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

            	xxx DRAFT x FOR DISCUSSION PURPOSES ONLY x


MEMORANDUM

TO:       Members of the Advisory Committee on Human Radiation 
	  Experiments

FROM:     Advisory Committee Staff

DATE:     December 6, 1994

RE:       Additional Documentation Regarding Hidden Rules Governing 
          Disclosure of Biomedical Research



     As shown in accompanying memoranda in this Tab regarding the 
Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) declassification of biomedical research 
reports and the "confidential" Department of Veterans Affairs' Atomic 
Medicine Division, it appears that the disclosure of critical human 
biomedical data was governed by a set of rules that were hidden, as 
well as rules that were publicly known regarding national security 
disclosure.  In the first case, "Public Relations", legal, and labor 
concerns clearly led to the withholding of otherwise disclosable human 
experimentation (and other human subject) data.  In the second case it 
appears that legal liability concerns led to record-keeping, evidently 
secret-record keeping, in anticipation of liability concerns.

     The puzzle of piecing together the complete set of rules is, at 
this late remove, a difficult one.  In this memorandum we provide 
documents showing two further rules of the game.

ATTACHMENT 1:  SEPTEMBER 1952, MEMORANDUM FROM THE JOINT CHIEFS OF 
               STAFF, TO THE SERVICE STAFF, TO THE SERVICE CHIEF, 
               REGARDING "SECURITY MEASURES ON CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL 
               WARFARE."

     The first document is a September 1952 memorandum from the Joint 
Chiefs of Staff to the Service Chief regarding "Security Measures on 
Chemical and Biological Warfare."  The memorandum states:

          2. The Joint Chiefs of Staff further consider that 
          responsible agencies should . . .

          d. Insure, insofar as practicable, that all published 
          articles stemming  from the BW [biological warfare] or 
          CW [chemical warfare] research and development programs 
          are disassociated from anything which might connect 
          them with U.S. military endeavor.

				    1

     We note that this rule (or guide) may be read in context of 
further statements. The July 1964 minutes of the Department of Defense 
(DOD) Research and Engineering's "Joint Medical Conference" notes, in 
regard to budget discussion:

          . . .the term 'radiobiology' is so flexible semantically 
          that, depending upon the investigator's point of view, any 
          project could be classified as 'clinical' or 'basic' or 
          'nuclear weapons effects'.

     We also note, in the context of this document, a memorandum 1
["Documentary Update on Human Experimentation/Data Gathering in 
Connection with Atomic Bomb Tests", Briefing Book 8, Tab F.] in the 
November briefing book, in which, in connection with TOP SECRET bomb 
test human urine and animal fluid sampling advised that the testing 
(at least the animal component) should be called "nutrition" testing.

ATTACHMENT 2:  EXCERPT FROM A RECENTLY-DECLASSIFIED 1952 DEFENSE 
               NUCLEAR AGENCY (DNA) HISTORY.

     The second document is an excerpt from a recently declassified 
1952 Defense Nuclear Agency (DNA) history. The history records:

          A policy was established by the Security Division AFSWP 
          [Armed Forces Special Weapons Project, DNA's predecessor, 
          and the DOD bomb-test coordinator], in regard to the 
          dissemination of information on the use of animals, in 
          connection with atomic tests. It was felt that, because of 
          anti-vivisection sentiment, release of such information 
          would be detrimental to the testing program. Decision was 
          made that such information fell into a sensitive, though 
          non-classified, category and should not, therefore, be 
          released to the public.

There was considerable animal experimentation in the "Biomedical" 
components of the bomb test program.

				 2

     The DNA history also records, as shown in the attachment:

          Some articles containing information bordering upon 
          classified material concerning atomic weapons were published 
          by Mr. Ralph Lapp. As a result, a fairly rigid security policy 
          was established between the Atomic Energy Commission and the 
          Department of Defense, in which the AEC agreed that all data 
          bordering upon military Security Information would be 
          submitted to the Department of Defense prior to approval for 
          release by the AEC.

				     3