The daily monitor leader., 1945-12-24

|
the future Of atomic power In
q world at peace.
BY PETER EDSON
NEA Staff Correspondent
WASHINGTON-Vast expan.
sion In every field of medical
science awaits the lifting of mill
tary security restrictions and the
determination by Congress Of
future policy on atomic energy
research. Nuclear energy holds
great promise of relieving d.
sease and human suffering.
This does not mean that atom.
ic pills will soon be available on
every drugstore counter to cure
every ailment from dandrun to
athletes foot. For q long time
the use of nuclear energy in
medicine will be confined to re-
search laboratories, or to clinics
and the big hospitals with highly
trained staffs.
Atomic energy IL chiefly .
research instrument. It will be
used to study body functions and
to gain a better understanding
Of the nature of diseases. It has
no direct curative power, at this
time.
Development OF this new med
ical science may take 10 to 20
years, says Col. Stafford L. War
rem, chief OF the medical section
of the Manhattan District, which
developed the bomb.
Colonel Warren in civil life Is
professor of radiology of the
University Of Rochester College
Of Medicine. On the atomic bomb
project he was responsible for all
the health problems of the peo-
pie who worked on the bomb
and their families. The medical
research on nuclear energy re-
leased in the m king of the
bombs was organized under his
direction.
It began as q big problem In
preventive medicine. Radiations
from the release of nuclear en-
ergy can be extremely danger
Gus. They are like x-rays. II the
human body is over-exposed to
them, serious injury will result.
Reproductive organs may be
sterilized and even death may
be caused.
SPECIAL LABORATORIES
One Of the primary research
problems was to find out how
much shielding the atomic piles
would require to make them
thoroughly safe for workers in
the. plants. DR.. Robert Stone
and his group at the University
Of Chicago worked out the safety
factors for these operations.
Because only small quantities
Of uranium had been used be-
fore, in the ceramics industry,
little was known about the ef-
fects of uranium dust on the
blood, the lungs. kidneys.
Several hundred young doc
tors, biologists and chemists,
along with few older and more
experienced heads, had to be re-
cruited to conduct this research.
They are the men to whom civil
lization owesa big debt for
breaking the frontiers across
these new fields Of medicine.
Their work was carried on at
special health laboratories con-
nected with the Clinton Engi-
neer Works at Oak Ridge, Tenn,
at Newark, Del, and in the med
ical research centers at Column
bia, Rochester, Chicago and Cali
fornia universities.
First, the laboratories carried
on their experiments on rabbits,
mice, guinea pigs. dogs and even
on flies. Some Of the animals. %
controls, lived lives carefully
guarded against uranium dust
and nuclear energy radiations.
Others were subjected to varying
exposures to these hazards In
carefully air conditioned cabi-
nets for eight hours q day. six
days . week.
These were the conditions un-
der which workers In the plants
had to do their Job. The animals
were then subjected to regular
physical examinations and from
these observations safety levels
were set, from 10 to 100 times
below the danger line for each
hazard. DR.. Harold Hodges and
his group at Rochester were In
charge Of much Of this research.
Their results are almost unbe-
lievable. Up to the time the
bomb was dropped In Japan, not
one worker lost his life or was
injured from causes directly con-
nected with the release Of atom
ic energy. After the end Of the
war one young scientist did lose
his life in an experiment. but It
was only because he had disre-
garded safety precautions.
To achieve this unique safety
record, many. ingenious devices
were developed In the Chicago
and Rochester laboratories. Bits
OF film were put In identified
tion badges. The films were de-
s,AI~>AA