Since July 1, 1950, SFO developments andachievements in which this office has participated have been numerous. Many were initiated and/or handled by this office, the more significant of which are briefly summarized below. he Test Damage Claims During the first Nevada test series it was determined that blast damage claims should be investigated and, when justified, settled promptly. It was concluded that an I administrative finding of liability under the Tort Claims Act could properly be made without embarrassment. The AEC cleared the SFOO-proposed action with the Justice Department and the General Accounting Office, and SFOO payment was approved in advance by the AEC, . i A contract was entered into with General Adjustment Bureau, a corporation furnishing adjustment services to participating insurance carriers, and initial administrative arrangements made by which normal adjustment procedures were adapted to Government administrative requirements. Because the Justice Department intends to urge the courts to adopt a different in- terpretation of the Tort Claims Act, in early 1952 a statute was drafted under which SFOO authority to pay certain claims would be unquestionable. mended Congressional action. The Commission has recom- Opinions have been rendered or other participation undertaken on all unique claims, particularly those alleged to have resulted from radiation. California Employees Retirement Funds In 1951, a memberof the staff conceived the idea of attempting to persuade California to return contributions made by the AEC through the University of California to the California State Employees Retirement System for employees who worked for the University at Sandia Base prior to the time Sandia Corporation took over. In July 1952, primarily as a result of the efforts of this office, the State Employees Retirement System returned an amount of $399, 751.49 for the benefit of Sandia Corporation employees formerly employed by the University. Since there was no legal claim to this money, the payment was made in accordance with an Act of the California Legislature, this office assisting in its passage. Construction Contractor Appeals Owing to the lack of personnel in the Counsel's office at Los Alamos, the Albuquerque office has handled all construction and architect-engineer contract matters for SFO, including Los Alamos. A large construction program in Los Alamos, the construction at Pantex, Rocky Flats, and Las Vegas have resulted in numerous claims and appeals by lump-sum construction contractors. With the increased familiarity of SFO lump-sum contractors with the AEC appeal procedures, the frequency and size of these appeals has increased greatly during the three-year period. Further, the practice of retaining legal counsel to prosecute the appeals has developed and become standard. This office has represented SFO contracting officers in approximately 30 appeals during the period, and on June 30, 1953, approximately 20 additional appeals were pending or about to be taken. The amount of money involved in the appeals handled during the three-year period was more than $500,000, and the amount involved in the appeals pending or imminent at the end of that period was more than $200, 000. TOE/ALO 128 S32 i