Annual report of Radiation Effects Research Foundation

The Radiation Effects Research Foundation was established in April, 1975, as a private nonprofit Japanese Foundation supported equally by the Government of Japan through the Ministry of Health and Welfare, and the Government of the United States through the National Academy of Sciences under contract with the Energy Research and Development Administration. First, the messages from the chairman and the vice-chairman are described. In the annual report, the review of ABCC-RERF studies of atomic bomb survivors, the summary of research activities, the research projects, the technical report abstracts, the research papers published in Japanese and foreign journals, and the oral presentation and lectures, all from April 1, 1978, to March 31, 1979, are reported. Also the report from the Secretariat and the appendixes are given. The surveys and researches carried out in Hiroshima and Nagasaki have offered very valuable informations to the atomic bomb survivors. Many fears were eliminated, medical interests were given to the serious effects of the exposure to atomic bombs, and many things concerning the cancer induced by radiation were elucidated. The knowledges obtained will save many human lives in future by utilizing them for setting up the health and safety standard in the case of handling ionizing radiation. The progress in researches such as life span study, adult health study, pathology study, genetics program, special cancer program and so on is reported. (Kako, I.)