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I am pleased t o report on the principal activities of the meeting of the Adsrisory Committee f o r Biology and Medicine held a t the Atomic Energy Commission on Friday and Saturday, March 11 and 12, .1955. &.Bugher had arranged for the Committee t o have a study period on 'Friday morning which enabled us t o read a variety of documents concerning problems confronting the AEC. The afternoon session was opened by &.Bugher and h i s staff reviewing the work i n progress on the off - site research contract proposals that had been approved since September 19%. considerable interest in the program i n oceanography that the Division plans t o develop and which relates very closely t o the The Committee expressed problems inherent i n disposing of radioactive waste i n the sea. Dr. Libby's presentation on the use of low level counting techniques f o r diagnostic purposes was very stimulating. support of a program seeking new'every-day uses of isotopes f o r the The status of the availability of high activity cobalt for medical of 30,400 curies, having an average specific activity of 41.1 curies per gram, have been produced i n the Materials Testing Reactor a t Idaho. been pending for atleast one year. A higher priority has been given the cobalt presently i n the reactor (22,000 curie potential) with the expectation of completing irradiation by December of this year. likely that there will be no high activity cobalt available during 1956 Committee felt that this was a most discouraging picture i n view of the interest generated during the past two years i n the use of cobalt i n average doctor i n the practice of medicine is timely and gratifying. therapy was presented by Mr. Haggerty. We learned that to date a total 5 $;T.z* Requests outstanding t o t a l approximately 22,000 curies, and each has .and also during the first half of 1957 under the present planning.
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Also, if we fall short of our goals, it is probable the AECL will capture the lead i n supplying cobalt for medical purposes a t an Dr. Bugher reviewed the current activities of the Division and he spoke of the proposed modification of the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission program i n Japan. Japanese survivors as well as vital for the AEC research progrm. I n this connection he suggested that it would be advantageous t o the United States and t o Japan to establish a radioisotope distribution center and t o construct a medical research reactor i n Hiroshima.. ide understand that this matter will be presented t o the Committee for our comments ata subsequent meeting. He stated that it is important t o the Dr. Amning briefed the Committee on the procedures and the criteria for protecting the public during nuclear weapons tests at the Site. These are satisfactory so long as the number of people possibly involved is small. Dr. Bugher, a t the instance of the Committee, has already forwarded t o you two resolutions that were approved a t the meeting held on . For your convenience they are appended hereto. We are looking forward t o the fiftieth meeting of the Advisory Committee which is scheduled t o be held a t the Oak Ridge National Laboratory on Friday and Saturday, M a y 6 and 7, 1955. G. Fail la, Chairman
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Regarding Announcement of Project Wigwam") " A t the meeting of the Advisory Committee for Biology and Nedicine held on Friday and Saturday, March 11 and 12, 1955, the Committee uas briefed on Projects lt Troll ll, "Norpacfr, and A full report on the activities of the Committee will be sent t o you by Dr. Fail la, Chairman of the ACBM. of that report, the Cm it tee has asked thatI forward t o you a resolution uhich was approved unanimously by the Committee regarding "Wigwamtt and which reads as follows: lfThe Advisory Committee for Biology andMedicine has learned that UIGXAM is not t o be announced i n advance and feels that this change from AEC policy w i l l seriously undermine public confidence here and abroad. Health, safety and public confidence in related AEC policy, including also the safe conduct of weapons tests,isa concern o f the ACBPI. "Because of the unfavorable public and international reactions and consequences t o previous withholding of information until it was forced to public knowledge, which will in this project be renewed with continuing detriment t o the Weapons Testing Program, the public relations of the AEC and the international relations of the United States and because ata time when the President's llAtoms for Peace" program is being implemented by an important International Conference, the anticipated public and international censure of Project WIGINW when accomplished without prior knowledge and consultation will severely place i n jeopardy the position of the United States in the forthcoming conference. 'The ACBM theref ore urgently recommends t h a t : (1) In t h e current planning stage of Project WIGWN, the interested fishing agencies, the Governments of adjacent nations, and the American public be informed; and (2) That a l l due precaution against possible hazards during and after the test be maintained.
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(Memorandum dated March 22, 1955, Subject: llRecommenLdtion o f Regarding Announcement of Project Trollf1) The Chairmzn of the Advisory Committee for Biology and Medicine advised you under date of March 7, 1955, regarding the r e p o r t given by Dr. Paul Pearson and iulr. Merril Eisenbud, a t the meeting a t Hanford on January 15, 1955 concerning the flextremely successful United States-Japzn Conference on Radiobiology i n Tokyo.t1 was brought t o the attention of the Committee that the Japanese had given data collected by the SHUNKOTSU MARU, that these data had been analyzed by the New York Safety and Health Laboratory, and by an oceanographer retained by t h e New York Operations Office, and that the data suggested that the activity from the CASTLE s e r i e s which had fallen into the Pacific Ocean o r drifted out from the - Lagoon was not being diffused evenly. view that it would be provident to initiate immediately another oceanographic survey t o assess and verify the Japanese findings. A t the Advisory Committee meeting held on March 12, 1955, a further problems involved i n obtaining a U. S. Coast Guard vessel for this marine biological and oceanographic survey. The Committee was deeply concerned w i t h the effect on public relations if the r e s u l t s of the data collected from !'Project Trollll were withheld from the public until a f t e r the completion of the mission, and the effect on our relations with Japanese scientists if an announcement of the fact of a mission is not made prior to the time the TANEY reaches Tokyo (approximately April a, 1955). Therefore, in this connection they have asked thatI forward t o you a resolution which was approved unanimously by the Committee at their meeting on March 12, 1955 regarding lITrollt1 and which reads as follows: The Committee expressed the They told of the V3e Advisory Committee f o r Biology and Medicine notes with approval that i t is intandzd t o declassify the forthcoming results of Project Troll. tlThe Advisory Committee f o r Biology and Medicine recommends that this declassification be made effective prior to the arrival of the vessel in J q an. 'The Advisory Committee f o r Biology and Medicine recommends further that a public statement about the study be m de at that time."