BEIR VII Committee Formed

["Sandy Perle" <sandyfl@ix.netcom.com>]

This post was retrieved from the Powernet ListServer and was posted 
by Ralph Andersen, NEI
-----

BEIR VII Committee Formed (from Nuclear Energy Overview - 2/10/97)

The National Research Council committee that produces BEIR reports
(Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation) will meet March 26-27 to
begin studying whether to formally reassess the health risks of low
levels of ionizing radiation.

The Environmental Protection Agency asked the National Academy of
Sciences last year to examine whether sufficient new information
exists - especially on the issue of linearity of the radiation-dose
response at low doses - to warrant a re-examination of the 1990 BEIR V
conclusions. BEIR recommendations have provided a risk basis used by
the NRC and many other countries' regulatory agencies to develop
radiation protection standards.  Typically, BEIR committee
reassessments are done every 10 years.

The BEIR VII committee is expected by next fall to recommend to EPA
whether or not to proceed to Phase II: the comprehensive risk
assessment.  During Phase II, experts in radiation carcinogenesis,
epidemiology, genetics, biostatistics, pathology and other relevant
disciplines would provide new estimates of the genetic and somatic
risks of radiation exposure in humans.

The Phase II committee would base its findings on at least four
sources of information: updated data on Japanese atomic bomb survivors
by the Radiation Effects Research Foundation, other epidemiology
studies, recent animal studies, and new biological studies of
cancer-causing mechanisms at the cellular level.

If the committee proceeds to Phase II, the final report would probably
take another three years.

The Phase I committee, consisting of eight scientists, is chaired by
Richard Setlow, senior biophysicist and associate director for life
sciences, Brookhaven National Laboratory.

"NEI will closely monitor the progress of the committee and keep
members informed of significant developments," says Ralph Andersen,
NEI's senior project manager, nuclear generation.   

------------------
Sandy Perle
Technical Director
ICN Dosimetry Division
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Office: (800) 548-5100 x2306 
Fax:    (714) 668-3149
  
E-Mail: sandyfl@ix.netcom.com
        sperle@icnpharm.com

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