AOR ZQoPZ 4° & a XS OFFICE MEMORANDUM 20.00. UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT TOs Fred C, Schlemmer, Manager, HDO DATE: FROM: Lauriston S. Taylor, Chief, Applied Biophysics SUBJECT: RADIATION EXPOSURE RECORDS January 3, 1949 Branch, Div. of Biol. and Medicine, Wash., D. C. The following statements are part of a far-reaching program. which the Division of Biology and Medicine would like to uniertake. We would appreciate your giving this memorandum wide distribution throughout your own organization and among all of your contractors. We have taken the liberty of transmitting a similar memorandum to the Manager of the Schenectady Area. We have been asked to give consideration to the posaibility of establishing a standard system for reporting radiation exposures from the various 4EC installations. The purpose of such a propesal ie to develop and maintain pertinent information on radiation exposures for future correlation with medical data. This is primarily to be part ef a long-range scientific experiment in which we can visualise the necessity for reviewing such recorda over the next 50 years. Aecardingly, it is highly desirable that all such information maintain a certain degree of uniformity both in detail presentation andin the general correlation of information presented. The only immediate values in maintaining a standard reporting system would lie in providing a source of information from which could be deduced over-all trends in the number and degree of severity of radiation exposures. Any standardized reporting system would serve its normal purpose of providing your ow organization with the necessary information for all individuals whether or not they may have ever received enough radiation at any time to require medical attention. The records of each institution should be prepared with a view that they may be called into use at any time within the next 50 years, and hence their proper storage is a problem to be considered. It has been suggested by one of the Directed Operations that we atandardize all health physics records throughout the Commission. We are not in a position to pass on this since at the moment we are uncertain as to what would be involved in such a move. It would be ' most helpfyl if you could send this office a brief summary of what information you keep, how it is kept, and copies of your various data and report forms. We would also apprecsiatd any of your comments and ideas on how the objective outlined above can beat be accomplished. It may be that the forms on which the infornation isnow kept. bythe various sites will be adequate for the job without any changes. In undertaking the problem we would like, however, +o assure.ourselves of this fact by stutying the material.fram each site. BEST COPY AVAILABLE