Laboratory For Energy-Related Health Research

Facility Description

For over 30 years, LEHR was the site of studies on the long-term health effects of low-level radiation on laboratory animals.Through the support of DOE’s predecessor, the AEC, LEHR (also known in the earlier years as the Radiobiology Laboratory) began in 1951 as a research project investigating the biological effects of X-rays. A few years later, the Atomic Energy Commission contracted with LEHR for what became a 33- year study that investigated the health effects of internal exposure to low levels of strontium 90 and radium 226. In a separate but related project, research animals were exposed to cobalt 60 radiation. Research involving the use of small amounts of plutonium 241, thorium 228, and other radioisotopes was also performed.

Research at LEHR has focused on: understanding better the effects of exposure to low-level radiation on the skeleton and its blood-forming constituents; investigating the behavior of certain bone-seeking radioactive materials; studying the beagle as an experimental animal model; exploring how low-level radiation triggers and affects the formation of tumors and development of leukemia; and, developing effective ways to use results gathered from animal studies to assess risks to humans. LEHR closed in 1989 and has been in remediation mode since 1991.