she STANFORD UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER
ie . STANFORD, CALIFORNIA 94305 © (415) 821-1200

 

STANFORD UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
Department of Genetics

January 14, 1971

Dear Miss Tocknell:

I am glad to furnish the information that you requested.
However, I am not necessarily an intransigent opponent of nuclear
plant development. Carefully regulated, this may give us many
adv antages over the use of fossil fuels for power.

There are, I believe two important issues:

1) The regulatory standards. These are now under further
study by the National Academy of Sciences. I have advocated a
reduction of the standard from (approximately) a doubling of
background to one-tenth that level. The AEC has repeatedly
stated that this is consistent with their actual practice, and
I believe that there is no economical or technological obstacle
to working at that reduced level for at least another decade, a
time during which some present uncertainties should be cleared
up. In terms of the attached analysis, this would reduce the
annual health cost from $10 per person to $1, a point at which
we would then rationally focus on other hazards as more intrusive.
Also, because of public sensitivities, a standard that is logically
constructed as an average permitted exposure will surely be
pressed to become a maximum individual tolerance, so that the
actual costs will be further reduced.

2) The compliance of a given design with these standards.
This is an intricate problem, and deserves as wide a range of
technically informed attention as can be recruited. It is all
to easy to overlook some ecosystemic concentration of a radio-
active isotope that may.upset otherwise impeccable engineering
calculations. One can then fairly demand full and early dis-
closure of the relevant design information as an essential part
of a proper “due process" to protect the environment and the
public health. I cannot judge how well this has been done in
your local situation.

I warrant that this letter and the signed attachments reflect
my best knowledge and true belief in this matter, and you may
use them in their entirety.

Yours sincerely,

Lf,

LT. J. P. KENNEDY, JR. LABORATORIES FOR MOLECULAR MEDICINE, DEDICATED TO RESEARCH IN MENTAL RETARDATION
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY HEREDITY NEUROBIOLOGY BEVELOPMENTAL MEDICINE