Human radiation experiments
Encyclopedia
Since the discovery of ionizing radiation
, a number of human radiation experiments have been performed to understand the effects of ionizing radiation and radioactive contamination
on the human body, specifically with the element plutonium.
and the Atomic Energy Commission
. Experiments included (amongst other things):
On January 15, 1994, President Bill Clinton formed the Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments
(ACHRE), chaired by Ruth Faden
of the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics. The committee was created to investigate and report the use of human beings as test subjects in experiments involving the effects of ionizing radiation in federally funded research. The committee discovered the causes of the experiments, and reasons why the proper oversight did not exist, and made several recommendations to prevent future occurrences of similar events. The final report issued by the ACHRE can be found at the Department of Energy's website here: http://www.eh.doe.gov/ohre/roadmap/achre/report.html.
For further information, please see: Human radiation experiments in the United States
the plutonium files
Ionizing radiation
Ionizing radiation is radiation composed of particles that individually have sufficient energy to remove an electron from an atom or molecule. This ionization produces free radicals, which are atoms or molecules containing unpaired electrons...
, a number of human radiation experiments have been performed to understand the effects of ionizing radiation and radioactive contamination
Radioactive contamination
Radioactive contamination, also called radiological contamination, is radioactive substances on surfaces, or within solids, liquids or gases , where their presence is unintended or undesirable, or the process giving rise to their presence in such places...
on the human body, specifically with the element plutonium.
Experiments performed in the United States
Numerous human radiation experiments have been performed in the United States, many of which were funded by various U.S. government agencies, such as the Department of DefenseUnited States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
and the Atomic Energy Commission
United States Atomic Energy Commission
The United States Atomic Energy Commission was an agency of the United States government established after World War II by Congress to foster and control the peace time development of atomic science and technology. President Harry S...
. Experiments included (amongst other things):
- Injecting radioactive iodine into pregnant women seeking abortion, in order to track the mass transfer between placenta and carriers bloodstream. Another experiment administered radioactive iodine to newborns.
- irradiating the heads of children
- feeding radioactive material to mentally disabled children(Tanner Spencer)
- exposing U.S. soldiers and prisoners to high levels of radiation
- irradiating the testicles of prisoners, which caused severe birth defects
- exhuming bodies from graveyards to test them for radiation (without the consent of the families of the deceased)
On January 15, 1994, President Bill Clinton formed the Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments
Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments
The Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments was established in 1994 to investigate questions of the record of the United States government with respect to human radiation experiments. The special committee was created by President Bill Clinton in Executive Order 12891, issued January 15,...
(ACHRE), chaired by Ruth Faden
Ruth Faden
Ruth R. Faden, M.P.H., Ph.D., is the Philip Franklin Wagley Professor of Biomedical Ethics and Executive Director of The Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics at Johns Hopkins University. She is also a Senior Research Scholar at the Kennedy Institute of Ethics, Georgetown University.She has...
of the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics. The committee was created to investigate and report the use of human beings as test subjects in experiments involving the effects of ionizing radiation in federally funded research. The committee discovered the causes of the experiments, and reasons why the proper oversight did not exist, and made several recommendations to prevent future occurrences of similar events. The final report issued by the ACHRE can be found at the Department of Energy's website here: http://www.eh.doe.gov/ohre/roadmap/achre/report.html.
For further information, please see: Human radiation experiments in the United States
See also
- MKULTRA
- Project SUNSHINEProject SUNSHINEProject SUNSHINE was a series of research studies to ascertain the impact of radioactive fallout on the world's population. Commissioned jointly by the United States Atomic Energy Commission and USAF Project Rand, SUNSHINE sought to examine the long-term effects of nuclear radiation on the...
- Nuclear and radiation accidentsNuclear and radiation accidentsA nuclear and radiation accident is defined by the International Atomic Energy Agency as "an event that has led to significant consequences to people, the environment or the facility...
- Radiation poisoningRadiation poisoningAcute radiation syndrome also known as radiation poisoning, radiation sickness or radiation toxicity, is a constellation of health effects which occur within several months of exposure to high amounts of ionizing radiation...
- Radioactive contaminationRadioactive contaminationRadioactive contamination, also called radiological contamination, is radioactive substances on surfaces, or within solids, liquids or gases , where their presence is unintended or undesirable, or the process giving rise to their presence in such places...
- Human experimentationHuman experimentationHuman subject research includes experiments and observational studies. Human subjects are commonly participants in research on basic biology, clinical medicine, nursing, psychology, and all other social sciences. Humans have been participants in research since the earliest studies...
- Totskoye range nuclear tests
- Walter E. Fernald State SchoolWalter E. Fernald State SchoolThe Walter E. Fernald State School, now the Walter E. Fernald Developmental Center, located in Waltham, Massachusetts, is the Western hemisphere's oldest publicly funded institution serving people with developmental disabilities. Originally a Victorian sanatorium, it became a "poster child" for...
Further reading
- Killing Our Own: The disaster of America's experience with atomic radiation, by Harvey Wasserman, Delacorte Press, c1992, ISBN 978-0440045670
- The Treatment: The Story of Those Who Died in the Cincinnati Radiation Tests, by Martha Stephens, Duke UniversityDuke UniversityDuke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
Press, c2002, Durham, N.C., ISBN 0-8223-2811-9 - Bravo for the Marshallese: Regaining Control in a Post-Nuclear, Post-Colonial World, by Holly M. Barker, Wadsworth, 2004. ISBN 0-534-61326-8
- Chair's Perspective on the Work of the Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments by Ruth FadenRuth FadenRuth R. Faden, M.P.H., Ph.D., is the Philip Franklin Wagley Professor of Biomedical Ethics and Executive Director of The Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics at Johns Hopkins University. She is also a Senior Research Scholar at the Kennedy Institute of Ethics, Georgetown University.She has...
External links
- PROJECT SUNSHINE AND THE SLIPPERY SLOPE
- The nuclear bodysnatchers
- Grave injustices
- "A Little of the Buchenwald Touch": America's Secret Radiation Experiments
- Cheryl Welsh, Outlaw nonconsensual human experiments now The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, June 16, 2009.
- Embassy of the Republic of the Marshall Islands
- The Final Report of the Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments
the plutonium files