UNCLASSIFIED
April 18, 1957
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE --
e
A special’ Subcommittee of the Joint Committee on Atomic
Energy will.hold public hearings on the problem of radioactive
, fallout from nuclear weapon explosions beginning May 27 and
"extending. through June 7, it was announced today. Representa-
tive Chet Holifield (D.~Cal.) has been named Chairman of the
Subcommittee.
The hearings will cover in detail the whole fallout
cycle from its inception in the detonation of nuclear weapons,
through its dissemination in the atmosphere and descent to
the earth, and finally to its uptake and effects on human
_ beings, animals and vegetation.
Experts from the major scientific areas involved will be invited to present testimony
before the Committee.
The hearings will also be open to
public witnesses who wish to appear or submit a statement for
the record.
Among the topics of particular interest to be discussed
at the hearings’ are the questions of how much radioactive
;
debris is being scattered throughout the atmosphere by nuclear
weapons, the genetic effects of radiation and their meaning
for future generations, the relationship of strontium 90 uptake
in the human body to bone cancer and leukemia, and the effects
of radiation on human longevity.
Discussion will include the
“phenomenon of radiation damage, how it is measured, and how
tolerance standards are established.
Following discussion of
these matters, an attempt will be made to see what projections
‘can be made-of the effects of continued testing of nuclear
-weapons at various rates.
In commenting on the forthcoming hearings, Representative Holifield stated:
"I am hopeful that the coming hearings will serve to
give us all, both Congress and the public at large, a better
understanding of the fallout question and will help clear up
existing confusion over the character and dimensions of the
problem.
The Joint Committee has for some months been preparing for the hearings and has been consulting with experts
from the major fields affected in order to develop a useful
framework for the hearings. I believe this preparation will
be useful in ensuring that we cover the ground thoroughly and
objectively.
“One of the major problems in previous discussions," he
said, "has been that the Congress and the public have been
snowed under by a.welter of uncoordinated information and
selentific terminology without having an adequate frame of
reference for their guidance.
Chief purpose of the hearings,"
he added “is to provide such a frame of reference through
presentation of scientific information in a form which is
‘readily understandable to the layman as well as the scientist.
We also wish to determine,” he said,
"what research work is
being done in this field by.the AEC and others, and whether
the present level of this research effort is. adequate."
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* From the Office of thé
; Joint Committee on Atomic Energy