Copy No,
18
of
21
Series
A,
ATOMLC ENERGY COMMISSION
REVISIONOF THE HANDBOOK "THE EFFECTS OF ATOMIC WEAPONS"
Reports to the General Manager
by the Acting Director of Military Application
THE PROBLEM
1.
To cxsidis the declassification of effects information
for ylei’s up cto 100 MT for inelusion in the revision of the
handbook "The Effects of Atomic Weapons", and to consider a reply
to ODM letter dated April 15, 1955.
.
SUMMARY,
2,
By action on AEC 762/2 at Meeting 1082 on May 18, 1955,
the Commission approved declassification of a number of items so
that such information could be included in a revision of the
handbook "The Effects of Atomic Weapons".
However, the require-
ment for projecting such information up to yields of 100 MT was
questioned since the President, after Operation CASTLE,
stated*
"We know of no military requirement that could lead us into the
production of a bigger bomb than has already been preduced" and
because the inclusion of such information in the handbook would
probably lead to a general assumption by the public that such
weapons were beingstockpiled despite the President's statement,
“Statement made during Press Conference April 7, 1954,
Under
White House rules, the President must not be quoted directly.
Therefore, this statement from an unofficial transcript must
be paraphrased before any use is made of it,
“-RESTRICTERD-DATAThis document contains restricted data ar
defined in the Atomic Energy Act of 1954,
Tts transmittal cr the disclosure of its
contents in any manner to an unauthorized
person is prohibited.