Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission
The Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission (ABCC) (dt about. "Commission to investigate the atomic bomb victim") was founded in 1946 by the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences by order of US President Harry S. Truman established to the late effects of ionizing radiation doses below to investigate survivors after the atomic bomb explosions in Hiroshima and Nagasaki . This worked for almost thirty years until it was dissolved in 1975.
development
Initial investigations took place after Radio Tokyo reported mysterious deaths in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. So on September 19, 1945, the US military sent an investigation team led by General Thomas Farrell , who had already worked on the Manhattan Project , to put an end to the rumors. Farrell later described his job as "Our mission was to prove that there was no radioactivity".
The ABCC arrived in Japan on November 24, 1946 and initially familiarized itself with the work of the Japanese military. She visited Hiroshima and Nagasaki to see what had already been done. She found that the Japanese had a well-organized medical group under the Japan National Research Council that carried out investigations for immediate and long-term damage in the survivors of the atomic bomb. It is almost impossible to get an exact number how many people were killed in the two bombings, as people had been evacuated from both cities since the beginning of the war. Hiroshima expected bombing as the city was an important military supply center, so many people had left the area. People from the surrounding areas also came to the city at irregular intervals to help in working groups. Robert Holmes, director from 1954 to 1957, said the survivors were the most important people alive.
The ABCC also relied on the work of Japanese scientists who had observed the survivors before the ABCC arrived in Japan. There was information from American and Japanese sources.
The ABCC grew rapidly in 1948 and 1949. The number of employees quadrupled in one year. By 1951 it had a total of 1063 employees - 143 Americans and 920 Japanese. Perhaps the most important research undertaken by the ABCC was the Genetics Study, which focused on the uncertainties about the possible long-term effects of ionizing radiation in pregnant women and their unborn children. The study found no evidence of widespread genetic damage. However, there has been a striking increase in microcephaly and mental retardation in children exposed to radiation before birth.
Reactions
Most Japanese distrusted the ABCC because it was set up for purely scientific research and teaching, but not for medical care, and was largely supported by the USA. It was further criticized that the investigations took place on weekdays during working hours and that the persons concerned received no compensation for them. The ABCC disregarded Japanese needs in small details: The signs and magazines in the waiting rooms were only in English. The flooring in the waiting room for mothers and babies was made of polished linoleum, so women often slipped and fell in their wooden shoes. The ABCC did not actually treat the survivors, but simply studied them over a long period of time. On the other hand, the examinations brought medical information. Babies received a check-up at birth and 9 months later. Baby health check-ups were almost unknown there before. Adults were also given medical examinations.
continuation
In 1951 the Atomic Energy Agency (AEC) wanted to freeze funds for the operation of the ABCC plant in Japan. As a result, geneticist James V. Neel issued an appeal, and the AEC decided to pay US $ 20,000 annually for three years to continue the research. Despite all efforts, trust in the ABCC was declining. The work continued in April 1975 under the new name Radiation Effects Research Foundation and with a new organization. The successor commission is made up of equal numbers by the USA and Japan and is still active today.
The ABCC reports remained under lock and key until April 1952. When the doctor Shingeto Fumio spoke at a congress of Japanese hematologists in 1952 about a noticeable increase in leukemia as a possible consequence of the atomic bomb, the ABCC sharply criticized him. Other Japanese doctors and scientists (although it was banned for a time) collected data and clinical histories. They documented - and continue to do so to this day - the consequences and long-term effects of the bomb explosions: Hundreds of thousands of cancer cases, diverse clinical pictures, deformities and genetic damage in subsequent generations.
Web links
- ABCC documentation
- Radiation Effects Research Foundation (English and Japanese)
- Radio College - The atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki: symbol for the threat posed to mankind by oneself (1). Judith Brandner. Ö1-Radio August 3, 2015. oe1.orf.at - (7 days listenable)
Individual evidence
- ↑ https://www.rerf.or.jp/en/glossary/abcc-en/
- ↑ a b Manfred Kriener , zeit.de of April 17, 2011: One GAU per year does no harm