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.






                                                  TAB K 

	þþþDRAFT þ FOR DISCUSSION PURPOSES ONLYþþþ

MEMORANDUM

TO:       Members of the Advisory Committee on Human Radiation 
	  Experiments

FROM:     Advisory Committee Staff

DATE:     September 29, 1994

RE:       Working List of Acronyms


     
     Attached is a working list of acronyms, which was developed both 
to facilitate the reading of staff memoranda and supporting materials 
and to provide some context.  Please let Denise Holmes, an Advisory 
Committee staff member, know if you have any suggestions for 
revisions/additions to the list.

     This list will be updated for each succeeding Briefing Book.



Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments
Working List of Acronyms
September 29, 1994

ABCC -- Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission (established in 1946 to study 
effects of atomic bombs dropped on Japan; disbanded in 1975; see RERF)

ACBM -- AEC Advisory Committee on Biology and Medicine (established in 
1947 to review medical and biological research and to asssist AEC in 
developing policy in these areas; the principal advisory committee to 
DBM; dissolved in 1974)

ACXRP -- Advisory Committee on X-ray and Radium Protection (1929-1946 
independent committee under the auspices of the National Bureau of 
Standards, recommended dose limits; predecessor of NCRP)

AEC -- Atomic Energy Commission (1947 MED successor and ERDA 
predecessor)

AFMPC -- Armed Forces Medical Policy Council (late 1940s/early 1950s 
medical advisory group to OSD)

AFRRI -- Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute (part of DASA 
and later of DNA, 1962-1993)

AFSWP -- Armed Forces Special Weapons Project (DOD predecessor to 
DASA, 1947-1958)

AHCPR -- Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (one of eight 
components of PHS)

ALARA -- as low as reasonably achievable (standard for acceptable 
occupational exposure to radiation)

ANL -- Argonne National Laboratory (AEC facility for nuclear research, 
established near Chicago in 1946; now operated by the University of 
Chicago for DOE)

ANP -- Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion program (see NEPA)

ARC -- Ames Research Center (established in 1941 near Palo Alto, now 
part of NASA; conducts life sciences and aerospace technological 
research)

ARS -- acute radiation syndrome (disease produced by exposure to 
excessive dosage of radiation; term coined by Dr. Robert Stone in 
1949)

				1



ATSDR -- Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry (established 
in 1983, one of eight components of PHS)

BNL -- Brookhaven National Laboratory (AEC clinical research facility 
established in 1947 on Long Island, now operated by Associated 
Universities and funded by DOE; a key site of biomedical research with 
radionuclides; has its own nuclear reactors)

BRH -- Bureau of Radiological Health (part of PHS)

BUMED -- Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (part of Navy)

CDC -- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (successor to 1942 
Malaria Control in War Program; established in 1946 as the 
Communicable Disease Centers, now one of eight components of PHS; 
based in Atlanta; responds to public health emergencies, including 
radiation emergencies, and seeks to prevent and control infectious and 
chronic diseases)

CDRH -- Center for Devices and Radiological Health (FDA predecessor)

CHR -- Center for Human Radiobiology (created within Argonne National 
Laboratory in the late 1960s)

CIA -- Central Intelligence Agency (established in 1947 to replace the 
wartime Office of Strategic Services; federal agency charged with 
coordinating intelligence activities and carrying out clandestine 
activities abroad)

CIC -- Coordination and Information Center (contractor that acts as a 
repository for DOE documents)

CMR -- Committee on Medical Research (WWII funder of medical research 
as part of OSRD, later folded into NIH)

CRS -- Congressional Research Service (part of Library of Congress; 
prepares reports on any topic at the request of a Member of Congress)

DASA -- Defense Atomic Support Agency (1958 AFSWP successor, within 
DOD; responsible for coordinating production and study of nuclear 
weapons, weapons effects and nuclear weapons testing programs)

DBM -- AEC Division of Biology and Medicine (established in 1948 to 
direct and coordinate AEC biomedical research activities; headed by 
Shields Warren in the early years; became the Biological and 
Environmental Research Division in 1974)

				2



DCI -- Deputy Director of Central Intelligence

DDR&E -- Director of Research & Engineering (1953 RDB successor)

DMA -- Division of Military Application (part of AEC, concerned with 
nuclear weapons and some radiological health/safety issues)

DNA -- Defense Nuclear Agency (1971 successor to DASA, within DOD)

DOD -- Department of Defense (organized in 1949 to replace the War and 
Navy Departments)

DOE -- Department of Energy (1977 ERDA successor; responsibilities 
include directing nuclear weapons research and development, and 
nuclear energy)

ERDA -- Energy Research and Development Agency (1974 AEC successor and 
DOE predecessor)

FACA -- Federal Advisory Committee Act (federal statute governing 
procedures for presidential advisory committees)

FDA -- Food and Drug Administration (established in 1927 within 
Agriculture Department; transferred to FSA in 1940 and to HEW in 1953; 
part of PHS since 1968; oversees safety of food, drugs, cosmetics and 
medical devices)

FOIA -- Freedom of Information Act (1966 federal statute governing 
public release of government documents; nine categories of documents, 
including those relating to national security, are exempt)

FRC -- Federal Records Center (repository of agency documents)

FSA -- Federal Security Agency (1939 HEW predecessor)

GAO -- General Accounting Office

GSFC -- Goddard Space Flight Center (NASA division in Beltsville, MD; 
conducts research on the atmosphere and space environment; site of 
design and construction of satellites and spacecraft)

HEW -- Department of Health, Education and Welfare (1953 HHS 
predecessor)

HHS -- Department of Health and Human Services (1980 HEW successor; 
the principal federal agency charged with advancing the health of 
Americans and providing essential human services)

HUMMRO -- Human Resources Research Organization (affiliate of George 
Washington University; prepared reports on bomb tests)

				3


IG -- Inspector General

IHS -- Indian Health Service (provides comprehensive health services 
for Native Americans and Alaska natives; successor to programs of 
Interior Department begun in 1849, part of PHS since 1955; elevated in 
1988 to full agency status)

IRB -- Institutional Review Board

JAEIC -- Joint Atomic Energy Intelligence Committee (1948 JNEIC 
successor, chaired by the CIA; monitored Soviet nuclear weapons 
program)

JCAE -- Joint Committee on Atomic Energy (1947-1974 Congressional body 
charged with oversight of AEC)

JNEIC -- Joint Nuclear Energy Intelligence Committee (1947-1948 
interagency group providing foreign atomic energy program estimates)

JRDB -- Joint Research and Development Board (1946-1947 successor to 
OSRD; coordinated R&D between War and Navy Departments)

JSC -- Johnson Space Center ( NASA division in Houston, TX; conducts 
research on space medicine, is responsible for astronaut selection and 
training, and handles mission control for space flights)

LANL -- Los Alamos National Laboratory (AEC facility in New Mexico 
established in 1943 as the Atomic Research Laboratory; site of  
biomedical and other research; produced the first atomic and hydrogen 
bombs; now operated by the University of California with DOE funding)

LASL -- Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory (prior name of LANL)

LBL -- Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (research center near San 
Francisco established in 1931; operated by the University of 
California, now funded by DOE; site of first cyclotron      
accelerators)

				4



LETBI -- low exposure total body irradiator

LLNL -- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (established in 
Livermore, CA in 1952 as a separate institution from LBL; conducts 
nuclear research and underground nuclear explosion tests in Nevada)

MED -- Manhattan Engineer District, also known as the Manhattan 
Project (AEC predecessor, established in 1942, under the U.S. Army to 
build the atomic bomb )

METBI -- medium exposure total body irradiator

MGH -- Massachusetts General Hospital (Boston site of radiation 
research)

MLC -- Military Liaison Committee to AEC (DOD liaison to AEC; reports 
to OSD)

MOU -- Memorandum of Understanding

NACA -- National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics (NASA predecessor, 
established in 1915 to advance U.S. aviation technology)

NARA -- National Archives and Records Administration

NAS -- National Academy of Sciences (a private body of scientists and 
engineers established in 1862; goal is to further the use of science 
for the general welfare; acts as official government advisor on 
science and technology issues)

NASA -- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (established in 
1958; agency responsible for the development of aviation and space 
technology and for space exploration)

NCI -- National Cancer Institute (established in 1937, part of NIH)

NCRP -- National Committee on Radiation Protection (1946 ACXRP 
successor, known after 1964 as National Council on Radiation 
Protection and Measurements; expanded ACXRP's interests to include 
ionizing radiation)

NDRC -- National Defense Research Committee (with OSRD, formed CMR 
during WWII)

NEPA -- Nuclear Energy Propulsion for Airplanes (1946-1961 Air Force 
program on nuclear-powered bomber; also known as ANP)

				5




NHI -- National Heart Institute (part of NIH)

NIAMD -- National Institute for Arthritis and Metabolic Diseases (part 
of NIH)

NIH -- National Institutes of Health (part of PHS; focuses on research 
on causes, prevention and cure of diseases; begun as a one-room 
Laboratory of Hygiene in 1887, now the world's largest biomedical 
research facility; based in Bethesda, MD)

NIOSH -- National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (part 
of CDC)

NNES -- National Nuclear Energy Series (series of 50 reports 
comprising the official history of the Manhattan Project)


NNMC -- National Naval Medical Center (military medical facility in 
Bethesda, MD)

NRC -- National Research Council (operating arm of NAS; established in 
1916 to coordinate scientific and technological resources for national 
service)

NRC -- Nuclear Regulatory Commission (established in 1974 to run 
civilian nuclear power program, including regulatory and licensing 
authority, and assume radioisotope distribution)

NRDL -- Naval Radiological Defense Laboratory (part of Navy, 
disestablished in 1969)

NSC -- National Security Council (a seven-member body established in 
1947 to advise the president on national security matters; directs 
policies of the CIA)

NTPR -- Nuclear Test Personnel Review (DNA program, established in 
1978)

NTS -- Nevada Test Site (locus of 925 bomb tests between 1950 and 
1992)

ONR -- Office of Naval Research (part of Navy, established at the end 
of World War II)

OPRR -- Office for Protection from Research Risk (established within 
NIH in 1966 to educate investigators and others about research ethics)

ORAU -- Oak Ridge Affiliated Universities (1966 successor to ORINS; 
site of TBI)

ORINS -- Oak Ridge Institute of  Nuclear Studies (site of biomedical 
research; later renamed ORAU)

				6


ORNL -- Oak Ridge National Laboratory (AEC research facility in 
Tennessee; established as Clinton Laboratories in 1943 as part of the 
MED; renamed in 1948)

ORO -- Operations Research Organization (Johns Hopkins University 
affiliate; produced reports on bomb tests)

OSD -- Office of the Secretary of Defense

OSG -- Office of the Surgeon General (within PHS)

OSRD -- Office of Scientific Research and Development (within DOD 
predecessor during World War II)

PHS -- Public Health Service (the federal government's principal 
health agency; restructured three times since World War II, now one 
of five operating divisions of HHS)

PNL -- Pacific National Laboratory (successor to Hanford laboratory)

RAC -- Research Advisory Council (coordinated Navy's R&D from late 
1940s to 1960s)

RDB -- Research and Development Board (1947-1953 JRDB successor; 
within DOD)

RERF -- Radiation Effects Research Foundation (1975 successor to ABCC)

RFA -- Request For Applications

RFP -- Request For Proposals

SAB -- Scientific Advisory Board (coordinates Air Force R&D, 
established in 1947)

SAM -- School of Aviation Medicine (Air Force component; conducted 
radiobiology research beginning in the late 1940s; coordinated efforts 
with AFSWP and ORNL)

SAP -- Scientific Advisory Panel (coordinated Army's R&D from late 
1940s to 1960s)

SWRHL -- Southwestern Radiological Health Laboratory (PHS facility in 
Las Vegas that performed work for AEC)

TBI -- total body irradiation

UCSF -- University of California at San Francisco (key research site; 
TBI studies performed by Dr. Robert Stone)

				7



VA -- Department of Veterans Affairs; previously Veterans 
Administration (1930-1989)

VACO -- VA Central Office (VA headquarters)

VAMC -- VA Medical Center (VA field site or facility)

VHA -- Veterans Health Administration (VA division, successor to 
Department of Medicine and Surgery)

				8