Human Radiation Experiments

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Human Radiation Experiments

• A question of ethics

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• If the radiance of a thousand sunsWere to
  burst at once into the sky,That would be like
  the splendor of the Mighty One...I am become
  Death,The shatterer of Worlds.
• -The Bhagavad-Gita

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• When the first atomic bomb was tested in Nevada,
  a bright light could be seen in the sky all the
  way in New York City. The radiation had spread.

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• TRINITY and BEYOND
• Now that the U.S. had unleashed radiation, it
  wanted to find out the effects it would have on
  humans
• without their knowledge

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• Male prisoners in New Jersey volunteered to wear
  a patch of plutonium on their hand in exchange
  for a pack of cigarettes. The majority got
  testicular cancer (cancer in the testicles).

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• The U.S. government wanted to find out if
  radiation could be passed from organism to
  organism and on to humans. Crops were sprayed
  with radioactive material from airplanes.

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• The crops were used to feed dairy cows. The cows
  produced milk

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• The milk was sold in grocery stores

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• People drank the milk

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• People got cancer.

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• 829 pregnant mothers received what they were told
  were vitamin enriched drinks that would improve
  the health of their babies. The drinks contained
  radioactive iron.

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• Scientists wanted to see how fast the radioactive
  material crossed into the placenta.

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Would You Like a Drink?

• Scientist offering radiation cocktails.
• The man drinking it was unaware it was full of
  radioactive materials.

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• In Massachusetts, 73 disabled children were fed
  oatmeal containing radioactive calcium and other
  radioactive substances.

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• If a hospital patient was thought to have less
  than 10 years to live, some were injected with
  plutonium so scientists could study its effects.
  The patients were not told what it was. They
  thought it would help them get better.

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• In 1994, President Bill Clinton formed the Office
  of Human Radiation Experiments forcing the
  Department of Energy to open its secrets to the
  public.
• As a result, informed consent is required for all
  human studies.

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• Informed consent is a legal condition whereby a
  person can be said to have given consent based
  upon a clear appreciation and understanding of
  the facts, implications and future consequences
  of an action.

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• Informed consent is more than simply getting a
  patient to sign a written consent form. It is a
  process of communication between a patient and
  physician that results in the patient's
  authorization or agreement to undergo a specific
  medical intervention.

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• This communications process or a variation
  thereof, is both an ethical obligation and a
  legal requirement.

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Informed Consent MUST Include

• The patient's diagnosis, if known
• The nature and purpose of a proposed treatment or
  procedure
• The risks and benefits of a proposed treatment or
  procedure
• Alternatives (regardless of their cost or the
  extent to which the treatment options are covered
  by health insurance)
• The risks and benefits of the alternative
  treatment or procedure and
• The risks and benefits of not receiving or
  undergoing a treatment or procedure

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• All information contained in this slide show
  was obtained from Department of Energy documents