UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT
Memorandum
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFARE
- PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE
403480
TO
: Dr. Melvin W. Carter
DATE: July 22, 1969
Director
FROM
Refer to:
RMC:EvdsS
: Chief, Radiation Medicine
Southwestern Radiological Health Laboratory
SUBJECT : "Evidence for Low-Level Radiation Effects on the Human Embryo and Fetus,"
a paper by Dr. E. J. Sternglass (Dept. of Radiology, U. of Pittsburgh)
July 10, 1969, the LAS VEGAS SUN printed an article by Joyce Egginton entitled
"Life Ends a Generation After Bomb, Doctor Says'' datelined New York.
Other
newspapers have carried similar articles. This paper by Dr. Sternglass has
been presented, at least its basic aspects, several times by Dr. Sternglass
over the past year.
The basic thesis for the newspaper headlines is:
(a) present fallout has
caused a marked increase in fetal, and neonatal mortality, and a decrease
in birth weights; therefore, (b) the fallout from a nuclear war would be —
many orders of magnitude greater, consequently the fetal and neonatal mortality would increase proportionately and effectively eliminate the next
generation.
The material referred to in this article was, in part, presented by Dr.
Sternglass at the Ninth Annual Hanford Biology Symposium, May 5-8, 1969. (1)
This paper engendered considerable heated discussion and rebuttal.
Dr. Sternglass first started his work on this theory by a study of the TroyAlbany area following a "rainout"” of fallout material in 1953. He was primarily interested in leukemia at that time and reported a ''dramatic" increase
in leukemia following the fallout (several years later) as compared with prefallout cases.. Much of the discussion at the Ninth Annual Hanford Biology
Symposium refuted the conclusions of Dr. Sternglass, and Dr. Sternglass did
not make toserious an attempt at rebuttal of this refutation. The other
data (discussed below) could not be refuted at the time and, I believe, should
receive a high priority for investigation.
Dr. Sternglass did a statistical study of health department reports of fetal,
neonatal and postnatal mortality rates for each state of the United States
and several foreign countries. Analysis was made of mortality rates during
the period immediately prior to the TRINITY shot (1945), the period between
the TRINITY shot and subsequent atmospheric testing, and the mortality rates
during and after the period of atmospheric testing. Pre-1945 rates were
considered the base line.
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