June 12, 2000 Richard R. Monson M.D., Chair c/o Rick Jostes, Staff Officer Committee on the Health Risks from Exposure to Low Levels of Ionizing Radiation (BEIR VII) National Academy of Sciences 2101 Constitution Avenue, NW Washington, D.C. 20418 Dear Dr. Monson, At your first meeting, you made a public commitment to me that the BEIR VII committee would consider all of the issues raised in the September 3, 1999 letter from the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research and other groups and individuals as seriously as if they had been raised by a member of the committee (letter enclosed). I was pleased to hear that at the December 1999 meeting of the committee in Irvine, you reiterated that commitment. However, it is my understanding that at the last meeting of the BEIR VII epidemiology working group in March, you stated that the committee would verbally discuss the points in the letter, but not necessarily address them in writing. I strongly believe that the BEIR VII committee must address these issues in writing. Addressing in a thorough manner all of the issues raised in the letter is crucial to the task of reassessing the effects of low-level radiation. I believe it will also be important to public confidence in your work. Further, because the work of the committee will likely be influential in setting the tone and terms of the scientific debate on the effects of low-level radiation and in the radiation standard-setting process, it is especially important that the committee's discussion and deliberation of the issues be open, careful, and well-documented. Therefore, I expect that you will commission presentations on the subjects raised in the letter as you have done for others, such as hormesis. I expect that you will compile a careful written record of you deliberations so people can see how your committee is dealing with public input. I would appreciate a note from you as soon as possible as to how and when you plan to substantively address the issues in the letter. Thank you. Sincerely, Arjun Makhijani, Ph.D. President Enclosed: Letter to BEIR VII Committee from IEER and others, September 3, 1999 (signatures updated December 20, 1999)