ABCC/RERF: Commemorating the First 50 Years and Looking to the Future [Symposium program]

In 1946, President Harry Truman, in a document currently on display at the entrance to this auditorium, approved a directive to the National Academy of Sciences-National Research Council (NAS-NRC) to initiate a long-term investigation of the health effects associated with exposure to radiation from the atomic bombs. With funding provided by the Atomic Energy Commission, now the Department of Energy, NAS-NRC established the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission (ABCC) in March 1947. The government of Japan through the Japanese National Institute of Health, became a partner in that endeavor in 1948. In 1975, the Radiation Effects Research Foundation (RERF) was established and assumed the responsibilities of ABCC. This symposium commemorates 50 years of ABCC/RERF. It is dedicated to the many survivors and their families without whose cooperation we would not have learned as much as we have about the effects of radiation. It is also dedicated to the thousands of employees of RERF and scientists around the world who have contributed through the years to the analysis and interpretation of the information emerging from this unique study