DISCLAIMER

The following is a staff memorandum or other working document 
prepared for the members of the Advisory Committee on Human
Radiation Experiments.  It should not be construed as representing
the final conclusions of fact or interpretation of the issues. 
All staff memoranda are subject to revision based on further 
information and analysis.  For conclusions and recommendations of
the Advisory Committee, readers are advised to consult the Final
Report to be published in 1995.


			MEMORANDUM

TO:       Members of the Advisory Committee on Human Radiation 
	  Experiments

FROM:     Advisory Committee Staff

DATE:  	  February 8, 1995   

RE:       Update on Veterans Administration (VA) Confidential Atomic 
          Medicine Division/Secret Recordkeeping on Radiation Exposure 
          in Anticipation of Liability Claims



     This memorandum provides an update on the status of agency 
searches related to the maintenance of secret records of 
soldier/sailor radiation exposure in anticipation of liability claims.  
It also includes an overview of a report recently issued by VA's 
Inspector General (IG) regarding its search for additional information 
about VA's Atomic Medicine Division.

I.   BACKGROUND

     In his April 21, 1994 statement at the Committee's opening 
session, Secretary Jesse Brown of VA stressed the need to find the 
facts related to a "confidential" Atomic Medicine Division which VA 
created in 1947.  At the time, the essential facts known to Secretary 
Brown were contained in a 1952 document, prepared by Dr. George Lyon 
(see Briefing Book #3, Tab I, Attachment 1), which recited the 
creation of the division on 1947.  The 1952 document explicitly cited 
the need to respond to potential disability claims relating to the 
military's use of atomic energy.

     The timing of the Division's creation, and the identity of those 
involved, point to the likelihood that the activity was a response to 
the radiation contamination at the 1946 - 1947 Operation Crossroads.  
The 1952 document recorded that the Division was formed at the advice 
of General Groves (who had headed the Manhattan Project and the bomb 
tests) and experts recommended by him, including Stafford Warren, who 
was the chief medical advisor at Crossroads.  The author of the 1952 
document, Dr. George Lyon, served with Dr. Warren at Crossroads.

     We also note that, as shown in documents provided by the Defense 
Nuclear Agency (DNA), a Department of Defense (DOD) "medico-legal" 
group was formed in the aftermath of Operation Crossroads.

			 	1


      An August 1952 "confidential" document (HRE-0672), furnished by 
     DNA, shows that elements of DOD did keep files in anticipation of 
     liability claims, but that there was a proposal to cease the 
     record keeping.  The letter, from the Chief of the Armed Forces 
     Special Weapons Project (AFSWP) to VA (with attention to Dr. 
     Lyon), stated:

          . . .the Army Field Forces is proposing to eliminate the 
          requirement for maintaining detailed statistical records of 
          radiological exposures received by Army personnel.

          . . .This requirement was originally conceived as being 
          necessary to protect the government's interest in case any 
          large number of veterans should attempt to bring suit based 
          on a real or imagined exposure to nuclear radiation during 
          an atomic war. Although the Army Field Forces is the only 
          organization which is now proposing to eliminate this 
          requirement, it is possible that the Navy and Air Force may 
          propose similar action in the future.

     In a 1959 document, provided by VA, Dr. Lyon was recommended for 
     a VA exceptional service award.  A memorandum in support of 
     Lyon's candidacy recounted the 1947 creation of the VA atomic 
     medicine program, and states:
     
          It was felt unwise to publicize unduly the probable adverse 
          effects of exposure to radioactive materials. The use of 
          nuclear energy at this time was so sensitive that 
          unfavorable reaction might have jeopardized future 
          developments in that field. Dr. Lyon . . . maintained 
          records of a classified nature emanating from the AEC and 
          the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project which were 
          essential to proper evaluation of claims of radiation injury 
          brought against VA by former members of the Armed Forces 
          engaged in the Manhattan project.

II.  KEY QUESTIONS

     As reflected in the vigorous public statements of Secretary Brown 
and the comments of citizens who come before the Committee, a public 
interest clearly persists in learning whether secret records were kept 
in anticipation of claims.  Moreover, it should not, given the nature 
of the documents at issue, be difficult to get to the bottom of the 
matter.  Thus, we have continued to seek information on the secret 
recordkeeping that, according to the documents that have been provided 
by DOD and VA, was engaged in by DOD, Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), 
and VA in anticipation of potential liability claims from soldiers 

				2

(and perhaps others) exposed at weapons tests.  As summarized in 
staff's request dated January 12, 1995, a copy of which is attached 
(Attachment 1), basic questions include:

     1.   In general, and with specific reference to the 1952 AFSWP 
          document, what records were kept in anticipation of 
          liability claims?  By whom?  When did the recordkeeping 
          cease?  Where are the records now?  Are they available to 
          the public (with appropriate privacy restrictions)?

     2.   With reference to the 1959 VA document, and more generally, 
          what were the "records of a classified nature emanating from 
          the AEC and the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project" which 
          were used to evaluate veterans claims of radiation injury?  
          Who kept these records?  When did the recordkeeping cease?  
          Where are they now?  Are they available to the public (with 
          appropriate privacy restrictions)?

     3.   To the extent that the above questions cannot be answered, 
          what steps are being taken to answer them?  For example, do 
          the Department of Energy (DOE), DOD, and VA know for certain 
          that records of each agency in the National Archives, 
          records centers, etc., do not presently contain records such 
          as those described in the above documents?

     4.   To the extent that above questions cannot be answered, what 
          can DOD, DOE, and VA say with confidence regarding the 
          keeping of secret ("classified" or otherwise) records 
          regarding the radiation exposure of military personnel?  For 
          example, 1947 Department of the Navy rregulations, 
          previously provided by the Navy, refer to records of certain 
          medical examinations being kept in secret files; what other 
          rules provided for secret recordkeeping on the radiation 
          exposure of soldiers or other test personnel?

III. VA INSPECTOR GENERAL'S REPORT

     As previously discussed, VA asked its Inspector General to 
investigate questions related to the "confidential" Atomic Medicine 
Division.  In January the Inspector General provided a report to the 
VA Chief of Staff, a copy of which is attached (Attachment 2).  As 
summarized in a VA press release (Attachment 3):

          The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Inspector 
          General has reported it found no evidence that a 
          'confidential' Atomic Medicine Division, which had been 
          referenced in decades-old documents previously uncovered by 
          the Department was ever activated. . . .

				  3

          The Inspector General based its conclusion on a review of VA
          references, documentation provided by the Advisory Committee 
          on Human Radiation Experiments and retired officials who 
          were in positions to have had personal knowledge of such a 
          division. The Inspector General found that an Atomic 
          Medicine Division was discussed as a means to deal with 
          potential claims from veterans as a result of exposure to 
          radiation from atomic weapons testing, but these claims 
          never materialized and the organization was never activated.

     At VA's invitation, Committee staff met with VA staff, including 
members of its IG staff, to discuss the report.  VA indicated that the 
IG's office had, indeed, made significant inquiries, including efforts 
to track down potentially knowledgeable individuals and files relating 
to Dr. Lyon's activities.  However, it is clear that further work 
remains to be done, in two respects. 

     First, and most importantly, the IG's review does not answer the 
key questions; regardless of whether or not a particularly named 
bureaucratic entity existed, the above-referenced documents show the 
existence of secret files and review processes.  For example, the 
review does not suggest that the Exceptional Service award given to 
Dr. Lyon for maintaining classified records needed to evaluate claims 
was given on a false premise.  Nor, for example, does it show, as 
indicated in the 1952 AFSWP letter to VA, what files were being 
referred to as being kept in anticipation of liability claims.

     The conclusion that there was no "confidential" Atomic Medicine 
Division is inconsistent with the evidence reviewed.  For example, the 
IG report dismisses Dr. Lyon's 1952 report explaining the creation of 
this confidential Division with the assertion that the reference 
"should not be taken literally as documentation that a Division was 
ever established."  Similarly, while the IG report relies heavily on 
the recent statements of acquaintances that they did not know of any 
such Division, the IG's review of Dr. Lyon's personnel records 
concludes that his "personnel evaluations consistently described an 
individual who worked by himself and did not delegate assignments."  
Finally, it appears that in interviewing witnesses, the IG did not 
show them, for purposes of refreshing recollections about decades-old 
events, the documentation discussed above.

     In any event, VA has graciously agreed to pursue whatever further 
leads may be suggested.  We have therefore: (1) asked the IG to 
reinterview the individuals it initially contacted, and provide them 
copies of the documents referred to above; and (2) transmitted 
documentation showing the role of Stafford Warren and Dr. Lyon in the 
review of a claim that appears to be Crossroads related, and 
documentation regarding Dr. Lyon's appointment as consultant to the 
Armed Forces Special Weapons Project.  We have asked VA for further 
information on these matters.

			      	  4

IV.  UPDATE ON DOD ACTIVITIES

     As shown in Attachment 4, in 1994 the Defense Nuclear Agency 
(DNA) reported that it had not been able to locate further files or 
other information related to these matters. We have asked DOD to 
continue to search.

     The Navy has informed us that some materials that may be relevant 
to the above questions have been located, and are being processed for 
declassification and transmittal to the Committee.


				  5