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. BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE .
Structures Test Planning Si
,
The Committee on Structures Test Planning and Screening* has examined the status of
the test reports resulting from the civil effects test program mentioned above, has de-
termined the status of test items proposed but not included in the last test series, and has
evaluated civilian agency requirements for data to be secured in possible future tests.
Estimating the probable effects of atomic aerial attack on water supply and piping, office
buildings, hospitals, and residences is the primary future requirement, Important also are
the incidence and spread of fire, possible contamination of plants through blast pressure
on ventilating systems, and development of data on the adequacy of entrances to group”
shelters. However, there are at present no plans for another continental civiltest series
in the near future.
Proj ect GABRIEL iz
;
Project GABRIEL, begun in 1949, is the study of the probable behavior, with particular
reference to the effects on inhabitants of certain regions, of the fall-out of radioactive
materials from the use of nuclear weapons in warfare. Depending upon the conditions
under which such ‘weapons are used, the major interest may lie in the short-range contamination from the use of a single weapon, or in the long-range problem of estimating
probable hazards to the populations of. majoraareas from the use of large numbers of - NN
weapons,
The Rand Corporation, selectedin 1952 to make independent studies of these questions,
has directed its efforts toward two phases: (1) securing a critical review of the subject by
a conference of qualified persons in related specialties, held in July 1953 (a classified re-port on this review has been completed under the ndme “Project SUNSHINE”); and (2) predicting probable fall-out from high air bursts of varying yields under varying meteorologi-
cal conditions (a report on this phase is expected early in1954).
As a result of recommendations formulated at the conference in July, the Commission.
’
has begun exploratory sampling program of the occurrence of strontium 90 in humans,
animals, milk, vegetation, and soils from selected areas in the United States and from
several foreign countries. Samples are being obtained by the Bureau of Plant Industry,
U. 8. Department of Agriculture, and through hospital channels. Assays of sample mateTrials are being made in laboratories of the University of Chicago, Columbia University,
and the AEC New York Operations Office.
,
' Although a reliable estimate of the present distribution of strontium 90 will represent
a substantial contribution to Gabriel, additional information is needed to permit reliable
estimates of changes in availability for human uptake as a function of time and of biological
effects as a function of dose and of dose rate. Studies of radiotoxicity have continually —
constituted an important phase of the research program of the AEC, but at present, aspects
of particular interest to Gabriel are being augmented and emphasized
section.)
RESEARCH ACCOMPLISHMENTS, (UNCLASSIFIED)
Research studies in biology, medicine, and biophysics are directed toward advancing
knowledge of the effects of radiation on living systems and the application of this knowledge
*For membership see Progress Report, December 1951 through May 1952, dated June 16, 1952,
page 46.
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TtSee letter to the Joint Committee dated November 12, 1953.