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 I þþþDRAFT þ FOR DISCUSSION PURPOSES ONLYþþþ MEMORANDUM TO: Members of the Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments FROM: Advisory Committee Staff DATE: December 8, 1994 RE: Update on VA Atomic Medicine Division This memo incorporates a portion of Tab F of the November Briefing Book and updates it to include newly received information. At the onset of the Committee's work, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provided two documents which indicated the 1947 creation within VA of a "confidential" Atomic Medicine Division. The documents indicated that the Division was evidently created to respond to potential disability claims which might stem from the exposure of soldiers and sailors at weapons tests. (The timing of the creation of the Division followed the Operation Crossroads Tests in the Bikini islands, which resulted in severe contamination of ships that were the subjects of testing, and the subsequent exposure of sailors who manned them following the tests.) The key memorandum was a 1952 document authored by Dr. George Lyon, who served as a safety advisor at Operation Crossroads, and subsequently as a VA atomic medicine official. (Briefing Book Vol. 3, Tab I, Attachment A). The Committee, in coordination with DOD and VA, is following the trail of the Atomic Medicine Division in an effort to understand what it did, and whether there were secret records related to exposures of troops or others at atomic tests. At its 1947 creation, the "confidential" Atomic Medicine Division included a Radioisotope Program and VA expressly decided (in lieu of publicicizing the overall Atomic Medicine Division) to publicize the program to promote the use of radioisotopes for research. VA has reported to the Committee that in the pre-1974 period, the radioisotope program resulted in over 3,000 human radiation experiments. Documents received from the Defense Nuclear Agency (DNA) include 1952 memoranda and letters relating to the maintenance of files, perhaps secret, on exposures of military personnel. 1 An August 8, 1952 letter, stamped "Confidential," from Major General Loper to Dr. Lyon, (Attachment 1) states, in part: This activity [DNA's predecessor, the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project (AFSWP)] has received information that 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 against the government 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 preparing to eliminate this requirement, it is possible that the Navy and Air Force may propose similar action in the future. A note to the letter states that, "It is requested that the Security Div determine whether the addressee has proper clearance." In an evidently responsive December 2 letter, stamped "Confidential Security Information", Carl Gray, VA Administrator, stated (Attachment 2): It is the present policy of the Administrator of Veterans Affairs to urge that no change in present policies and practices within the Armed Forces be made. . .it is proposed that a careful study of this matter be undertaken within the coming year in order to arrive at a policy which will be consistent with practical accomplishments. In this study the cooperation of the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project and the Veterans Administration would be indicated and they should consult with the Division of Medicine and Biology of the Atomic Energy Commission, and of the Joint Panel on the Medical Aspects of Atomic Warfare, Research and Development Board. A document recently provided by VA now extends the trail. In 1959 Dr. Lyon was recommended for an "Exceptional Service Award" by VA for his past work. A memorandum on behalf of the award (Attachment 3), identified how work on the Atomic Medicine Division as the first basis for commendation. The memo explains: (emphasis added) "Major General Hawley, then Chief Medical Director, was deeply concerned about the problems that atomic energy might create for the Veterans Administration as a result of the active engagement of the Armed Forces in the developmental phases of nuclear fission during World War II. In August 1947, General Hawley convened a conference including Lieutenant 2 General Groves, Commanding General of the Manhattan Engineering District, the Surgeon Generals of the Armed Forces, and other outstanding authorities with knowledge in this field. The conferees recommended the establishment within the Department of Medicine and Surgery of an Advisory Committee on matters of atomic medicine and radioisotopes for the purpose of advising the steps to be taken within the VA to meet these problems . . . . At the first meeting of the Advisory Committee in September 1947, it was decided that this Section would be set up and that matters of Atomic Medicine would be handled through this section and by the Special Assistant to the Chief Medical Director for Atomic Medicine. 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 the field. Dr. Lyon was designated, Chief Radioisotope Section, Research and Education Service, in addition to the position of Special Assistant to the Chief Medical Director for Atomic Medicine. An important part of his duties was the development of appropriate contacts with Atomic Energy Commission, Civil Defense planning officials, American Medical Association and the Public Health Service. He maintained records of 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. We have asked DOD, DOE, and VA to continue to seek any information which might shed light on the origins, nature, and whereabouts of the files referred to. (As noted in the Committee's Interim Report, VA has called on its Inspector General to assist in the search for information on the Atomic Medicine Division.) 3 ATTACHMENTS ATTACHMENT 1: Letter dated August 1952 from Major General Herbert B. Loper to Dr. George M. Lyon, Administrator, Veterans Affairs and December 1952 Department of Defense Memorandum for the Chief, Weapons Defense Division regarding VA letter to general Loper of 2 December 1952 on Armed Forces Film Badge Requirements. ATTACHMENT 2 : Letter dated December 2, 1952 from Carl R. Gray, Jr. Veterans Affairs Administrator, to Major General Herbert B. Loper, USA ATTACHMENT 3: Memorandum dated May 13, 1959 titled "Recommendation for Administrator's Exceptional Service Award" on behalf of George M. Lyon, M.D. and written by William S. Middleton, M.D