexamined i n the

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Dr. Lauriston S. Taylor, physicist, National Bureau of Standards Research Office, Johns Hopkins University, contractor for U. S. D r . Edward Teller, theoretical physicist, Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, and University of Chicago Institute of Nuclear ' Dr. Joseph Kaplan, geophysicist, University of California at Los Dr. Leo Marinelli, radiologist, Argonne National Laboratory Col. Benjamin Holman, meteorologist, U. S. Air Force Dr. Sverre Petterssen, meteorologist, U. S. Air Force, Air Weather Dr. Shields Warren, Director of Biology and Medicine, U. S. Atomic The committee has been assisted by members of the Commission's staff. ' At a 2-day meeting in late November the committee reviewed tentative findings on long-range effects and went on to consider short-range effects as well. A report of the committee's deliberations is being prepared for the information of the Commission. (P1 Radiation Protection for Atomic Energy Workers (-) The Commission's policy with respect to providing radiation protection to atomic energy workers is based on all accumulated evidence, both historical and experimental. For certain kinds of radiation, the permisSible levels to which workers may be exposed have been increased. On the other hand, there are indications that exposure to neutrons, to take one example, is more hazardous than had earlier been assumed. Relaxation of engineering design standards for radiation protection in AEC. installations is not warranted at this time.L/(PDesign criteria for protective construction (UNCLASSIFIED). Persmnel protective features of existing Commission plants have been studied and design criteria for new plants are being formulated which w i l l be related to vulnerability to enemy attack. Planning for emergency facilities. Canadian reports of the explosion a year ago in the Chalk River chemical processing plant have promptedicertain design changes in first-aid facilities planned for Sandia andQ c1 A/ The basis for this conclusion was set forth in greater detail in a statement furnished the Joint Committee on June 19, 1951.

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Argonne, to permit safe and expeditious handling of pztients exposed to radiation without contaminating hospital facilities, in the event a similar accident should occur. (End of UNCLASSIFIED section.) Investigations of Radiation Effects Body protection. Scientists at Argonne National Laboratory have pursued their discovery, described in the preceding report, that in administering near-lethal and lethal doses of radiation to mice, the shielding of the spleen with lead greatly increases the probability of survival. The substance supplied by the shielded spleen appears to stimulate irradiation-damaged bone marrow to resume production of red blood cells. cumulating evidence suggests that this stimulating factor, also found in normal bone marrow and embryonic tissue, is not specific to each species of mammal, and therefore may offer a promising approach to the treatment of whole body radiation injury, in which restoration of red blood cells is so important. -_ At the University of Rochester additional dog facilities have been completed for use in studying the therapy of whole body radiation illness. In preliminary work blood transfusions and antibiotics, singly and in combination, have been administered to a small number of animals. Investigations by the University of California at Los Angelesereveal that certain pleomorphic bacilli preaominate in the small intestine of surviving heavily irradiated rats. antagonistic effect against other organisms which tend to invade the radiation-damaged small intestine. When grown in the laboratory, these bacilli were found to produce antibiotic substances which are harmful to a number of organisms not affected by currently available antibiotics. This observation may be of significance in the treatment of whole body These bacteria apparently exert an Radium symposium. A symposium was held in New York on June 13 and 14 to study radium and radon toxicology. and radon in the human body received primary attention. that on the basis of present knowledge, maximum permissible levels for these substances should not be increased. The measurement of radium It was concluded Argonne Study. The Argonhe National Laboratory has issued a preliminary report on its study of 26 persons who were given radium intravenously some 20 years ago as "treatment" for a variety of conditions. About 100 such individuals have been located, a l l of whom will be studied. The resulting data will be a basis for more definitive estimates of the toxicity of plutonium and other alpha-emitting heavy elements used in the

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New facilities. The Argonne Cancer Hospital was 66 percent complete on November 30 and is expected to be completed in April, 1952. At the San Francisco Hospital of the University of California MedWhen final testing is complete it w i l l be used ical School, the 70 MeV synchrotron has been installed in the AEC-financed cancer research facility. to study and treat cancer in human patients and in experimental animals. The chemical transformations involved in photosynthesisL/are being investigated by several AEC contractors. The University of California at . Berkeley, by use of radioactive carbon 14 in the carbon dioxide of the atmosphere in which plants are growing and by very accurate control of the light, has traced the reactions through a number of steps. Evidence to date indicates that all plants go throwh the same initial chemical steps and only later make specialized products. knowledge obtained from this and other studies may eventually permit the synthesis of plant substances to be greatly’accelerated. It may develop that specialized products of different algae, minute one-celled plants, can some day be produced on a greatly enlarged scale for use as fooa or fuel by growing the algae in nutrient solutions under precisely controlled (End of UNCLASSIFIED section.) Radiation Detection and Measurement Instrumentation (-) Instruments for monitoring use. Project 5 . 1 of Operation GREENHOUSE covered tests of instruments for military, civil defense, and A E C monitoring use. Although many instruments performed well, continued work is required on the design of lighter weight instruments which will operate reliibly under conditions of high humidity, wid.e temperature changes, and rugged field usage. field from an atomic burst consists largely of the low-energy radiation resulting from multiple gamma ray scatterings, more emphasis will be placed qn developing and redesigning instruments which W i l l measure soft radiation w i t h the Same degree of accuracy as gama radiation of higher Also, because residual radiation encountered in the Instrument loans for civil defense training (UNCLASSIFIED). Since about ayear ago the Commission has been lending radiation monitoring instruments and radioactive isotopes to qualified state and local civil defense organizations for training. In all, loans have been made to 22 state organizations and 9 cities. (End of UNCLASSIFIED section.) c9 search was furnished the Joint Committee on November 26, 1951. Progress -1/ A report on the extent of Commission support for photosynthesis rein this work will be described in greater detziil in the forthcoming Eleventh Semiannual Report to the Congress.

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