Report of the Ad Hoc Committee to Evaluate the Radiobiology Program of the U.s.a.f

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REPORT OF THE AD HOC COMMITT TO EVALUATE THE RADIOBIOLOGY PROGRAM OF THE U.S.A.F. SC IE NTI FIC UNITED STATES AIR FORCE

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REPORT OF THE AD HOC COMMITTEE TO EVALUATE THE RADIOBIOLOGY PROGRAM OF THE U.S.A.F. As stated in Status Summary Report No. 6 of the School of 'Aviation Medicine, dated March 1959, (p. 1), !'The development, maintenance and employment of manned and unmanned nuclear weapon systems, t h e requirements of space travel, and the possibilities of nuclear power, present the Air Force with a host of radiobiologic problems which as yet are not sufficiently defined and understood.!' I n order t o determine whether the Air Force i s meeting these problems i n radiobiology, an Ad Hoc Committee was appointed t o review t h e present and projected research programs. The members of t h e Committee met i n Washington on June 1 and 2, 1959, for a briefing by the representatives of the commznds engaged i n radioside ration of comprehensive progress reports of the various proJects, the Committee met on J u l y 31 and formulated the present report. It should be pointed out that this report deals with both research and training aspects of radiobiology in the Air Force. the Committee these two programs are so closely interrelated that they should not be considered separately. After this review as well as after thorough conInthe opinion of The report includes general and specific considerations and makes The members of the Committee and'the Air Force representatives certain recommendations concerning the radiobiolotg programs of the Air concerned with the briefings are listed in the appendices A and B. A detailed evaluation of the proposed radiobiologic research program a t Wright Field is given i n appendix E. research projects supported by contract appear i n appendices C and D. The title and current funds of all GENERAL CONSIDERAT IONS The research program i n radiobiology currently in effect inthe Air Force was considered in relation to the basic mission of the Armed Forces as a whole as well as i n connection with the special duties of the Air Force under that mission. that the Air Force has an excellent record of establishing a productive research program i n radiobiology in a brief period of time. mainly a t SAM, but some i s done in civilian laboratories on a contractual It was quite apparent tothe committee

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Most of the tti~n-housettresearch projects and much of the contractual research were initiated to provide answers t o urgent operations problems. A criticism of programmatic research brought to the attention of the Committee was concerned with insufficient "lead time" sometimes reported t o occur between initiation of the research projects and the need fora others it has related from t h e failure of operational commands t o consult biologists in the early planning phase of weapons system development. A further criticism noted by the Committee had t o do with the occasional classification of projects (contractual as well as in-house) for no apparent reason. Obviously, such a policy is intolerable as it prevents broad dissemination of i n f omation. In certain cases, the delay i s unavoidable but i n In addition tothe programmatic research, the Air Force also supports research i n the basic sciences clearly unrelated t o its immediate mission. It was obvious tothe Committee that support of some research of this type i s required t o help sustain the level of scientific and professional activity in certain Air Force installations by providing training opport unities and professional contacts t o reserve and regular Air Force personbetween Air Force and Civilian radio biologists working on mutual problems. The Committee isin sympathy with the interest of the Air Force i n supporting basic research i n radiobiology and has no argument with the scientific merits of the great, majority of the projects supported "in-housett and on contract. Furthemiore, it i s aware that the relatively few investigators trained i n radiobiology must be allowed considerable freedom t o pursue their own lines of interest. Nevertheless, it was of the opinion that the basic research program, particularly that on a contractual basis, was weak in several respects. Inthe first place, this program did not appear t o be well co-ordinated and was not sufficiently oriented toward i n the best interests of the Air Force. Projects on contract were often selected on what appeared t o be an opportunistic basis. projects s o chosen are diversified and fall into various unrelated categories inthe broad field of radiobiology (see Appendix). limited funds available and small number of contracts, t h e gaps n o t covered by the Air Force p:rogram appear t o be magnified. Committee an additional weakness inthe program is the faulty co-ordination reported t o have existed between the four major contracting and administrati ve field element,s. In a t least one instance, it was noted thata contracting field element (entered intoa contract without informing other field elements with mutual interest in supporting research. A final weakness of the contractual program in the eyes of the Committee was the diversion of the limited funds for research tothe support of admittedly outstanding laboratories which receive considerable financial assistance from other governmental and private agencies. laboratories a t which Air Force personnel are stationed f o r training. It also promotes communication and eases consultant relationships Inthe opinion of the This criticism does not apply t o

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As will be mentioned inthe recommendation, it was the opinion of the Committee that these weaknesses inthe research program could be largely corrected by placing it under the cognizance of a single command. This command could. effectively concentrate the research facilities and funds on those facets of radiobiology of greatest importance to the Air Force mission. Furthermore, this command could take the initiative in of t h e Federal government engaged i n radiobiological research such as the AEC, PHS, NSF and other DOD agencies. Program a t School of Aviation Medicine, Brooks A i r Force Base, Texas The major effort of the Air Force i n radiobiological research is administered a t SAM. The Committee was favorably impressed by t h e program as presented by Colonel John Pickering, Director of Research, and agreed that the program both in-house and contractual has considerable merit. It was evident tothe Committee that there is strong administrative support a t SAM. Furthermore, it was apparent that effective efforts are made t o screen the proposed projects and t o disseminate information about them. The progression from the Statement of Problems by SAM tothe Statement of Work by t h e bidding contractor with subsequent review by t h s Research Council, the Commandant, interested field elements other than SAM, and the Air University appears t o provide adequate opportunity t o determine flaws in the proposals and to alert all interested persons tothe proposals. The system seems t o work smoothly and appears t o be both effective and The Committee considers the in-house program i n radiobiology, which is being carried out both atthe Radiobiology Laboratory of the U. S. Air Force and the University of Texas, Austin, Texas, and a t SAM t o be of a the field of radiobiology and is of major scientific interest. t o be intel1igent:ly administered and i s being conducted by a group of investigators, the nucleus of which is composed of full time military and appreciates the importance of the efforts to retain military personnel for extended tours of duty i n order t o accomplish this work. and reserve Air Force officers,in mediclne and allied disciplines, are not only doing go'od research but are also being trained in various aspects nucleus of well trained officers who know and understand the biological problems associated with nuclear energy developments and applications. The Committee considers this training effort to be of great importance and worthy of even greater effort.Inthe course of this review of train - ing, the present lack of trained personnel inthe higher echelons of the It has direct bearing on the needs of the Air Force i n By this means, the Air Force i s building up a

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administrative program became evident. increase the number of trained personnel at all levels,but it i s of particular importance thata few competent and interested officers *end several years in training until they are capable of taking over at the top levels. An effort should be made t o Among the contractual projects administered by SAM, specific On the basis of the information provided t o consideration was given to that of the Air Force laboratory at the University of Chicago. the Committee, it appears that a careful review of the program should be made with particular regard t o evaluating the methods used t o screen chemical protective agents. The results of the work of the laboratory for many years have proved t o be relatively non-productive insofar as discovering new protective agents is concerned. If this program isto continue, its methods should perhaps be modified and the work well coordinated with sirnilar programs being carried out i n other institutions. There was not complete agreement among the Committee members concerning the importance of and, particularly,Air Force sponsorship of studies of total body therapeutic radiation in human beings. The majority of membe:rs wish tosee emphasis placed on this work. Committee wishes to stress the fact that the ultimate value of results in this study i s Idirectly related to the accuracy of the dosimetry. was the concensus that the dosimetry aspects of the project should be Program a t AFSWC. Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico The program a t AFSWC is chiefly contractual and programmatic. A small group of radiobiologists i s assigned tothe Biomedical Branch of the Biophysics Division which is apparently almost without facilities be extremely limited, the Committee i s of the opinion that the activities of these scientists should be reviewed t o determine whether the assignment of these men to this division is justified. From the briefing received by the Committee, there does not appear t o be adequate just if ica - tion for the assignment of four scientists to full time duty in this cornland unless there is some justification for the activity which was not brought to the attention of the Committee. The in-house research capability should either be developed by providing adequate facilities and financial support orthe program should be severely curtailed and the responsibility reassigned t o another center. Since the in-house research program appears t o l?ro.iect atthe University of Minnesota With regard tothe University of Minnesota project concerned with the total body radiation of burros, the Committee notes that the

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program appears t o be well conceived and carefully undertaken and concedes that it may develop information of fundamental nature concerning some of the mechanisms involved i n whole body radiation injury peculiar to the burro. The Committee was of the opinion, however, that the program, which utilizes a sizeable percentage of the total A i r Force radiobiologic research funds, may provide information of limited application to the programmatic needs of the Air Force. view of the Kiroshima and Nagasaki and other human data leads the Committee tothe conclusion that the reactions being studied inthe burro did not occur at all in this form i n man, o r occurred perhaps only as a portion of the reaction at extremely high dose levels. Program atthe Aeromedical Laboratory, Wright Air Development Center, Wright Patterson A i r Force Base, Ohio Because of the views of the Committee concerning the usefulness of the NETF for biologic research are somewhat a t variance with the views expressed by previous reviewing committees, its facility w a s analyzed i n considerable detail and the evaluation is presented i n The Committee wishes t o make the following recommendations i n the belief that, their adoption will permit the Air Force t o have a stronger nore productive program inthe important field of radiobiology. 1. Place the entire radiobiolofy program of the Air Force under the cognizance and direction of a single office or Command. of research capabilities or supervision of research i n ARDC, ANPO, ATC (SAM) and OSR seems cumbersome and unwarranted. Skillful coordination of all the wor:k i n progress would lead to conservation of man power, effort and funds and might well increase the scientific contributions of the several groups of investigators. 2. Restrict the radiobiology program t o those facets of radiobiology of greatest interest to the Air Force rather than attempt t o cover the entire field. programmatic research geared t o operational problems. be made i n those cases i n which the training of Air Force personnel i s directly involved or the interest and capabilities of Air Force personnel can be most effectively utilized by their conducting part time, basic, For the most part emphasis should be placed on 3 . Establish high level policy t o insure that radiobiologists are consulted a t the very beginning of planning for new weapons systems s o that crash programs can be avoided and nec e ssw biological data can be developed simultaneously with t h e hardware.

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L. Improve coordination with other Federal agencies and Thec i vili an institutions engaged i n radiobiological research. possible savings i n time and money and advantages of t h e avoidance of needless dupli.cations of effort are obvious. 5. Either expand the physical facilities at AFSWC commensurate with the level of training of the radiobiologists assigned t o duty there or transfer the radio biologists to other research centers where their scientific talents can be more fully utilized.Asthe situation prevails, it would appear that valuable personnel are a t least partially ttwastedtTa t AFSWC. 6. Carefully consider the advise ability of establishing a biological research program atthe NETF, WADC. reasons why it would appear t o be t o the advantage of the Air Force t o avoid the establishment of such a program. Collaboration with other Federal Agencies which have i n existence o r have appropriations for reactors more suitable for biological research projects would probably yield greater returns for the Air Force. There are many 7. Avoid over classification of reports of progress i n research. It i s highly desireable for the scientific community at large as well as for the Air Force that information of scientific nature which does not compromise tlne security of the United States be as widely dis - 8. Provide for the selection,training and Air Force career support of interested, capable personnel with scientific backgrounds. There i s at present an alarming and wasteful turnover of scientific personnel. This must be corrected and a way found t o make attractive an Air Force car'eer i n biomedical research. The Committee wishes t o thank Colonel Clyde D. Gasser, USAF, Secretary, L t …