The Politics of Radiation Hazards in America, 1928-1970

美国人越来越担心核辐射 他们在日常生活中接触到的东西。 在1940年代， 50年代，X光被常规用于牙科，医学检查， 即使是买鞋|常规的X光检查 受限制，剂量大大低于以前接受的剂量 标准 在铀矿尾矿上建造住房 在西方，律师们在正在进行的诉讼中获得了丰富的经验。 氡渗入家庭、学校和办公室的地下室 东部天然花岗岩沉积物的侵蚀 一个全新的辐射水平测试行业 指控 政府设施释放的辐射 国会调查。 这提高了人们对 暴露在辐射中的危险在很大程度上是因为 科学家们不断变化的暴露标准， 多年来建立的。 惠特莫尔博士，在这项资助下， 将完成他的研究，开始根据国家科学基金会的论文 20世纪20年代到70年代美国的反应 辐射危害，特别是建立和后来 更改辐射暴露标准。 这项研究还不 试图将当代政策分析强加于人， 学习如何在实践中，科学的，政治的， 伦理问题相互影响。 辐射标准的历史 在美国从咨询委员会成立 从1928年的《X射线和辐射防护法》到1998年的《X射线和辐射防护法》， 1970年，联邦辐射理事会，当时其职能是 移交给环境保护局。 史 注重建立和修订最基本的 容许照射标准：“耐受剂量”、“最大 辐射防护指南》和《辐射防护指南》。" 研究主要基于科学档案， 制定和修订这些标准的委员会： 国家辐射防护理事会（ ACXRP）和联邦辐射理事会。 除了 审查科学、政治和道德之间的相互作用 每个委员会内部的问题，该项目还将提供 有机会比较一个独立的科学家 机构（NCRP）与一个联邦机构（FRC）。

Americans have become increasingly concerned with the radiation they are exposed to in their daily lives. In the 1940's and 50's, x-rays were routinely used in dentistry, medical exams, even for the purchase of shoes| Routine x-rays are now greatly restricted and at considerably less dose than previously accepted standards. The construction of homes over uranium mine tailings in the West has enriched lawyers in the ongoing litigation. Radon seeping into the basements of homes, schools and offices from naturally occurring granite deposits in the East has caused a whole new industry for testing of radiation levels. Charges of release of radiation from government facilities has brought congressional investigations. This increased awareness of the hazards of exposure to radiation has come, in great part, because of the changing standards of exposure which scientists have established over the years. Dr.Whittemore, under this grant, will complete his study, started under an NSF dissertation support award, of the American response from the 1920's to 1970 to radiation hazards, particularly the establishment and later alterations of radiation exposure standards. This study is not an attempt to impose contemporary policy analysis but instead learn how, in actual practice, the scientific, political and ethical issues interacted. This history of radiation standards in the United States from the founding of the Advisory Committee on X-ray and Radiation Protection in 1928 to the disbanding of the Federal Radiation Council in 1970, when its functions were transferred to the Environmental Protection Agency. The history focuses on the establishment and revision of the most basic standards for allowable exposure: "tolerance dose," "maximum permissible exposure" and "radiation protection guidelines." Research is based primarily on the archives of the scientific committees which established and revised these standards: the National Council on Radiation Protection (the modern name of the ACXRP) and the Federal Radiation Council. In addition to examining the interaction of scientific, political and ethical issues within each committee, the project will also provide the opportunity to compare the workings of an independent scientific institution (the NCRP) with a federal agency (FRC).