Atom Tests "Should Be Kept To Minimum"

Press, Volume XCVI, Issue 28414, 22 October 1957, Page 13

Atom Tests "Should Be Kept To Minimum"

'Rec. 8 p.m.) WASHINGTON. October 20 A group of radiation experts advised the Government yesterday to continue atomic weapons tests, but only at the minimum rate necessary for scientific and. military purposes. The experts, members of the Atomic Energy Commission’s advisory committee on biology and medicine, said the harm caused by radioactive fallout from tests “is well within tolerable limits." But this, a committee report said, was not generally realised It said that in view of the adverse repercussions caused by the testing of nuclear weapons, the committee recommends that tests be held to a minimum consistent with scientific and military requirements. and that appropriate steps be taken to correct the present confusion on the part of the public. The committee based its conclusions on estimates of worldwide contamination by fallout in the past and in the indefinite future if tests by all nations are continued at the rate of the last five years. It emphasised that fallout in the United States has been considerably larger than the world average. Although the committee considered that the harm being done at the present rate was tolerable, it said that if more and more countries embarked on test programmes ‘‘the situation may well become serious.” Assuming that tests would continue at the rate of the last five years, the committee estimated fallout damage in four categories: An increase in genetic defects, or damage to reproductive cells, which is passed on to future generations. An increase in the number of deaths caused by leukaemia 'a blood disease). An increase in bone tumour cases. The life-shortening effect of fallout radiation. In each of these categories the commission reported: Genetic: If the radiation dose »o the reproductive organs, estimated on the basis of the present testing rate, continued “for a great many generations.” 160 to 800 children born in the United States each year would be in some way defective as a direct result. Thi< compared with 80.000 children a year now born with natural genetic defects. Leukaemia: The " number of deaths from this disease would be increased in the United States by about 196 a year. Leukaemia deaths not attributable to test radiation now aver ge 11,400 a year. The world-wide increase in children with fallout-caused defects would be 2500 to 13,000 a year.

Bone Tumour: Fallout “may well be expected to produce no bone sarcomas (cancers) at all ”

Life-shortening: It “can only be extremely small—a few days at worst.” The committee concluded that the harm done by fallout is acceptable when it is balanced against the benefit to national security. But it conceded that o-n a world-wide basis, the genetic damage adds up to large figures.