Memo to Commissioners and Division Heads, Subject: Meeting of the Advisory Committee for Biology and Medicine

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SUBJECT: 1.1eeting ofthe Advisory Committee for Biology and Medicin? The fourth nee ting of the Advisory Cem ltte e for Biclogy and I hdi cino will be held December 12 and 13, 1947, at 9:30 A.Elrt at Oak Ridge, In vit atl rn iscc rdi ally extended to attend this neeting. Inspection of Facilities - Dinner and In for nal Discussion with Wenbers of Staff Consideration of Draft ldinutes of November 7nee ting. Changes in 14fnUtCS of Meeting of October 11, 1.947: On page 2, line 1, insert "and of its staff " after On page 4, revise lest sentence of first paragraph "Mr. Ll lien thal stated that the Connisslon has under way a study of the feasibility of radio loci c nl wRrfarerlf On page 8,revise the first half of the page (down t o the new paragraph) t c read: IW. Volpe stated that there was little 9uestion that the Com.isslon has rather broad authority under the Atonic Energy Act t o provide for a training progran related to the activities authorizec! by the Act.

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€?e e&ie5 that there night be sone details in the questions, and that these quest i cns coulc! be considere6 when t h e prcgran had been fcrnulp.ted, Connittee then discussed. the training protmsal in gea era l and it was d2cided that the matter would be Page 9 , under paragraph 4: Change last sentence t o read "based on a congensntion at the rate of $14,000 Note: llE CD l rect ms of Divisions are all paid at the Considerat ion of Princip l Reconnendat ions of .the Safety and Industrial Health Advisory Bnard: On August 11, 1947, a Safety and Industrial Health Board was apncinted by t h e General htnager In cooperation with the National Safety Ccuncil t o cover brod ly the policy and prograns of the AXC in.accident yrevention, fire policy md nrevention, industrial health and pb llc safety, Subsequently, this Board visited the various laboratories and f ncl lft is s of the AEC and the seccnd tentative draft cf their rep nrt was sub n it ted on November 19, 1947. nendatione of this Bcard are apyended. The Division of Biolcgy and Medicine has carefully considered these and policy of the CGm3issic.n and the fo llc wing coordinate reconnendaticns a r e proposed:

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It i s reconnended that health rr otec tic n be organized as aunit of the Division cf Biolopy and Medicine It i s reccnnended that close lla is cn be r?aintained at all tines with the Safety and Fire Protection units but that they do not belong natur cl ly in this Divigicn. It i s rcccnnended that reconnendat im2 be arproved It is reconnended that the Advisory Ccnnittee for the Division of Biology and Medicine anrrove recoRnendaticn 3insofar as it pertains toned ical an6 It i s reccmnended that the Ad+?iscry Connittee for t h e Division of aiology and Medicine a?Trove- reconnendation 4in ecf nr as it pertain stone dic zl and It is recommended that the Advisory Ccnnittee for the Division o f Biology and Medicine apprcve recoEIt i s reconnended that theM vis b ry Connittee for t h e Division of Biology and Medicine a?nrove reconIt i s reconnended thata Health Code be promntly develcpec! and cnfarced f o r each Atonic Energy Conmission cornunity cc,nsonant with the neeCs cif the particular connunity. These codes ehall be develoyed by the Medical Advisor of the region after consultation with the State Depnrtnent o f Health and with the concurrence of t h e Division of biology and Medicine. Such codea shall be ncd.eled after the outstanding StRte Health Codes and shall in all respects equal o r surpass the health lews of the state in which the conmunity exists. They shall 5e revise a as c irc un stances dictate. 3-3. PROBLEM1 1. Policy on Environnental Health Problens: Disrosal o f Radioactive and Toxic Wastes Fluid and solid wastes - A t ?resent there is no satisfactory clezns of safe, lonp tern disposal. Potential hazards exist at several

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b. Gaseous wastes are potential and nerhaps actual It i s proyosef!! that the Advisory Ccrmlttee for the Divisicn cf 3iolcgy and Medicine reconnend t h e inneCiate institution of Troerannatic research in the fi eli ! of waste disposal and the rote nti al hazards related It is further r roro sed that the Advisory Connittee for t h e Division of 3iolom and Medicine reconnend- adequate surveys to deter nine existing hazar&>2d that the neans of rene6ying these hazards be r ro qt ly executed. PBO3LZM 21 Potential catastrophic hazards exist in regard to na j or fires, RBCONM3NDATION: It i s prorosed that the Advisory Ccnnittee for the bills be carefully reviewed with repard not only t o personnel in ned i ate iy involved but tomot ent idly exrosed 4. In for nation as t o 3udget o f Dtvision o f * i ology and Medicine. 3rie foral report on Zudpet matters for 1948 end Futuro Years. 5. Research rr oj ect s request inc mmFort by the Atonic 3nerpy Connission:. PRO3LEM: The Sloan-Kettering Institute has requested further support for its research projects In the ancunt of,$48,590i n addition to the $139,000 which was previously al-located t o them by this Division throuFh the Office o f Naval Research. These additional funds will be uaed tosu ~ por ta bioyhysical research propran and t o ?urchase equiFnent fora prceran In ex yer inen tal pathology. Paul F. EEahn i s an eq erin ent nl rnthologiRt training at the University of Rcchester Rnd recently at hhe University of

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F.ECOMMEI?DATXON: It 1s reconmended that t h e Cf.fice of Naval Research be notified that funds inthe ancunt of $48,590 are available t o be allocated to the Slom-Kettering Institute for b. Jackson Menorial Laboratory PRO3LEN: Thie laboratory has not acceTted the invitation to eet?.btory. They have requesbed front he Atonic Enerey Conn is sion a contract of $160,000 for const mc tion and o f headed by Dr,. Clarence C. Lit tie, well-kncwn Geneticist e The considerat?.ons wh?.ch he prcToses a r e as follows: Cohn ies cf zont;-o.l an in als nain tzi ned at centers where atc nic energy i s beinft generated, liberated and used are necessarily more likely to be affected by such energy orto be ccnfused with an in als so affected than control colonies established where such energy i s not generated, liberated and used. 3y the use of s in i lar nethodfi o f hcusinp, care and feeding at centers of ever l nen tal work and at an i oo late d control colony, animals of s in i lars train a can-be directly compared as re cards mutAtion rate and and in all nojor bio lop ical reactions,

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Differences in reaction of animals at Oak Riitae, Arecnne and 3rockhavcn can be nost successfully ccnrnred with a single cont rG1 colony locRt ed e l sewhere, This would provide the Atcnic Energy Cormission with: a, Consultative and c co aern ti ve relation8 with a staff of apnroxinat ely 20 trained geneticists and blocheci st 8 interested in eenetice, b. An adequate s u ? ~ l y of exFerinenta1 nice of desired An adequate and is c late d control colony, Right of representation, by Its own select i ~ n ,of an Jackson Menorlal Laboratory. RECOMMENDATION: It i s recomended that th? ,Advisory.Q 3. Jackson Laboratcry for a contract. nent ina point as Isolated a a2ar Harbor IEIquestionable. Ccnvetent workers are difficult to procure and retain in a renote reKim, and consultation with wcrkers at the facilities of the Connissicp wculd be difficult. lent investments at a nearer site would yield apr eater of Harvard University. Unlver sity. He Isa thoroughly competent Patholopi s t and has done active re seer ch work on skin burns. Dr. nenber of the Tracer lab. orFanlzation. He ha8 e vail able 1059351 DOE ARC ~ NES

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h man an in als. It is e Fec ted that a sign if i cnn t amount Massachusetts Institute of Technolofly. 3r. A,R, Mcrita and nent inthe 8un o f $13,273.20 t o Contract dWjO41-76, Project frcm the iq ort mc ebf such knowledpe and the basic nroblem of biological reaction to radiant energy i t should have an bed late practical use in establishing safe and dangercue dosage for the nany workers in the radi c active field ncw handling be tara yeni tter s. Through pro rer chcice it i s pOs6ible to select a.F articular isotope with ir_ view t o irradiating a predeternined thickness of skin, The basic data would be derived fron experiments yerforned on the P$g for previcua investigations k ve disclosed remarkable sini - lari ty in the reactions and injury thresholds cf norcine and of data will be obtained within ayear, It is likely that the desirability cf expanding these data and of exploring further the biological effects of beta radiation will cause the in ve at ign tors to request a renewal of the grant for a seccnd and possibly a third year. RECOMI4ENilATION: It is reccnnended that t h e Office of Naval Research be notified that funds in the mount cf $27,920 are available t o be allocated to Harvard University for auFTort of for the two-year period fron January I, 1948 t o January 1, 1950, any unexpended balance at the end of the per is d to revert to the Atonic Energy Conmiesion.

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I rog ran in 3ioFhysics. TROr\LE!4: In addition to the sun of $110,466 recommended at the last nee ting for the DioFhysics Research Progran at brvarC! University, a sur ple nen tal eun of $54,592 i s necessary t o nain tain the research at its present level. The initial grant was for two years and expenditures for the first year were relatively low because ofthe & i f ficult ies entailed in ln it ln tin pa Frogran of this comylexity. R3COMMElJ3irTION: It i s recornended that t h e Office of Naval Research be notified that funds in the ancunt of $54,592 are available t c be a llcc n ted to Harvard University fc r support of the January 1, 1948 t o January 1, 1950, any unexpended balance at the end ofthe veriod tp revert tc the Atc mic Energy e. Ohio State Univereity Request for SuFncrt cf Research Project. P303LXM: Studies at these laboratories aren ro je cte dal cng several 2, To sharyen radio-autcgranhs by use of a very str cng 3. The nanufacture o f Di-neutrcns by bonbarding'nuneroua The total funds required for these three projects AX3COM?4ZNDATION: It is reconnended that there aue st for suFport ofthe problen on average energy de terni nation of beta emitters -be referred to the Division of Research as thla problen does not involve biological or medical technique. It i s reconnended that the Office of Naval Research be notified that funds In the anount of $33,000 are available to be i n sharpening o f radioautographs and the nanufacture of

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January 1, 1948 t o January 1, 1950, any unexpended balance at the end c-f the period tc revert to the Atonic Energy Ccnmission. 3r. 2001 is Frofessor of "rhysics at Ohio states ; flu are scent radiablon and nuclear d is in te gr at icn. PRO3LEM: The U. S, Navy i n conjunction with t h e Politroid Ccnrany haa initiated a prc j ect for the construction of "an inape type of ultraviolet microscope (a ni cro qe c troph ot one ter)to present a nrtgnif i ed pona tic visible inape. This inatranent I s expected t o Five an innediate quantitative yi c ture of the ultraviolet a bso qt ion character is t ics of any nate rial and, as such, shculd be a valuable new tool in the exaninatlcn of tissue.'' The Navy has undertaken t o underwrite the project until June 1949 at the rate of $7,500 ner nonth o r about one-half the current rate of eq end it ure 8. The Anerican Cancer Society is interested in ?possible collaboration between the At mic EnerFy Connissicn, the Naticlnal Cancer Institute, and the Anerican Cancer Society. The total eq end it ure for the AEC t o share half the su y ~ o r tu ntil June 1949 would be $135,000, RECOMIETJIIED: It I s reconnended that the request be on the basis that the probable gains n re thF! a. Di qo s it ion of Medical Records o f Enployees. PRO3LEMr The question has arisen as t o how lonR ne dic nl records of

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f enployees shculd be rete in ed, Since there is no deterninazy tion as t o when c la in s for injury or illness arising from AEC employnent nay occur, mc! since the records offer the only reliable ned ical data to cr otec t the interests cf the Conniasion it is iq or tant that these recnrds be safe-arded REC0MMEN;)ATION: It is reconnended that Contractcre be required to safe ward ned ical records indefinitely and that a nocqo-filn duplicate of all ned ical records be rr era red and be kert at the headquarter s of the AEC b. Procedure i n case of illness or death alle Eedly due tc special - hazards, XO3LEM.r To for nu late a standard prccedure t o be used i n handling Med ico-Lepal Clain s against the Conni s s ion. RECOMMEN3-4TION: It is TroFosed that the Advisory Connittee for the3i vision of 3i ology and Medicine reconnend thata standard proceclure be est z blis he df cr handling all cases of a ne+-ico-legal nature, In view o f the regional or p aiz ation of the Atonic Energy Comissicn it is advisable to have this nrocedure function on are gic nal basis under the in ned i ate ~ u per vision of the Manarrer ofthe Directed Onerntion concerned, with prompt and adequate in fc mati cn to the3i vision of ji ology The following is A reconnended procefiure t o be enFlcyed: a. he di ate notification of the Manager o f Directed Orerations ccncerned, either by the Ws.shington Off ice,other Managers or their rer re sent p,t ive, by nenber s of the Manager's Staff and innedifite not if ica tic n of the Xvi - eion of 3iology and Medicine, if not already cognizant. b r Rapid relay of InfDrnaticn t o : 1. Medical Advisors, @ffice cf the X rect ed Onerations 2. Atonic Energy Co mission Insurance 3ranch. C. The AEC Ingurnnce Sranch willi mediate ly obtain the following in for nat i cn for transmittal to the proper ' Medical Advisors Off ice: mmw

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Type o f work Ferforned. Ident if icat icn of known expo sure s and nate rial Records of all Frevious re …