A NATIONAL DATA EANK FOR ENVIRONMENTAL DISEASES BE ESTABLISHED; ROCOGNITION OF CONFLICT OF INTEREST AS A PROBLEM FOR LEGISLATORS IN SEEKING SCIENTIFIC ADVICE, FOR EXAMPLE, IT IS INAPPROPRIATE FOR LEGISLATORS TO SEEK ADVICE ON A PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUE FROM UNION CARBIDE OAK RIDGE NUCLEAR LABORATORY, WHEN THE ISSUE IS RADIATION.

Whereas the use of advertising techniques on the part of the nuclear industry and government agencies in the promotion of the nuclear industry has confused scientific questions and misled the public, I propose that:

THE NUCLEAR INDUSTRY REFRAIN FROM CLAIMING TO BE A "CLEAN, SAFE
AND EFFICIENT SOURCE OF ENERGY";

NEWS RELEASES BY GOVERNMENT AGENCIES AND BY THE NUCLEAR INDUSTRY BE CONFORMED TO KNOWN SCIENTIFIC FACT, FOR EXAMPLE, ALTHOUGH THERE IS UNIVERSAL AGREEMENT THAT ALL EXPOSURE TO IONIZING RADIATION MAY BE CONSIDERED HARMFUL FOR MAN, IT IS NOT AT ALL UNUSUAL FOR ABNOR MAL, OFF-SITE RADIATION RELEASES FROM NUCLEAR GENERATORS TO BE REPORTED AS POSING NO DANGER TO PERSONS IN THE SURROUNDING AREA.

'Thereas all of the above problems seem to stem from our basic orientation toward economic rain rather than human progress, toward wealth and power instead of health and well-being, I propose that Congress:

ATTEMPT TO RESTORE A BALANCE BETWEEN THE NATIONAL NEED FOR MEANINGFUL JOBS AND JOB SATISFACTION AND RISING PRESSURES TO REPLACE MAN WITH MACHINES, INCREASE SKILLS DEMANDED BY COMPLICATED TECHNOLOGY AND LIMIT THE WORKFORCE BECAUSE OF THE HIGHLY TOXIC NATURE OF THE MATERIALS USED IN PRODUCTION;

PROMOTE PESEARCH INTO MAN'S UNIQUE ABILITY TO IMPROVE HIS STANDARD OF LIVING THROUGH CONTEMPLATION AND A LESS FRANTIC (ENERGY CONSUMING LIFE-STYLE;

EXPLORE CREATIVE CONSERVATION MEASURES, AND WAYS OF REDUCING ENERGY DEMANDS AT PEAK TIMES;

AVOID PROBLEM SOLVING IN TERMS OF COST-BENEFIT, WHEN THE COST IS IN HUMAN STRESS AND WELL-BEING AND THE BENEFIT IS LARGELY TECHMOLOGICAL AND ECONOMIC, RESIST THE GRO 'ING TENDENCY TO REGARD MAN AS AN EXPENDABLE BIOLOGICAL RESOURCE TO BE SACRIFICED TO TECHNOLOGICAL PROGRESS;

FACILITATE LORRYING AND PROVIDE ACCESS TO LEGISLATORS FOR UNFUNDED CITIZEN GROUPS TO NARROW THE POWER GAP BETWEEN THESE GROUPS AND THE ATOMIC INDUSTRIAL FORUM.

I am very sorry that I was unable to be present at your conference on May 4. I was down with a virus and had a high fever; in fact I am still not very well recovered from it. I hope the message I called in was delivered and there were no bad consequences from my absence.

That is

Since I was unable to attend, there is one point I would like to make in writing here. As far as I am concerned, it is the most important point about the whole conference. your group of "experts" were mostly not experts; in other words, if you are seeking authoritative information, you had the wrong group.

-

We are fortunate in having prestigeous groups available to study biological effects of radiation -- ICRP, NCRP, the UN committee, the National Academy of Sciences Committee, the British Medical Research Council, etc. The true experts sit on these committees. All of these committees agree rather well on the issues; from your viewpoint, the differences among them are negligible.

But your group of "experts" at the May 4 meeting were not representative of these groups. The NCRP has about 70 members, and including past members they form a group of about 150 who are the true experts. Yet only about 1/4 of the members of your panel are among these 150. Effects of low-level radiation are estimated principally from animal studies but there is not a single member of your panel who has ever done such animal studies.

I therefore believe that any information obtained from that conference is highly suspicious. If you really want information, you should call in the experts.

Sincerely yours,

Bernard Lohen

Bernard L. Cohen

BLC: bem

PITTSBURGH, PA 15260

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O

COMMITTEE ON INTERIOR AND INSULAR AFFAIRS

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JAMES A. HALEY, Florida, Chairman

NOTE. The first listed minority member is counterpart to the subcommittee chairman.

COMMITTEE ON INTERIOR AND INSULAR AFFAIRS,
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
Washington, D.C., September 3, 1976.

MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE ON
INTERIOR AND INSULAR AFFAIRS,
U.S. House of Representatives,
Washington, D.C.

DEAR COLLEAGUES: A major concern of the Committee's Subcommittee on Energy and the Environment is the problem of security in the domestic nuclear industry. This is the problem of protecting against theft of materials from which nuclear explosives might be constructed. It is also the problem of safeguarding against sabotage that could result in radioactive materials being released into the environment.

Since this is a matter of concern to all of us, I am forwarding to you the following report based on the subcommittee's efforts in the area of domestic safeguards.

Sincerely yours,

JAMES A. HALEY, Chairman.

COMMITTEE ON INTERIOR AND INSULAR AFFAIRS,

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
Washington, D.C., September 1, 1976.

Hon. JAMES A. HALEY,
Chairman, Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, U.S. House of
Representatives, Washington, D.C.

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: Transmitted herewith is a report concerning security in the domestic nuclear industry. The report is based on hearings before the subcommittee and on materials the subcommittee has received subsequent to the hearings. The hearings, held February 26 and 27, were chaired at my request by my colleague, Paul Tsongas.

Information provided us indicates a major discrepancy between the security threats the Nuclear Regulatory Commission believes to be plausible and the security measures required to protect against such threats. The Commission has failed to make hard choices about security in the nuclear industry; it should decide either that the threat to security is overblown and that existing protection systems are adequate, or it should decide the threat is, or could well be, of major proportions and that much more stringent measures are needed.