Copy No.
APCMIC Beet ul “6c.iat
ION
WASHINGTON 25, D, e
July 12
1956
Dear Governor Stassen:
In accordance with your request made in the meeting of
the President's Special Committee on Disarmament Problems cn
+
June 15, 1956 and confirmed in your memorandum of June 19 to
Mr. Foster, the Atomic Energy Commission has undertaken an
analysis of the following reports:
a
1. The Biological Effects of Atomic Radiation, a study
by the National Academy of Sciences.
2. The United Kingdom Medical Research Council report,
The Hazards to Man of Nuclear and Allied Radiations.
3. An account of the Norwegian matter.
4, Dr, H. J. Muller's article, Race Poisoning by
Radiation.
Prinary attention is devoted to the two basic documents-- “ne
reports of the National Academy of Sciences and the United
Kingdom Medical Research Council,
These are competent, well
written revorts and we trust that an. increased public understanding of the effects of atomic radiation will result frcm
their publication.
We note, however, that there were no major
data presented in either the National Academy of Sciences report
cr the United Kingdom Medical Research Council report not
alreedy known to the Atomic Energy Commission, and previously
reported in open literature.
Except for some difference in the Strontium-90 data, the
data, conclusions and recommendations of both reports were in
good agreement considering the complexity of the problems and
the independence of the two studies.
The reports peconzented
an additional restriction as to the toval radiation exposure
to be permitted over a number of years
It is not anticipetcd
that the reports will create any major " change in our pesitic
regarding our weapons testing positior or the Atcms-for-Fesce
program.
Both the NAS and the UK reports consider the genetics
sPecct of radiation as being Paranount .
It 1s with this factor
in mind
thet upper lirite
co whole podily e::rsil0.l
A
rinecivally