Evening star., 1950-03-24
Atom Bombing Survivors
Now Seen Out Of Danger
Commission Reports on Study
Of Dreaded Delay Effects
By Thomas R. Henry

By Thomas R. Henry
Survivors of the atomic bombings Of
Nagasaki and Hiroshima appear to be
out Of danger after five years.
have appeared after the first few
months, according to reports to the
Atomic Energy Commission.
A study of the blood picture was made
last year. There was a slight decrease
from normal in both red blood cells and
various types of white blood cells, but
this was not sufficient to affect the
general health. Almost the same picture
was obtained in the japanese city of
Kure which suffered no atomic bonn
bardment. so it may well be due to other
causes.
Many babies have been born in both
cities since 1945. There were predictions
that children of the bomb victims would
show high percentage of deformity.
This has not been the case. If there has
been any increase it is so slight as to
be undetectable.
One Positive Finding.
There was only one significant positive
finding by team of doctors headed By
DR.. David Cogan of Harvard University
They detected ten cases of cataracts of
the eyes which undoubtedly were due to
radiation. Accepting those examined as
a fair sample, it is predicted that about
six per cent of all those within 1000
yards of the center of the explosion will
develop such cataractS, which lead to
blindness.
Otherwise. says the report "those sur
viving the acute effects of irradiation
can expect a reasonably normal life"
It is stressed, however, that 1t may
still be too early to make this prediction
with complete assurance. There is every
reason to suppose that there will be a
somewhat greater amount of leukemia.
the incurable blood cancer" as the
years go by than would be expected in
an entirely normal population. This is
entirely hypothesis, however, based
on the fact that the disease tends to
strike doctors working in X-ray clinics
with unusual frequency.
Surveys On Aftermath.
Meanwhile other surveys have shown
notable decrease in the amount of
aftermath radiation both in the neigh
borhood of the first atomic bomb ex
plosion at Los Alamos and in the Bikini
and Eniwetok areas in the Pacific.
In the bomb crater itself near Los Ala
mos, one survey showed, it now is pos
sible to spend several hours without any
precautions or danger of over-exposure.
For the surrounding countryside all the
remaining radiation is confined to the
top two inches of soil where necessarily
some of it gets into plants.
Cattle grazing on the mesa. however.
show no more radioactivity in their It's
sues than do those from other parts of
the country. Small mammals are rapidly
recolonlzing the region. They show some
radioactivity in their digestive tracts
from the plants they have eaten, but no
increase above normal in their tissues as
a whole.
Traces Near Bikini.
The waters around Bikini now show
only trace quantities of radiation, al
though a great mass of approximately
5000 tons of sludge near the target
center remains fairly radioactive. There
has been some migration" Of this radio
activity from sea to land where it is
picked up by the plants. 1t is about
five times that which normally would be
expected but this is far from the danger
stage.
Medical science is making slow but
certain advances against the effects of
atomic radiation.
Two safeguards which can be applied
before exposure-if there is to be any
warning of the dropping of an atomic
bomb-are likely to have some protective
value, according to reports of the Atomic
Energy Commission.
Effect Not Explained.
A few years ago it was found that
heavy doses of female sex hormones in
creased the survival rate of expert
mental animals. There was no explana-
ton for the effect Now it has been
found, according to the Commissions
report, that the hormones function by
suppressing temporarily the activity Of
the bone marrow where blood cells are
formed
Anything which will have the same
effect is just as good. Several drugs
are under consideration. To be of any
value, however, the drug must be given
at just the right time so that the bone
marrow cells are actively recovering from
their setback when the irradiation takes
place.
Workers in the Argonne Laboratory
at the University of Chicago have found
that the effects of irradiation of animals
are likely to be much less serious if
victim is given large amounts of the
amino acid cystein before exposure. Cys-
tein is one of the essential building stones
of most tissue.
Diet Possible Factor.
There is, as yet, no adequate explana-
tion for the protective effect. 1t does
not occur unless the acid is given imme-
diately before the irradiation takes place.
The chief value of the observation is
that new field has been opened, and
studies now are under way with other
types of amino acids.
Diet, recent studies indicate, may prove
an important factor in treating radiation
injury. Observations reported to the
Commission from the University of Cali
fornia show that animals are much more
liable to severe radiation injury if they
have been starved of certain fatty acids
which normally are present in the diet.
Curiously, however. If corn oil which
contains most of these acids is added
to the diet after irradiation, the effects
become much more pronounced.