RADIATION PROTECTION CRITERIA AND TUESDAY, MAY 24, 1960 CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES, The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10 a.m., in room P-63, the Capitol, Hon. Chet Holifield (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. Present: Representatives Holifield, Price, Van Zandt, Hosmer, and Bates; Senators Aiken and Bennett. Also present: James T. Ramey, executive director; Carey Brewer and George F. Murphy, professional staff members; Richard T. Lunger, Hal Hollister, and James E. Turner, technical consultants, Joint Committee on Atomic Energy. Representative HOLIFIELD. The committee will be in order. Today the Special Subcommittee on Radiation of the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy begins hearings on the basis and use of radiation protection criteria and standards. The subject of radiation has been a continuing concern of the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy since the committee was established in 1946. For more than a decade, members of this committee have participated in and vigorously supported the expansion of nuclear technology and the orderly application of this technology to peaceful as well as military uses. We have endeavored to insure that the full benefits of our nuclear resources will be enjoyed by the American people. At the same time, we have made every effort to understand and provide safeguards against the hazards posed by the increased development and use of these resources. The work of the Special Radiation Subcommittee has been concerned mainly with the problems arising from the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and to some extent from the radiation hazards associated with military uses of nuclear energy. Related subjects of investigation and study by the Joint Committee in the past include the fallout hearings of 1957 and 1959 and the 1959 hearings on waste disposal, Federal-State relationships, and workmen's compensation. One of the subjects often mentioned but never fully explored in the course of these past studies and investigations is that of "Radiation Protection Criteria and Standards." The hearings beginning today are intended to cover this subject as thoroughly as possible, with particular emphasis on the basis and use of criteria and standards in radiation protection. Many of the RADIATION PROTECTION subject fields examined in previous hearings will be considered again, Much of the material on which these hearings are based is techni- In this connection, I am pleased to note that the witnesses scheduled to appear at these hearings are representative of the finest scientific and technical talent of our country. They have been carefully selected to insure that all sides of every major question at issue will be considered and that the viewpoint of different professional groups and disciplines will be expressed. To enable the witnesses to cover the entire subject of the hearings in the time available, and in an effort to sharpen the focus of the hearings, the Joint Committee has prepared and distributed to all witnesses a print of "Selected Materials on Radiation Protection Criteria and Standards: Their Basis and Use." This print was prepared with the assistance of a distinguished panel of experts who also served as a steering committee to assist in developing the general scope and outline of the hearings. The print contains a wealth of information, much of which is published for the first time. Attention should be called also to the recent memorandum submitted to the President by the Federal Radiation Council entitled "Radiation Protection Guidance for Federal Agencies." (See p. 120.) That memorandum, dated May 11, 1960, was approved by the President with a notation that it will be published in the Federal Register. Since the issuance of the Council memorandum, a background staff report, designated "Report No. 1" and dated May 13, 1960, has been released by the Council (App. 6, p. 623). These two documents were not included in the Joint Committee print of "Selected Materials," but we have asked our witnesses to be prepared to comment on their contents and meaning in these hearings. Representatives of the Atomic Energy Commission and the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, and the Chairman of the Federal Radiation Council will be asked to discuss the memorandum and staff report when they appear at later sessions of the hearings. I may say also that our witnesses have been urged to make their oral presentations as brief as possible so that sufficient time can be devoted to questions directed to the witnesses by the members and staff of the committee. More detailed prepared statements will be accepted for printing in full in the record of the hearings. In general, the hearings are planned to encompass four main topics: (1) "The Nature of Radiation Protection Standards" (introductory information); (2) "Activities of Federal, State, and Private Agencies in Radiation Protection and Relationships Among Agencies and Groups Concerned With Radiation Standards"; (3) "Concepts Underlying Radiation Protection Standards" (biological, social, and economic, and concepts of application); and (4) "Organizational, Administrative, and Legislative Relationships and Problems." 1 Also referred to as the "Preprint" by some witnesses. We hope these hearings will serve to clarify some of the confusion and misunderstanding by the public, as well as the scientific community, concerning the basis and use of radiation protection standards. I believe our print of "Selected Materials" has provided the means of a great deal of clarification already. It is also hoped that these hearings will help us achieve a better understanding of organizational arrangements at the Federal and State levels of government through which radiation protection standards are developed and applied. Much discussion is needed also on the question of relationships between various private organizations, such as the National Committee on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP) and the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP), and agencies of the Federal Government having important functions and duties in the radiation protection field. It is possible that the Joint Committee will want to consider at a later date ways in which Federal organization could be changed or modified, through legislation if necessary, to permit a more effective process for the development and application of radiation protection standards for use by Federal agencies and agency contractors. The Joint Committee has adopted a rule under which each witness will be permitted a maximum of 15 minutes to read his prepared statement without interruption subject to a few exceptions as to time, and one of those exceptions will be your presentation this morning, being the opening statement. You are not confined to the 15-minute time limitation, Dr. Parker. At the conclusion of each statement the witness will be available for questioning by the members and the staff. Before we hear our first witness, I would like to place in the record the Joint Committee press release, dated May 5, 1960, announcing these hearings, together with the outline of topics and schedule of witnesses. This also contains the membership of the steering committee who helped develop the scope of the hearings and the selection of witnesses. As in other hearings of this nature we will have a glossary of terms, which, I am sure, will be very useful to the layman reading this publication. (The material referred to follows. The "Glossary of Terms" will be found in App. 15, p. 791.) [No. 278. From the Office of the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy. For release to a.m. papers, May 5, 1960] JOINT COMMITTEE ON ATOMIC ENERGY ANNOUNCES HEARINGS ON BASIS AND USE OF RADIATION PROTECTION CRITERIA AND STANDARDS The Special Radiation Subcommittee of the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy will hold public hearings on radiation protection criteria and standards, it was announced today by Senator Clinton P. Anderson, chairman of the Joint Committee, and Congressman Chet Holifield, chairman of the Special Radiation Subcommittee. The hearings are scheduled to begin on May 24, 1960, and to extend through the first week in June. Congressman Holifield indicated that the main focus of the hearings will be to clarify some of the confusion and misunderstanding by the public and the scientific community concerning the basis and use of radiation standards. "Another purpose of the hearings," Congressman Holifield stated, "is to achieve a better understanding of how the Federal Government and the State governments are organized to develop and apply radiation protection standards." Congressman Holifield pointed out that several hearings conducted by the Joint Committee in recent years have considered radiation protection standards in connection with various aspects of the atomic energy program, but the concepts on which the standards are based and the manner in which they are applied have never been fully discussed in a public hearing. The previous Joint Committee hearings cited by Congressman Holifield were: "The Nature of Radioactive Fallout and Its Effects on Man" (1957). "Fallout From Nuclear Weapons Tests" (1959). "Industrial Radioactive Waste Disposal” (1959). "Federal-State Relationships in the Atomic Energy Field" (1959). "Employee Radiation Hazards and Workmen's Compensation" (1959). The forthcoming hearings will use the data collected in the earlier hearings as a point of departure and will focus more specifically on a discussion of radiation protection criteria and standards. In accordance with past practice, the scope of the hearings and the selection of witnesses have been developed with the assistance of a steering committee representing all aspects of this complicated subject. (See attached list of steering committee members.) Much of the background information for the hearings has been assembled in an advance committee print to which most of the scheduled witnesses and several Federal agencies have contributed. This volume, which will be available to the public within the next 2 weeks, will be distributed to all witnesses in advance of the hearings. It is anticipated that the material contained in the advance print will become a subject of extensive comment by the witnesses and questioning by the committee during the hearings. ATTACHMENT No. 1 JOINT COMMITTEE ON ATOMIC ENERGY-HEARINGS ON RADIATION PROTECTION CRITERIA AND STANDARDS: THEIR BASIS AND USE 10 a.m. formation." May 24-June 3, 1960 OUTLINE OF TOPICS AND SCHEDULE OF WITNESSES Tuesday, May 24 Topic I "The Nature of Radiation Standards: Introductory In Witnesses. Dr. H. M. Parker, manager, Hanford Laboratories Operation; Dr. Abel Wolman, head, Department of Sanitary Engineering and Water Resources, the Johns Hopkins University; Dr. Walter Selove, Department of Physics, University of Pennsylvania. 2 p.m. Topic I (continued). Witness. Mr. Lauriston Taylor, Chief, Radiation Physics Division, National Bureau of Standards. Roundtable on topic I.-Dr. Parker; Dr. Wolman; Dr. Selove; Mr. Taylor; Mr. James Terrill, Deputy Chief, Division of Radiological Health Services, Bureau of Standards; Dr. K. Z. Morgan, Director, Health Physics Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Dr. Charles R. Williams, assistant vice president, Liberty Mutual Life Insurance Co. Wednesday, May 25 10 a.m. Topic II-"Relationships Among Agencies and Groups Concerned With Radiation Standards." Witnesses.-Bureau of the Budget designated witness; Federal Radiation Council designated witness; Atomic Energy Commission designated witness; Department of Health, Education, and Welfare designated witness; Dr. Morris Kleinfeld, New York State Department of Labor; Dr. Williams. 2 p.m. Topic II (continued). Witnesses. Mr. William F. Finan, Assistant General Manager for Regulations and Safety, Atomic Energy Commission; Dr. John D. Porterfield, Deputy Surgeon General, U.S. Public Health Service; Dr. Francis Weber, Chief, Division of Radiological Health, U.S. Public Health Service; Mr. Albert Abrahams, New York State Department of Labor; Dr. Williams. Thursday, May 26 10 a.m. Topic III-A-“Biological Concepts Underlying Radiation Protection Standards." Witnesses.-Dr. G. Failla, director, Radiological Research Laboratory, Columbia University; Dr. James Crow, professor of genetics and zoology, University of Wisconsin; Dr. E. B. Lewis, professor of biology, California Institute of Technology. 2 p.m. Roundtable on Topic III-A : Witnesses.-Dr. Failla; Dr. Crow; Dr. Lewis; Dr. Clinton Powell, U.S. Public Health Service; Dr. K. Z. Morgan; Dr. Parker; Dr. Austin Brues, Argonne National Laboratory; Dr. J. Schubert, Division of Biological and Medical Research, Argonne National Laboratory. Tuesday, May 31 10 a.m. Topic III-B-"Social and Economic Concepts Underlying Radiation Protection Standards." Witnesses.-Dr. Russell Morgan, radiologist in chief, the Johns Hopkins University; Mr. W. A. McAdams, manager, industry standards, General Electric Co., Schenectady; Atomic Energy Commission designated witness; Dr. J. Healy, Hanford Laboratories, G.E., Richland, Wash. 2 p.m. Roundtable on Topic III-B: Witnesses. Dr. Russell Morgan; Mr. McAdams; Atomic Energy Commission witness; Dr. Healy; Dr. Francis Weber, Division of Radiological Health, U.S. Public Health Service; Dr. Selove; Dr. Williams; Dr. Wolman; Mr. Alex Sommerville, Research Laboratory, General Motors Corp., Warren, Mich.; Dr. Ralph E. Lapp, nuclear consultaant, Mr. Andrew Biemiller, legislative representative, AFL-CIO. Wednesday, June 1 10 a.m. Topic III-C-"Concepts of Practical Application." Witnesses.-Dr. Richard Chamberlain, University of Pennsylvania; Mr. Duncan Holaday, Chief, Occupational Health Field Station, U.S. Public Health Service, Salt Lake City, Utah; Dr. Weber. 2 p.m. Topic III-C (continued). Witnesses.-Dr. Paul C. Tompkins, Scientific Director, U.S. Naval Radiological Defense Laboratory; Dr. Forrest Western, Deputy Director, Office of Health and Safety, U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. Roundtable on topic III-C.-Dr. Chamberlain; Mr. Holaday; Dr. Weber; Dr. Tompkins; Dr. Western; Mr. William Harris, Health and Safety Laboratory, U.S. Atomic Energy Commission; Dr. Schubert; Dr. Healy. 10 a.m. tionships." Thursday, June 2 Topic IV "Organizational, Administrative, and Legislative RelaWitnesses.-Hon. John A. McCone, Chairman, U.S. Atomic Energy Commission; Hon. Arthur S. Flemming, Secretary, U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare; Hon. Frank B. Berry, Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health and Medical); Bureau of the Budget representative. 2 p.m. Roundtable on Topic IV: Witnesses.-Dr. Selove; Mr. Oliver Townsend, coordinator, New York State office of atomic energy; Dr. Parker; Prof. David Cavers, associate dean, Harvard University Law School; Dr. Williams; Mr. Charles Schwan, Council of State Governments. |