cells lining the intestinal tract are particularly vulnerable Research shows that workers at DOE's nuclear facilities have suffered the effects of radiation. At a Subcommittee on Energy, Nuclear Proliferation, and Government Processes hearing on June 17, 1986, Robert Alvarez of the Environmental Policy Institute of Washington, D.C., testified on DOE worker populations who "are experiencing greater than expected risks of dying from malignant cancers and certain non-malignant diseases." According to Mr. Alvarez, DOE-funded studies indicated that twelve populations of DOE nuclear workers at several locations were experiencing significant health problems and that eight of the twelve populations were found to have excessive cancer death rates. DOE conducts or sponsors the largest portion of the research into the health effects of ionizing radiation. The implications of this fact has led to controversy. According to the Interagency Task Force's 1979 Report: Some members of the public perceive a conflict between DOE's role as the primary sponsor of research into the biological effects of ionizing radiation and its roles as a developer and promoter of nuclear energy and as an employer, through contractors, of workers exposed to radiation during the production of nuclear weapons. Recently, controversy has arisen over these multiple roles, and these critics have questioned DOE's objectivity, suggesting that the major responsibility for research on health effects should be transferred from DOE to HEW [Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, now Health and Human Services]. These suggestions are based on the assertion that the credibility of the Government's research efforts would be improved by separating primary responsibility for research on health effects from the agency responsible for developing nuclear energy and technologies and assigning it to an agency whose mission is the protection of public health. By contrast, others have questioned the wisdom of such a transfer, asserting that on-going programs should not be disrupted. In the 100th Congress, the Committee on Governmental Affairs, held a hearing on June 17, 1987, at which Dr. Philip Landrigan, Director, Division of Environmental and Occupational Medicine, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, testified. Dr. Landrigan stated: DOE has been undertaking epidemiologic studies for a number of years, some by contractors and consultants, such as Dr. Mancuso at Pittsburgh, some in-house, such as the studies that they have undertaken at Hanford. There have been serious concerns raised in the past about the oversight of these contracts. Dr. Landrigan, who as a reviewer of DOE studies, has found the majority of these studies to be technically competent, acknowledged: These studies are flawed and tainted all too often in the eyes of the public, and that tainting derives from the fact that DOE is in a dual role in sponsoring these studies. On the one hand, they are advocates for nuclear production and on the other hand they are attempting to protect their workers. This is a position that I think is inherently untenable. In fact, I went so far in my testimony to suggest that it would actually be to the benefit of DOE and to their scientists to be removed from that position of an inherent conflict of interest and to be put into a situation where their credibility would be safeguarded by an independent advisory board. Dr. Landrigan supports S. 1085 and in particular Title IV. At the June 17, 1987, hearing he stated: With regard to Title IV, the Radiation Study Advisory In the 99th Congress, Dr. Alvin W. Trivelpiece, Director of DOE's Office of Energy Research, testified before the Subcommittee on Energy, Nuclear Proliferation, and Government Processes on June 17, 1986 on the Radiation Reorganization Act of 1985. Dr. Trivelpiece defended DOE's health research role, stating: The issue of DOE's role in funding radioepidemiologic research of the Department's workers is confounded somewhat by a misunderstanding of the respective roles of the Office of Energy Research, which I head, and DOE's Office of the Assistant Secretary for Environment, Safety and Health. My Office is not responsible for the operation of nuclear materials facilities, nor for the health and safety of employees in those facilities, nor for the standards which govern occupational exposures in those facilities. We are the research arm of the Department. Dr. Trivelpiece conceded, however, that some had serious reservations about DOE health studies. He stated: There is a concern that perhaps these studies aren't as objective as they should be within the Department. So I would be willing, in terms of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, to try to put together an appropriate outside body to review what we are doing and to determine whether or not what we are doing is independent, free, and un fettered scientific inquiry on cause-and-effect relationships In the 100th Congress DOE Undersecretary Joseph F. Salgado went further. At the Governmental Affairs Committee's hearing on June 17, 1987, the Under Secretary testified: DOE believes that its radiation epidemiology studies have been and continue to be carried out in a scientifically sound and objective manner with adequate outside peer review. However, if public confidence in these studies could be improved by an independent advisory panel, DOE has no objections. Because DOE studies the health impact of its own production of nuclear materials and weapons, DOE has dual responsibilities that have created public concern as to the integrity and value of the health effects studies conducted by DOE. The Committee believes that even the appearance of a conflict of interest in the Department of Energy needs to be addressed. The Committee also believes that there is a need for public health authorities to be able to direct research efforts on the health effects of radiation so that effective means of protecting the public and workers against radiation can be developed and implemented. Also, the Committee has determined that despite years of study about the health effects of radiation exposure from a number of sources, such as nuclear weapons manufacture, nuclear reactors, and radioactive wastes, many health issues remain unresolved. The mechanisms of the causation of disease from an epidemiological, Toxicological, and clinical perspective need to be further examined and better understood. Title IV of this legislation intends to correct these situations. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY Title IV of S. 1085 refines the concepts of three bills considered in previous Congresses: S. 1938 from the 96th Congress, S. 2284 from the 98th Congress, and S. 525 from the 99th Congress. S. 1938, the Fedeal Radiation Protection Management Act of 1979, was introduced by Senator Glenn on October 24, 1979. Its primary purposes was to ensure adequate protection of workers, the general public, and the environment from harmful radiation exposure; to establish mechanisms for effective coordination among the various Federal agencies involved in radiation protection activities; and to develop a coordinated radiation research program. The bill would have created two Federal interagency groups: the Federal Council on Radiation Protection and the Federal Conference on Research into the Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation. The first group would have been chaired by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency who would have coordinated Federal regulation of radiation. The second group would have been chaired by the Director of the National Institutes of Health and would have overseen Federal involvement into the biological and health effecs of ionizing radiation. Both groups would have had two Presidentially-appointed public members. The two groups would have been functionally interactive. S. 2284, the Federal Radiation Protection Management Act, was introduced by Senator Glenn on March 25, 1982. This bill would have established a Federal Council on Radiation Protection composed of the Secretaries of Defense, Energy, Health and Human Service (HHS), Labor, Transportation, Agriculture, Commerce, and Housing and Urban Development, as well as the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, a representative of the Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors, and two citizens. The Secretary of HHS would have been Chairman of the Council. The Chairman of the Council would have established a working group on the reduction and control of occupational exposure to radiation and a working group on medical radiation. An Advisory Group to the medical radiation working group would have been established. The bill would have transferred to the Radiation Protection Council radiation-related authorities granted to the Environmental Protection Agency. Finally, the bill would have established a Federal research conference on research into the biological effects of radiation. S. 525, the Radiation Reorganization Act of 1985, was introduced by Senator Glenn on February 27, 1985, in an effort to reorganize the Federal radiation research and regulatory establishment. S. 525 and its companion House bill (H.R. 1287) would have transferred to the Secretary of HHS the authority of the Secretary of Energy to conduct epidemiological studies of the effects of radiation. The Secretary of HHS would have exercised authority to conduct studies of the health effects of radiation in places of employment through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control. The bill would have directly transferred personnel, records, obligations, commitments, and unexpended appropriations from the Department of Energy to the Department of Health and Human Services. S. 525 would also have established an Advisory Council consisting of seven members appointed by the Secretary of HHS. Members would be individuals who were expert in the conduct of epidemiology studies of the health effects of radiation, individuals who represented public interest groups concerned about the health effects of radiation, and public health officials who deal with radiation health effects. Title IV of S. 1085 would create a Radiation Study Advisory Board. The Committee heard testimony at its June 17, 1987 hearing on the need for this Title of the legislation. VI. HEARINGS The Committee on Governmental Affairs held four days of hearings on the need for independent, outside oversight of safety and health at nuclear facilities and other legislation addressing safety and health issues at these facilities. The following individuals provided testimony: MARCH 13, 1987-REACTOR SAFETY ISSUES AT DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY FACILITIES J. Dexter Peach, Assistant Comptroller General, U.S. General Accounting Office. Louis H. Roddis, Jr., Consulting Engineer. Keith O. Fultz, Associate Director, U.S. General Accounting Office. Dr. Forrest J. Remick, Vice Chairman, Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Mary L. Walker, Assistant Secretary for Environment, Safety and Public Health, U.S. Department of Energy. MARCH 17, 1987-ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES AT DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY NUCLEAR FACILITIES Keith O. Fultz, Associate Director, U.S. General Accounting Office. Anthony J. Celebrezze, Jr., Attorney General, State of Ohio. Roger Stanley, Hanford Project Manager, State of Washington Department of Ecology. Lewis Bedenbaugh, Director, Division of Facility Compliance, Bureau of Solid and Hazardous Wastes, South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control. Dr. J. Winston Porter, Assistant Administrator for Solid Waste and Emergency Response, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Mary L. Walker, Assistant Secretary for Environment, Safety and Public Health, U.S. Department of Energy. JUNE 16, 1987-S. 1085, THE NUCLEAR PROTECTIONS AND SAFETY ACT OF 1987 Senator Brock Adams, State of Washington. Representative Norman D. Dicks, State of Washington. J. Dexter Peach, Assistant Comptroller General, U.S. General Accounting Office. Dr. John Ahearne, Vice President, Resources for the Future, Inc. Dan W. Reicker, Attorney, Natural Resources Defense Council. J. Winston Porter, Assistant Administrator, Solid Waste and Emergency Response, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. JUNE 17, 1987-S. 1085, THE NUCLEAR PROTECTIONS AND SAFETY ACT OF 1987 Joseph F. Salgado, Under Secretary, U.S. Department of Energy. Joseph M. Misbrener, President, Oil, Chemical, and Atomic Workers International Union. James D. Kelly, President, Local 8031, United Steelworkers of America. A. L. O'Connor, President, District 34, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. Donald Elisburg, Counsel, Industrial Union Department, AFLCIO. Dr. Philip Landrigan, Director, Division of Environmental and Occupational Medicine, Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Dr. James Melius, Medical Consultant, Division of Environmental Health Assessment, New York State Department of Health. Frank White, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labor. Dr. Edward Baker, Acting Deputy Director, National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. |