45 1S NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF ATOMICVETERANS IN] f\ f\ W WASHINGTON OFFICE « SUITE 606, 236 MASSACHUSETTS AVENUE, N.E., WASHINGTON, D.C. 20002 © (202) 543-7711 PREPARED STATEMENT OF GLENN H. ALCALAY NAAV SCIENTIFIC AND MEDICAL ADVISOR TO THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON VETERANS’ AFFAIRS MAY 24, 1983 MR. CHAIRMAN AND MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE: It has been nearly four years since this Committee convened for hearings to investigate matters pertaining to the health and well-being of the approximately 250,000 ex-servicemen who partook in above-ground nuclear weapons experiments between 1945 and 1962. Since the time of the last hearing in 1979, many critical factors have emerged which have direct bearing on the question of the relationship between exposure to ionizing radiation and adverse health effects, especially in relation to those effects which have a latency period of several decades and beyond. One of the most important discoveries in recent years centers around the interpretation of Japanese A-bomb studies. Most of the national and international scientific bodies conducting radiation research rely almost exclusively on these Japanese data, including the National Academy of Science's Biological