Health Division Annual Report 1949

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LOS ALAMOS SCIENTIFIC LABORATORY THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA This document consists of :kipages

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Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Mass. Massachusetts Institute of Technology Harvard School of Public Health Harvard Medical School, Harvard University University of Colorado Medical Center Los Alamos Medical Center

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Before making an attempt to weigh the asseta and liabilities of our work of It ha6 now completed its first full year UU put year, I M d like to digress immediatrly in order to review the philosophy under which our Division hr8 developed. boon radically changed, while others, the majority of them, have been strongly reinforced. Hoalth wrvice at Lns Alamos started out entirely as a me1118 of protecting the rar ler a and preventing injuries. "balth" broadened as it was realized that general mPttor8 of physical and mental weU-kixbg wore matters of importance in the relationrhlp betweon the worker and the aork he wa8 doing. M8nhatt8a District to AEC left the health yrd medical services certainly in no less a turmoil than tJw n a t of the Laboratory. Out of this turmoil, however, emerged an emn bnudar coacept of health service -- tbr, reaAiration that it was not a static matter and tht it was conrdrntly undergoing ch.lr(, and dorelopment. emphulr ~ 8 8plrced on the remarch aspect8 of the work, firat from a programmatic point of rbrr and, lator, with increui8g int.re#t in fundamentals. of M.Philip Drinker of tbo HarYard School of ppbllc Acalth, the backing of ducod af run rr ort that wan ready-made at tb timo of my arrival at the end of 1M8. Tho pro-nt roport is 111 attempt to indlcata what I Md my associates have done with the re8pomibflity that waa ours, to explain, from an admittedly biased point of view, what we feel we have accomplirhod and what our hopes for the future pllshmonta; I baw t h feeling that they have jut happened while I was fortunate enough to be here. have k e n rltbout exception as cheerful, wliltng and able collaborators as one could Gr.durlly and inevitably the concept of The end of the w a r and the sukrquent transition from I wish to emphasize that I feel that I can take very little credit for the accomThe crodit belong8 to my aamciates, the Group Leaders, who At tba start of 1919, H-Divlaion had 87 employees; at present, there are 117. The breakdown on these figures is as follows.

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There figures may be explained as follows. DM8ion machine shop and one additioa8l clerk in tha Proprty Section. 2. E. Seven of the niw now wortrr wore badly mohd monitors. 3. fl-2. Tlais drop is almoat entirely W. effect of tr.adormiry tho old 4. 84. 61 the nine new worhrs, two are staff mombora, four are technicians, and om a clerk. 5. Of the prerrrnt sawntoon worbrs, trn are former members of H-2, while m e n are new. The 20% increase in the r h o of tho Dlvirion may seem lup, but it murt be remembered thrt tJm Realtb wrvlcer had just undrrgom 8 compkbr reorganization and, at tJn stut of tha par, the Mtiiion simply waa not up to tull maapowwr to carry out the necessary day-by&y tasks. "ha chages in floor area also represent p r o ( n u . Tb. ammx of the Medtcal Re8much Lsbor8to~is now fully utilized, and a m h r 001 of tba old bunch in TA 32 hs been trLsn over Y a rrrebousa. Q-wpI)LuII w u comphtely remodeled, while UI addition to WL-wrildiry, the OccupaUad bbcb.mi8try Laboratory, ir nearly comphted. More space is urgently aoodod W tba Ynaltora Slctioa, prd plpns for of --up, will have to amit now prmruwnt coartruction in tR, Eorpitrl, tho new A conrridrrabie amouut of now Is bon to rl, equipamt w u nHIInrd king the year, item wo-y of menllolr being tbr jnfruod -motor, the altracontrtfuge, equipp.d Division, and no major purchases are contemplated in the near future. Iadurtrttl Ry@ona with Group status. 01 u r 1 4 ~toxicologlcpl proWema th8t o x i d a! Loa *l.rw, but also mnects the nationwide pad grarlnq importance of Industrial Eygbao a8 a spcial field. Group, E-5, horr already proven its value snd imporhace for tbe future. C. Orgpnuation of tho mvlrion in some r~#poc!W,r.th.r uniqtw. Rorpltal ittwlf ara miad in ashgh organization. MeV, Occuptbarl Medicfrre, Industrial Hygiene, md Mrucb are all unified into dream, tho i&al that hmn been before tbe eye. of Lhor with any V r i e a c e In the field of Idu8trl.L Health. that toa Alamou apparently irr the only major trutrlktbn of tbo AEC whro all records of e440nues to nrdiatbn or radioactive rnacerlals are routirwly pkcod in the 'Rockers' The increw represents one all-round machinist m the The OalJ major orgmhationd chmge in tho D i d d o n wau the eslrblbhent of It might k w8U to interject hen a few commenta on our or p ntu tio a which is, I can only say that in my ophiao it rorka, Ud it might

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Physics and the Medical Groups. Elsewhere, a shl rp cleavage seems to exist between the Realth We can boast Of complotr harmony and coopration. 0. Contacts - Internal yrd External One factor in tho inner rorldao of tho Divi8Lm th8t to mo Is both significant urd ro.muin( is thin wry humon) .ad spirit of coopntion. Ruely does a problem confront us ibat larolns only a s i 4 a group, .ab nover have tho various mor& of tbe entire Division is high, md tht all hab taka a pride h t k work Divisions, of the work king dona by B-Dlvlaba. R a q w r t r to w for hdp or advice have become far more frequent, ?ad in ntutn we find a vary chwrful wil hg nes ~ ~to help us with our ptobbmr. There 9nuu to k nono of tba feollng that H-Division is either a necaIIvJ evil or a dirctplimry body d.ri.rd to torment kd-working beman some of our mamberr and than d CMlt-U. Harry sebulte, who wrves in both DiTimiOM, and Tom WUta donm tin credit for thir, rad It h a essentially It ir my feollng that the In the same my, we have felt an inc nui g awuemsr, on the put of othor Without this friendly into-, ail of our work kcomor futilo. E. Ralatioas ritb tho Bospitd No one factor during tho paat yeu hr, in my opinion, beon of any greator importance and ail-round bonefit than the dmlopmont of r r u m and cordial relationship batween the staffs of E-Division tDd Un Lor -08 Horpital. There formerly extsted the feeling that each orwp had a ahuply &mucatad sphrro of rorponribility, with the rerult that the conatant state of mIld foudin' occuiolully seemed about to break into own warfare. changed all tbl., and there now exists tho +or7 healthy roaU8tion th.1 we all have a common aim, that a porron cmmt ham OPY put of his health oa OM sfdo of a fence and one part on tbo otker. Health D i r i . b a phyaicima nm ham regular apHorpftal staff mombrrs are be &am 8&uly but surely into puticipation in our lap is now clearly rocoaipod. more firmly the interloeking that muat always om. Hospltrl Trustees pad by Dr. Hausnor are a source of great gratification to this Two ddMto spbonm of actirity .till edn, but a broad zona of ovorConrtruction of tbm new Rorpital will serve to cement Tbo atop8 alnady takon by the B-Divisioa 1s currently provldiog ave ~c au ide nbl r uumbmr Oi Mrvices that Tbw ruiorrr 80r~icomrad prgrunr are not, in mywere not formerly aIIIUPblo. a proporly rounded and cornpieto prgrin. the past year. These have bean pickod at M Q m rad are in no pvUculu order. to ahat I consider Wo in- ovwn mom pmjocta for tho

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Intenrim study of GMX workers at 9-Site with reference to possible absorpA fourteen-week indoctrination course for selected representatives of the tion of toxic materials. Security Service and the Fire Lkputment. tahg it with hurdr o r Pr0bl.a~pmculhr to prticukr buil-r or locations. tnrtltpllon of a trriniry course in monitoring rad rndkticm safety for selected members of tbe M S E . Thi. course was arranged at tha request of tbe AEC Emergency arph tba cbuqa io ndmin(stratlon at the smdia Laboratory, wa are continuing to prorld. omontially the same hoalth serricer aa M o r e mtil they can orgauize their own wrricsr. It &a felt thrt, in certain apeci8lked flalds, we s N continue to serve in at Ieut an advimory camcity for some time to come. J-Division activltiea h8m drawn members from most of our Groups into their problems. WI are currently providing monitoring service at Enirctok Wright Langhun and Harry WhIpple act as adviaor8 to Alvin Graves; Dr. Whipph rariowa all Holmes md N u v e r phfricrl enms; while the rest of u s stand by prepared to offer whatever help 1. called for. 6. T b Colondo Raw Nabrials Office of the ABC sought pnd obtained help from 7. Members of our MIririorr together with otlwrr from CYR and the Sanitation Department hrr girsn freely of their time In tba vuioua meetings aad connrltatioar on the pnorll mbjectr of wu te dim and air contuniaptioa. The Chalk River Codoronce to establish tenmtir, tolerance levels to radiation was attended by Wright Langham. our biggest headaches for 1050. sion and the Xoapital. while the Hospital has a first-class pathologist yd laboratory diractor. some1 furni.hd by tbb Air W a t b r Service at Kktlaad Field. and the Deputnwnt of Xndutrirl Eygieaa at the University of Colorado Medical Schml. We feel that thir bu h a d y prid dividends. its greatest singla problem. The difficulties encountered were great, and the MonitorIn thb course, Mr. Raider had the help Dr. -e and Mr. 3chulte mado ai inspection t r i p of the area at the The results of this meeting provide ua with one of The addition of Dr. Lusbkugh to our staff has been a boon to both the Divi-9. Our staff members now have compmted histopthological advice, 10. b f ~ r o ~ c a lservice ir now available to Lo8 Alamos with the help of p r - A contmct for cert8in $ p e c U services was entered into bataaen H-Divis:x 8 . ~ 0Canyon aad the opsntions carried out there provided the Diviaion witb Theno men operate The olsignment to our at8ff of officera from the Yedic8l C o w of tbr Army ha8 been a tb0-y hpm arr-ment. The men selectad for us haw k n of tho Ngbast calibre and they have fittad into our program aitb o w a d grace. E w r ) member of the group has mrQ a dofirrit. contribution to our rorwuch proqrm pad haa, at the same tima, been perfectly w U b g to accept his dw sbrn of tho l e u populu routines group leader, while at the same t h e he and Captain h i s &-me specid commendation for prcpnrinq a hvdbook to serve u a guid. for dl medical and biological experiments to be carried out in conjunction with J-Division activities. ClptrFns Atchley,

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Schlasernm, Koating, and Schulman have ais0 made contributions far beyond Gur H. Medical and Biological Reaearch at Los Alamos t cannot let the opportunity paan without commrntlag on the philosophy and policies tht underly our om re much urd dewlopmrnt rct:vitier. By deflnttion of tho AEC and by direction of W Congrors, r o w u c h into bask btology, medicine md allied scloaces is one of the Commisrlon’s rorpoluibilltter. In the bulletin “Atomic Energy rad tho LKe Sciences”, pubhhed In July, 1010, by tho AEC, we find listed on pago 17 four general fioldr of r o w u c h and clewlopaunt. We are definitely enmed in cvr ll ng out research in all four of thow flold#. It must not be forgotten that medical research at this Project WM born of necomity during tho w a r . The research work was essent1.l to the work of the Laboratory, but it w a s not expected to be any more permurent than the row of ti!# Lliboratory. more recent plans for the future haw brougbt about a chulgo. one of the world’s zreatest physics labontoriea, dostined to be even greater. where else exists such an array of reactors, acceloratorr, radiation-producing instruments, and radioactive sources. our old plea for justification of our existence on the bprb of essentiality to the afford to exia without offet ~JXIBiophp8ic.l research; t:.e opportunitier are hr too groat to b Ignored. as Lo8 Alamor t Y i ’ . t s as a physical and chemical laboratory, it will require a medical research group to service its needs; but so long as it continuos as a world centor for study of nuclear physics with a staff of competent scientists, it cannot overlook tho fact that in its brotherhood place must be mado for b u i c medical researchers who are in the brotherhood not as camp followers of the weapons program but as reputable and sincere scientists in their own right, entitled to a place at the table. Medical research at Los Alamos h a s already made numerous auditions to the general body of knowledgo through contributioas to the literature, and more work awaits publication. We a m just beginning to appreciate and realize the opportunities and porlibillties presented in the utilization of the vast array of new lnatruments now rn the handa of Loa AIamos C M and should become a national and a world center of biomedical research just as much as it should become a great center of research into physics, chemistry, and metallurgy. Such a program should not necessarily connote groarth and expansion out of proportion with the rest of the Laboratory, but it does require tho maintelunce of *t permaient staff of higJmst quality with permanent laboratory farillties adequate fcr the task to be done. The need for permanent and enlarged quarters cannot br understated; expensive equipment 1s housed UI temporary, cramped, flimsy md inflammable quarters, all of which are definltely scheduled for demolition. The aorkcra need not glorlfied but at least adequate, worlang quarters that will help us to hold good staff members and attract new ones. The size of new facilities and the ultimate expansion of the staff should never get out of reasonable proportion to the rest of the Laboratory. Recent development and Wo now have here Nowhere elso in the world has a mouse ever been We how worn somewhot tJue.dbue Thc clear truth is that a LabrPtorJ such a6 Lo6 Alamos c a u m apace to a group engaged in Medicrl, Biochemical, As a matter of fact, we are probably not too far behind the …