Radiology and Medicine at the University of California Medical School in San Francisco.
Owing to the fact that Doctor Hamilton and I hold staff appointments in the Medical
School, it has been possible to set these studies up on a non-project basis. They are
centered around facilities within the department of Radiology andat the Laboratory of
Experimental Oncology at Laguna Honda Home. Those efforts do not receive A.E.C.
financial support but are maintained on research grants (approximately $50,000 yearly)
from other sources. It is obvious, however, that data gained upon the fate of test doses of
variousfission products in man,is of interest to the Atomic Energy Commission.” Nonproject 48A-I personellisted at the end of the letter are Harry Foreman, M.D. (Crocker
Lab), and S.P. Masouredis, M.D. (Laguna Honda Home).
folder 21: Nov 28, 1950 letter to Shields Warren from Hamilton concern his ideas for the
meeting on Dec. 8, which Hamilton will not be ableto attend: (p. 2-3) "It seems to me
thatit is very desirable to determine in man the range oftotal body radiation required to
induce an appreciable decrease in his capacity to execute intricate tasks for which
physical well-being is essential. If this be done, it should in my estimation be not only
total body radiation, but from gamma raysin the | to 2 MeV energylevel. For both
politic and scientific reasons, I think it would be advantageous to secure what data can be
obtained by using large monkeys such as chimpanzees which are somewhat more
responsive than the lower mammals. Scientifically, the use of such animals bears the
disadvantage of the fact that they are considerably smaller than most adult humansand a
critical evaluation of their subjective symptomsis infinitely more difficult. If this is to be
done in humans,I feel that those concerned in the Atomic Energy commission would be
subject to considerable criticism, as admittedly this would have a little of the Buchenwald
touch. The volunteers should be on a freer basis than inmates of a prison. Atthis point, I
haven't any very constructive ideas as to where one would turn for such volunteers should
this plan be put into execution. There is much to recommendthe use of adult males past
the age of 50 in good physical status. However, one can't be certain that these people
would respond in a similar manner to the 20 to 40 age group. In concluding,the picture
as I see it is to ascertain whatis the disabling range and factors which mightinfluence it.”
Carton 32
folder 21, Biomedical Research 50-51: There is some exchange between C.E. Andersen
and Hamilton concerning the search for agents which might be useful in the removal of
plutonium andfission products from the body. Hamilton sent Andersen a memo (March
14, 51), summarizing the activities of Harry Foreman, an AEC postdoc, doing work on
this project (p. 6). He also mentioned his collaboration with Dr. Howard Myersat the UC
School of Dentistry on the use of radiofluorineas a tag to determine the retention ofthis
element on human teeth, to see if sodium fluoride did reduce cavities. in folder 22,.
Biomed. Research 51-52, Hamilton sent Andersen another report (May 3, 51) on the
biological effects of heavy nuclei. He stated (p. 2): "The biological systems to be
subjected to this type of radiation presently considered are the puch of the hamster,
shaved skin of small laboratory animals, and transplantable tumorcells. If the results on
animals show unusual interest, it might be desirable to explore the possibility of
irradiation of small areas of human skin, notably that of the forearm. It is believed that
this could be done quite safely since the general radiation level of the cyclotron under
such conditions is quite small. .... Again, I should like to emphasize that any human
Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory
Archives and Records Office
Human Radiation Experiments Search and Retrieval Project
Anna Berge Research Notes
Electronic DocumentTitle: Bancroft/EOL
April 4, 1994
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