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 H

		þþþDRAFTþFOR DISCUSSION PURPOSESþþþ

MEMORANDUM

TO:       Members of the Advisory Committee on Human Radiation 
          Experiments

FROM:     Advisory Committee Staff

DATE:     November 9, 1994

RE:       Green Run Case Study



     The Green Run is the name given to the December 1949 release of 
28,000 curies of radioactive gases from the Hanford plant, apparently 
to test methods of detecting nuclear weapons production and testing in 
foreign countries.  This Tab presents the Green Run case study in a 
way that parallels as much as possible the presentation of the 
plutonium injection case study (Briefing Book 7, Tab G).  It begins 
with four memos that provide some background discussion of the ethics 
of intentional environmental releases of radioactivity.  There follows 
a memo on the available facts and gaps in knowledge about the Green 
Run itself, and an analytical piece for discussion that addresses the 
ethics issues of the Green Run.  (See below.)

PART I  -  Background Memoranda on the Ethics of Intentional Releases

     IA  -  Discussion Points on the Ethics of Intentional Releases

     This memo discusses the ethical issues that arise in the release 
of radioactive materials into the environment.  The discussion 
parallels the issues raised in the plutonium injection case study.

     1B  -  Current Environmental Regulations and Oversight

     This memo summarizes the environmental regulations and oversight 
mechanisms that apply to intentional releases of radioactivity, paying 
particular attention to the effects of secrecy and national security.

     1C  -  How Well Do Current Regulations Meet Ethical Concerns?

     This memo attempts to identify the correspondence between these 
regulations and the underlying environmental ethics issues.


     1D  -  Dose Reconstruction

     Dose reconstruction is the method for estimating actual harm to 
individuals.  We attach a fact sheet on the subject from the Technical 
Steering Panel of the Hanford Environmental Dose Reconstruction 
Project.  Dr. John Till, former chair of this panel, will be giving a 
presentation to the Committee.

PART 2  -  Memorandum:  The Facts and Unknowns of the Green Run

     This memo provides an overview of the facts of the Green Run.  It 
also addresses the questions of fact that we cannot yet answer, but 
may be addressed in classified documents.

PART 3  -  Memorandum:  An Analysis of the Green Run

     This memo discusses the Green Run from the point of view of both 
ethics and current environmental regulations.  It asks whether the 
Green Run should have been permitted and whether it could have 
occurred under current regulations.