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CEXTER FOR HUNAN RADIOBIOLOGY (1) \<e remain concerned about the long-range future of the Center for concept and longevity. capability and inpatient examination and record analysis w3s asserrbledHowever, plans for its ultimate diversification or' its ultimate dissolution were not considered and have not as yec been faced. A t its inception,the Center was rather limited in both A juggernaut in terms of measurement and en aly t ical
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Thc study saznple is shrinking at a? increased pace with the passage of tine, because of natural mortzlity. i n the past year. pati en ' i s available for study in the Eu cure, and the numbers that will be examined a t the Center annually. The workload has diminished substantially Projections c2i1 ands33uldbe made of the nunbers of radium Sone efforts are being made or coilsidered by the Cenzer staff to fill the in pending void. containing persons can be recruited for study ? Specifically it must b 2 asked: What kinds of radioisotope - \.!hat biological information is applied fully to nea ning ful problems? Can the staff and the special equipment at the Center be The exhumation program represents such an effort. To recapture infornation from patients who died before the Centzr r ~ a se stab li shed or who escaped the catch nen t system, bodies arc being exhuxd--about 100 to date - there will be d in in i shing returns as so07 asthe more easily obtained spec in ens have been studied. It seems that The staEf at the Center is considering the study of thcrium workers to deter kin e the effects of inhalation and the dose-response relationship, effects of injected thoriuir, -are known, and the justification for a new larg6scale program of industrial workers will have to be substantial. feasibility study of a few heavily exp332d workers would be appropriate. Thought has also been given to stciies of plutorriu:il workers, but access t o them may be difficult. oppose fiercely having its employees put into a vault t o have r heir radio - activity determined. Khatever disease eventually befalls a worker is then likely to be attributed by tho family to his work. will. develop cancer spontaneously, even if there were no contribution from the effects of radioisotopes. Once ag2ln, as for the proposed thor i un studies, nacional importance of the findings will hav2 t u outweigh the pro bl ers involved i n implementing the program. a nationally based workshop o f experts (with help from ERDA) to consider the plutonium-exposed population and how best to study it beforts it is irrerrisvsably Vith no existing problem industry is likely to One o f every four persons lost, and specifically to consider whe z her the Center cvuld contribute to such
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the Center's staff and facilities human exposure to radioisotopes - can be usn ful in the event Such occur rs n ces are likely national referral place for accidents that occur in parts of the world where facilities for study are less than optimal. One might consider trying to establish the Center as on inter - But here the Center would have Are laboratory workers at Argonne or elsewhere being exposed to isotopes un vit tingly in a way that is not being routinely monitored? Argonne, but perhaps in laboratories where isotopes are occasionally used, and ' then carelessly--as might perhaps happen ina laboratory for chemical carcinogenesis, for example. If so, can something about radiologic safety be learned from study of such workers? Probably not at (2) The Center's publications on medical findings have been presented orally or in journals with very limited readership. epidemiological desigil of the study should not deter publication of important medical findings such as the mastoid carcinomas, seen in recent years or the absence o f new cases of osteosarcoma in the last six years. There should be a brief report prepared for publication in a general medical or scientific distribution of radiogenic tumors among the radium dial - painters. details of pathology of the nist oid tumors--to b e published in a specialty above does, .or i t will preempt i t for publication in a general medical'journalThis paper should not.appear before the general paper mentioned Other papers could describe in de tzi l the case - histories that have not pr z vio us ly been published. Also, a his tory (handbook) should be prepared of the project since its beginning,giving the sources of the cases and studies For the REP, Review Committee and for the Cenzer itself, a sunnary of the annual report should be prepared--perhaps 10 pages i n length, single - spaced. The suimary should describe the work-load, achievements, pub,lications, and changes in personnel year by year since the Center vas established.