FACT SHEET
                                   FOR
           ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN RADIATION EXPERIMENTS:
               NASA REVIEW OF HUMAN RADIATION EXPERIMENTS
                              13 APRIL 1994

     NASA is continuing its review of human radiation experiments
involving NASA investigations or NASA funding. Dr. Harry C.
Holloway, Associate Administrator, Life and Microgravity Sciences
and Applications, has been appointed to oversee this review. Dr.
Earl W. Ferguson, Director, Aerospace Medicine and Occupational
Health, will provide coordination of the review at NASA
Headquarters. Dr. Donald E. Robbins, Acting Director, Space and
Life Sciences, Johnson Space Center, is leading the team
conducting this review.

     Daniel Goldin, Administrator, and Dr. Holloway have each
issued guidance to Directors of NASA field centers instructing
them to direct all NASA employees to take all necessary steps to
locate, safeguard and report all records and other documentation
related to human radiation experimentation.

     Dr. Robbins and his team are conducting a search of NASA
records concerning human experiments involving radiation. This
search includes a search of the Federal Records Centers
databases. The team has also contacted current and retired
investigators, research managers, and program managers at NASA
Headquarters and NASA field centers who would have knowledge
about previous radiation research and radiation research funding.
The latter efforts are particularly important because most
official documents covering research efforts during and prior to
the 1970s have been retired and destroyed in the normal course of
documents management. An independent computer search of published
scientific literature and a manual scanning of biographic
databases and other pertinent databases related to radiation
research is also underway. As of 13 April 1994, this search has
identified 2,407 literature citations for initial screening.
1,016 of the citations were selected for further review and 213
publications have been selected for detailed analysis.

     NASA has thus far received fewer than 20 Helpline calls,
FOIA requests and other inquiries related to its radiation
review.

     Our review is ongoing, but thus far the following studies
which fall under the purview of this review have been clearly
identified as involving NASA:

1.   Oak Ridge Institute for Nuclear Studies (ORINS): ORINS began
     studies of the effects of whole body radiation on leukemia
     and other cancers in the late 1950s. From 1964 to 1974, NASA
     contributed to the funding of both a retrospective study and
     a prospective study at ORINS of the effects of radiation
     exposure in individuals who were exposed to whole body
     radiation for medical treatment or who were accidentally
     exposed. NASA provided 
     less than 10% of the funding for these Atomic Energy
     Commission studies. The data on approximately 3,000 human
     subjects from 45 different institutions were reviewed
     (approximately 100 subjects from the prospective study at
     Oak Ridge itself).

2.   Two studies (1968-1982) involving low levels of whole body
     radiation in experiments to measure total body calcium.

3.   Studies (late 1960s to 1970s) in which investigators put
     their own heads in high energy particle beams to observe
     visual light flashes like those experienced by astronauts.

     A NASA Headquarters evaluation of the review process being
conducted by Dr. Robbins and his team at Johnson Space Center is
being conducted on 15 April 1994. Members of this review team
include Dr. Holloway, Dr. Ferguson, and a representative from the
NASA General Counsel's Office. The purpose of this review is to
evaluate the quality, comprehensiveness, and integrity of the
records collection process. In addition, NASA is establishing an
internal, Independent Oversight Committee, chaired by the
Associate Administrator for Safety and Mission Assurance, to
oversee the search process.

     NASA is conducting its review using a definition of human
radiation experiments that is more comprehensive than the
definition used by the Human Radiation Interagency Working Group
and established by the President's Executive Order of 18 January
1994. This is to assure that all research involving use of
ionizing radiation in human research is adequately reviewed. NASA
would like the Advisory Committee to provide additional
clarification, guidance and definition regarding which type of
human radiation experiments that are of interest and which are
not.