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 
	 assist 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)


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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)

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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

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         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)

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)


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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)


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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)


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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)

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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)

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