The fundamental understanding of the production of biological effects by
ionizing radiation may well be one of the most important scientific
objectives of mankind; such understanding could lead to the effective
and safe utilization of the nuclear energy option. In addition, this
knowledge will be of immense value in such diverse fields as radiation
therapy and diagnosis and in the space program. To achieve the above
stated objective, the U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) and its
predecessors embarked upon a fundamental interdisciplinary research
program some 35 years ago. A critical component of this program is the
Radiological and Chemical Physics Program (RCPP). When the RCPP was
established, there was very little basic knowledge in the fields of
physics, chemistry, and biology that could be directly applied to
understanding the effects of radiation on biological systems. Progress
of the RCPP program in its first 15 years was documented in the
proceedings of a conference held at Airlie, Virginia, in 1972. At this
conference, it was clear that considerable progr: ess had been made in
research on the physical and chemical processes in well-characterized
systems that could be used to understand biological effects. During this
period of time, most physical knowledge was obtained for the gas phase
because the technology and instru- mentation had not progressed to the
point that measurements could be made in liquids more characteristic of
biological materials.
