In summary, the report was totally reassuring as regards nuclear weapons testing, it did not attempt to face up to the problems of an atomic war, and firally it was prececupied with the potential hazards inherent in a developing era of large scale atomic power, Tnis Committee consisted of geneticists, one authority on radiaticr. pathology, ons authority on radiologi sal physics and radiation hazard control, and a mathematician, Dr. Warren Weaver of the Recksfeller Founda*ion, whe cheired th2 grceup. They ccnsidered the genetic effects against the background of presert kniwledge soncerning radiation as a cause cf mutations in micro-organisms, plants, insects, and mise, bearing in mind the tendency of medern civilization t+ sonserve ail human life whether perfect or imperfect, They call attention to the perhaps greater importance of matations whizh are reiatively inapparent such as de= fects in resistance to disease processes, decreased fertility and curtailed life span, and impaired physical and mental vigor, The more dramatis mutations, monsters, still births, and early develop— mental defezts leading to abortion and miscarriage are not apt to be passed on to another gereratior, The apparently relatively negative results cf the genetizs survey of the survivors’ first genera- tion at Hiroshima and Nagasaki serve to emphasize the validity of this point of view, This study demonstrated that with the methods used and the radiation dosages received, the heavily irradiated surviving population was not sufficiently large for it to be possible to demonstrate a statistically signifizant difference in the number of mutations in the offsprings of irradiated parents as compared with offsprings of non-irradiated control parents, It did not prove in any sense cf the word that there was no geneticeffect. Ss Following a general discussion of the mechanisms of genetic change especially as produced by radiation, both natural and artificial, the committee made certain reccmmendations, In doing so they used natural background radiation exposure (i.e., radiation from coé- Woot mic rays, igr#ous rocks, “radium and radiopctassium in our bodies, etc.) and the so-s:alled spontarecus mutation rate as base lines, In addition. they were unanimous that no increase in the spontaneous mutations rate was desirable and that all radiation exposure to the germ cells at whatever rate of exposure did indeed insrease the mutation rate in proportion to the total exposure ressived at the time of conception. Consequently they stated that all radiation exposure to the gonads was detrimental and consequently radiation exposures should be kept at the minimum consistent with the overall needs of a scciety. They then observed that half of the American children were born of parents approximately 30 years of age or less, -3- REPRODUCEDTF eee They noted Ce ne Meatce a SVEN _ eee