a 4 a. . tii we . vee a me PUREn} Serg ' 2 na 2 a . _ Cs . re >e mec : ge ee ' og & Ye 2 4 1 i ‘ 4 qd. “be . Page ee * 3 L ac 1 a . ee ; _¢ A SECTION Il. GENERALEVALUATIONS » A ekg " u " 3 oe : ren, ye 4 radiation exposure has received the greates! attention. ’ as the datatand their evaluation given ubove indicate, the has been a:resatively low degree of risk associated with py “Bae te ' | and the Japanese fishermen), then whyhay there been se my concern expressed? There are probably several reasons. : a very-small fraction of those received Cros natural ba 4 : a wtee raed Be ae aif i |i 14 } if -f $=. f ae ! oe | a, oe a ct, _ . i ' Sk ; r The decision to conduct nuclear weapons(esis for the defen of our country was made at the highest level of our Gover ment. The Atomic Energy Commission was charged with ¢ responsibility for currying out the program. ‘The AEC soug and followed the best advice both from within and outside t Guveenment’in the conduct of new und potentially hazarde operations. The record, sa summarized above, must speak | itself ag-tu potential risks incurred to the public in the (ulf ment of a mission essential to national security, of pil the ealth aspects of nuclear woupus testing, that atmospheric tests (except for the fallout on ihe Marshalls Firstly, whereas the potential radiation cxjynures are of ground:scurces, they are, of course, adddifticiud amounts. Becondiy,'in the absence of positive prowl! otherwise ¢ prudent assumption is accepted that for every small ineremg of radiationexposure there is a currespoudisg increment biological effect (“linear” concept)— ratherthar che “threshol concept where a certuin total radiation dose must be recely before irreparable damage occurs. Based on thia and off assumptions, admissible theoretical calculations can be ma as to the potential number of penetic mutations, of cas of leukemia, etc, that could result from fallout. ‘This ling concept leads axiomatically to the situation of there being sharp dividing line below which there is voriplete safoty a above which there is @ serious hazard. Maciution procertt wuides, therefore, must be derived on sone vdditiongl bay as nuted next. Thirdly, there has been sure misinterpretatiion of the rad tlen protection guides. The wee of the bnew concept leay little choice for deriving radiation protection joodes, Lo. -the must be a balancing of the “benefits” witicionted from a atomic energy program, whether It be for iciimal poseetty