Human Radiation Studies: Remembering the Early Years, Oral History of Health Physicist William J Bair, PH.D., Conducted October 14, 1994

Page 1

HUMAN RADIATION STUDIES: REMEMBERING THE EARLY YEARS Oral History of Health Physicist United States Department of Energy Office of Human Radiation Experiments

Page 2

her Openness Initiative. As part of this initiative, the Department of Energy Iundertook an effort to identify and catalog historical documents on radiation experiments that had used human subjects. The Office of Human Radiation Experiments coordinated the Department’s search for records about these experiments. An enormous volume of historical records has been located. Many of these records were disorganized; often poorly cataloged, if at all; and scattered across the country in holding areas, archives, and records centers. The Department has produced a roadmap to the large universe of pertinent information: Human Radiation Experiments: The Department of Energy Roadmap to the Story and the Records (DOEEH-0445,February 1995). The collected documents are also accessible through the Internet World Wide Web under h t t p : //www. ohre.doe .gov . The passage of time, the state of existing records, and the fact that some decisionmaking processes were never documented in written form, caused the Department to consider other means to supplement the In September 1994, the Office of Human Radiation Experiments, in collaboration with Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, began an oral history project to fulfill this goal. The project involved interviewing researchers and others with firsthand knowledge of either the human radiation experimentation that occurred during the Cold War or the institutional context in which such experimentation took place. The purpose of this project was to enrich the documentary record, provide missing information, and allow the researchers an opportunity to provide their perspective. Thirty audiotaped interviews were conducted from September 1994 through January 1995. Interviewees were permitted to review the transcripts of their oral histories. Their comments were incorporated into the final version of the transcript if those comments supplemented, clarified, or corrected the contents of the The Department of Energy is grateful to the scientists and researchers who agreed to participate in this project, many of whom were pioneers in the development of

Page 3

Graduate Studies at University of Rochester ............................ 2 AEC-Funded Research at University of Rochester ........................ 3 Use of Human Subjects at University of Rochester ....................... 5 AEC Direction of University of Rochester Research ...................... 6 Contacts With Researchers Into Radiation Effects ........................ 7 No Knowledge of Uranium Injections at Rochester ....................... 8 Beginning a Career at Hanford ....................................... 9 Radionuclide Inhalation Studies at Hanford ............................ 10 . Use of Animals in Radiation Studies ................................. 12 Identifying Health Effects of Inhaled Radionuclides ..................... 13 Expanded Customer Base for Inhalation Studies ........................ 15 AEC Headquarters Monitoring of Experiments ......................... 18 Differing Effects on Humans of Plutonium-238 and -239 ................. 19 Limited Involvement With Human Studies ............................ 16 Study of Emissions From Proposed Nuclear-Propelled Aircraft and Rockets . . 20 Technical Support to Human Studies by Universities in the Northwest ....... 21 Contractor Reluctance to Engage in Human Studies ..................... 22 Review Procedures for Research Proposals ............................ 23 Not Involved in Studies of Phosphorus-32 or Iodine-13 1 in Food ........... 23 Oversight by Battelle Human Subject Committee ....................... 24 International Cooperation in Assessing Worker Exposure ................. 25 Cleanup of Nevada Test Site and the Marshall Islands .................... 28 Comparison of Inhalation and Injection Studies of Plutonium .............. 31 Herb Parker’s Influence on Research Standards at Hanford ................ 32 Controversy Over Interpretation of Radiation Effects Data ................ 33 Reflections on Colleagues .......................................... 35 Peer Review and Publication of Research .............................. 36 Preserving the Written Record ...................................... 38

Page 4

The opinions expressed by the interviewee are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Department of Energy. The Department neither endorses nor disagrees with such views. Moreover, the Department of Energy makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of the infonnation provided by the interviewee.

Page 5

Setting: October 14, 1994, Richland. Washington Interviewers: David Harrell and Cindy Shindledscker (DOE Office of Human Radiation Experiments) ORAL HISTORY OF HEALTH PHYSICIST Conducted October 14, 1994 in Richland, Washington, by David H m e N @om COMPA Industries, Inc., and Cindy Shindledeckerfrom Kouchoukos and Associates for the O@ce of Human Radiation Experiments, US. Department of Energy. WilliamJ. Bair was selectedfor the oral history project because of his participation in the Universityof Rochester Atomic Energy Project as J. Newell Stannard’sJirst graduate student in radiation biology, and for his radionuclide inhalation research at Hanford Site. The oral history covers Dr. Bair ’s education and his career at Hanford, including his role as manager of the Biology Deparment and his role as Director of the Life Sciences Program. Dr.Bair was born in Jackson, Michigan on July 14, 1924. He received his B.A. in Chemistry from Ohio Wesleyan University in 1949, and received the first Ph.D. in Radiation Biology from the University of Rochester Atomic Energy Program in 1954. Dr.Bair went to work for General Electric Hanford Laboratory (Richland, Washington) in 1954 as a biological scientist, and has worked for Hanford’s management and operations (M&O) contractors throughout his career. In 1956, he became manager of the Inhalation Toxicology Section of Pacific Northwest Laboratory’s (PNL’s) Biology Department. From 1968 to 1975 he managed PNL’s Biology Health, and Safety Research Program at Hanford from 1975 to 1990. From 1986 to 1993, he was manager of PNL’s Life Sciences Center. His research focused on the inhalation of radionuclide aerosols, mostly fission products, by various animal species, primarily beagle dogs. Dr. Bair’s professional affiliations and appointments include: Member, Health Physics Society, President (1984-89, Member, Sigma Xi, Member, National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (1973-92), National Academy of Sciences, and International Commission on Radiological Protection. In 1970, Dr. Bair received the Atomic Energy Commission’s E.O. Lawrence Memorial Award for Research on Radiation Biology of Inhaled Radionuclides. He has published extensively on animal inhalation of radionuclides as well as on the implications of this data for human respiratory models. SHINDLEDECKER: This is Cindy Shindledecker and David Harrell from the DOE Office of Human Radiation Experiments. It’s October 14, 1994. This is the oral history interview of Dr.William Bair at Pacific Northwest Laboratory in Richland, Washington. Thanks for talking with us, Dr. Bair; we appreciate you taking the time to do this.

Page 6

Setting: October 14, 1994, Richland, Washington Interviewers: David Harrell and Cindy Shindledecker (DOE Office of Human Radiation Experiments) One of the first things we’d like to talk with you about is your experiences as a graduate student at Rochester. We understand that you were the first Ph.D. candidate in Radiation Biology there. We’re interested in knowing how you chose Rochester, how you got interested in the field, and a little bit about your experiences there. Graduate Studies at University of Rochester BAIR Firsf I did my undergraduate work at Ohio Wesleyan University. I majored in Chemistry. There were some opportunities to see research reports, the old Manhattan Engineer District reports, when I was a student. Actually, I remember seeing papers on americium.’ Of course, this had to do with chemistry. I suppose in a way I became interested in atomic energy because-actually, atomic energy had saved my life. [During World War 11,] I was in the infantry on my way to Japan when they dropped the bombs. I’ve never been one of those who deplored ending that war over there with the atomic bombs. I think [that the alternative-an invasion-] would have been a terrible disaster, not only for Americans but, also, for the Japanese. I suppose that gave me a little more incentive to look into atomic energy. Then, I was looking at opportunities to go to graduate school. Although I had applied to Ohio State [University] for graduate work in Chemistry, I saw a notice on the bulletin board announcing the National Academy of Sciences, National Research Council fellowships in Atomic Energy. I applied and had to take an examination. I was, I think, almost simultaneously admitted to the graduate school at Ohio State and informed that I had won one of these fellowships at [the University ofJ Rochester [(Rochester, New York)]. I did not know about Rochester at the time. Actually, I think it won out because I was still intrigued by all the possibilities in atomic energy. I didn’t know what I was getting into because I didn’t know much about the program that I had taken the test for. My physics [knowledge] had certainly not been used. I suppose I must have read some words in the [fellowship] description about radiation, I can’t remember that. I remember going to Rochester, arriving there, and being somewhat surprised by the content of the program. It was more health-related than I anticipated. But it was a very interesting program. That first year was the master’s degree program that they had set up. The fust-year curriculum provided an oppomity to work for the master’s degree, although you didn’t have to. I think some people left without getting a master’s degree. Others stayed on to finish the requirements. It was an interestingyear, because they really gave you a broad spectrum of classes. The class that I was in had only about eleven or twelve students,

Page 7

Setting: October 14, 1994, Richland, Washington Interviewers David Harrell and Cindy Shindledecker (DOE Office of Human Radiation Experiments) with a mixture of backgrounds, including Chemistry majors, Physics majors, and engineers. I don’t think there were any biologists in the whole class. They gave us classes in biology, genetics, statistics, physics, instrumentation-everything you can think of that had to do with radiation. It was really an outstanding program. It was the second year that it was in progress. During that year, Dr.J. Newell Stannard asked me if I would be interested in staying on as his graduate student. Actually, at that time, they had no program in Radiation Biology. I initially was registered in the medical school Physiology Department as a graduate student in Physiology. I suppose I must have been in that [for] maybe a couple of years before they put together the [Radiation Biology] program and got it approved. [Then,] I was really in the two departments in Physiology and Radiation Biology. The University of Rochester is really an outstanding graduate school. I know the medical students that we had classes with were really taught, given opportunities to put a research experience into their backgrounds, rather than just clinical studies. I don’t know whether that’s true now, but the medical school was quite unique in trying to get across to the medical students that there was a need for them in research. When the Radiation Biology program was established, I transferred over and became a full-time graduate student in Radiation Biology. It was a guinea pig experience for me because the faculty and deans weren’t quite certain what the expectations should be for a graduate student in Radiation Biology. It was a unique experience. The program was molded to your requirements and to your skills and background. Newell Stannard was an outstanding mentor. I thmk, at the time, I was his only student., so I had a lot of his personal hands-on touch. I had a lab and an office right next to his. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience. AEC-Funded Research at University of Rochester Were you involved directly in AEC [(Atomic Energy Commission)] research as you were going through your graduate-school work? Yes, the program was supported by the Atomic Energy Commission at that time. My research interests were primarily on basic mechanisms that caused radiation effects. [At the University of Rochester], I really didn’t get involved in the more applied aspects that I encountered here at Hanford. My thesis had to do with the effects of radiation on baker’s yeast. That seems like a far cry from a human, but still, even today, baker’s yeast is used for a lot of microbiological studies, because it’s an easy cell to study, easier than using human cells. We were wondering about that because we had read that and wondered what the significance was of baker’s yeast.

Page 8

Setting: October 14, 1994, Richland, Washington Interviewers: David Harrell and Cindy Shindledecker (DOE office of Human Radiation Experiments) BAIR: In fact, I just picked up a copy of Science the other day and there were several articles about the molecular biology of yeast. It’s a very useful tool in biological research. When you were in school, were you aware, in general, of all the kinds of research that was going on through the AEC at Rochester, or was it As I remember, we did have to have [security] clearances in those days. I don’t know if you’ve ever been to Rochester, but they had an annex that was certified as a classified facility; we had to have a badge to enter the facility. My lab was not in there; it was in the medical school. Of course, the teachers did have access to information that was generated there on biological effects. A lot of the research was done on uranium toxicology* at that time. Probably more of it was done there than anywhere. There were also studies on polonium. I believe that was done in conjunction with the people at Mound Laboratories, maybe even with people at other AEC sites. The first I knew of that work was probably in 1950. I know that Dr. Stannard had contacts with other scientists doing studies on polonium. I did not get involved in that. Some of the other graduate students did work on polonium. Even before then, one of the emphases was on inhalation toxicology studies. They had set up a program to look at the toxicity of various substances in the respiratory tract. That was a main part of our classes in toxicology. We actually did experiments where we exposed rats to chloroform3and various toxic substances. In those days asbestos was of interest. I don’t know that it was of interest [because of experiences that occurred] during the war in the ship yards or just pecause it was known as] a potential occupational hazard. Another material that they were working on there was [the metallic element] beryllium. As I remember, that stemmed more from the exposure of people from fluorescent tubes than it did from the wartime experience. In those early days, the fluorescent tubes contained beryllium oxide, or it may have been another beryllium compound. I remember stories about deaths occurring not only to workers, but also to the families of people working in the beryllium industry. There was one plant somewhere in Ohio where beryllium toxicity was a serious problem. They set up an alpha lab in Rochester when I was there. It was the first program that really focused on the inhalation of alpha-emitting4compounds. Some graduate students worked on alpha emitters, but I did not get involved in that area. ‘ the branch of pharmacology dealing with the effects, antidotes, detection, etc. of poisons a colorless, volatile liquid, CHCI,, used chiefly in medicine as a solvent and formerly as an anesthetic emitting helium nuclei during decay, possibly causing tissue damage if ingested or inhaled

Page 9

Setting: October 14, 1994, Richland, Washington Interviewers: David Harrell …