The Plutonium Files: Difference between revisions
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'''''The Plutonium Files: America's Secret Medical Experiments in the Cold War''''' is a 1999 book by [[Eileen Welsome]]. |
'''''The Plutonium Files: America's Secret Medical Experiments in the Cold War''''' is a 1999 book by [[Eileen Welsome]]. |
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It is a history of [[U.S.]] [[human radiation experiments|government-engineered radiation experiments]] on unwitting Americans, based on the [[Pulitzer Prize]]–winning series Welsome wrote for |
It is a history of [[U.S.]] [[human radiation experiments|government-engineered radiation experiments]] on unwitting Americans, based on the [[Pulitzer Prize]]–winning series Welsome wrote for ''[[The Albuquerque Tribune]]''.<ref>[http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/extract/341/25/1941 Book review] ''[[The New England Journal of Medicine]]'', Volume 341:1941-1942, December 16, 1999.</ref><ref>[http://muse.jhu.edu/login?uri=/journals/bulletin_of_the_history_of_medicine/v076/76.3martensen.html Book Review] ''[[Bulletin of the History of Medicine]]'', Volume 76, Number 3, Fall 2002, pp. 637-638.</ref> |
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''Bulletin of the History of Medicine'', Volume 76, Number 3, Fall 2002, pp. 637-638.</ref> |
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The experiments began in 1945, when [[Manhattan Project]] scientists were preparing to detonate the first [[atomic bomb]]. [[Radiation]] was known to be dangerous and the experiments were designed to ascertain the detailed effect of radiation on human health. Most of the subjects, Welsome says, were poor, powerless, and sick.<ref name=rc> R.C. Longworth. [http://intl-bos.sagepub.com/content/55/6/58.full.pdf+html Injected! Book review:The Plutonium Files: America's Secret Medical Experiments in the Cold War], ''[[The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists]]'', Nov/Dec 1999, 55(6): 58-61.</ref> |
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From 1945 to 1947, 18 people were injected with plutonium by Manhattan project doctors. None of the patients was told what was going on, and the doctors did not ask for their consent. Other experiments directed by the [[United States Atomic Energy Commission]] and the Manhattan Project continued into the 1970s. In Nashville, pregnant women were given radioactive mixtures. In Cincinatti, some 200 patients were irradiated over a period of 15 years. In Chicago, 102 people received injections of strontium and cesium solutions. In Massachusetts, 74 schoolboys were fed oatmeal containing radioactive substances. In all these cases, the subjects did not know what was going on and did not give informed consent.<ref name=rc/> |
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In the book, these stories are interwoven with details of more well-known radiation experiments and accidents. These include: U.S. soldiers deliberately exposed to nuclear bomb blasts; families who lived [[downwinders|downwind]] from atomic tests; radiation exposure in the [[Marshall Islands]]; and the Japanese ''[[Lucky Dragon]]'' trawler caught in a massive [[hydrogen bomb]] blast in 1954.<ref name=rc/> |
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The government covered up most of these radiation mishaps until 1993, when President [[Bill Clinton]] ordered a change of policy and federal agencies then made available records dealing with [[human radiation experiments]]. The resulting investigation was undertaken by the president’s [[Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments]], and it uncovered much of the material included in Welsome's book. The committee issued a controversial 1995 report which said that "wrongs were committed" but it did not condemn those who perpertrated them.<ref name=rc/> |
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[[Jonathan D. Moreno]] was a senior staff member of the committee. He wrote the 1999 book ''Undue Risk: Secret State Experiments on Humans'', which covers some of the same ground as ''The Plutonium Files''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bos.sagepub.com/content/55/6/61.full.pdf+html |title=The volunteers who didn’t |author=Michael Flynn |date= November 1999 vol. 55 no. 6, page 61-62 |work=[[Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists]] }}</ref> |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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*[[Unethical human experimentation in the United States]] |
*[[Unethical human experimentation in the United States]] |
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*''[[Acres of Skin]]'' |
*''[[Acres of Skin]]'' |
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*[[Ruth Faden]] |
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==References== |
==References== |
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{{reflist}} |
{{reflist}} |
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[[Category:1999 books]] |
[[Category:1999 books]] |
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[[Category:Human subject research in the United States]] |
[[Category:Human subject research in the United States]] |
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[[Category:Medical controversies]] |
[[Category:Medical controversies]] |
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[[Category:Medical ethics]] |
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{{US-hist-book-stub}} |
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Revision as of 09:39, 20 September 2012
.jpg) | |
| Author | Eileen Welsome |
|---|---|
| Publisher | The Dial Press |
Publication date | 1999 |
| ISBN | 978-0-385-31402-2 |
The Plutonium Files: America's Secret Medical Experiments in the Cold War is a 1999 book by Eileen Welsome. It is a history of U.S. government-engineered radiation experiments on unwitting Americans, based on the Pulitzer Prize–winning series Welsome wrote for The Albuquerque Tribune.[1][2]
The experiments began in 1945, when Manhattan Project scientists were preparing to detonate the first atomic bomb. Radiation was known to be dangerous and the experiments were designed to ascertain the detailed effect of radiation on human health. Most of the subjects, Welsome says, were poor, powerless, and sick.[3]
From 1945 to 1947, 18 people were injected with plutonium by Manhattan project doctors. None of the patients was told what was going on, and the doctors did not ask for their consent. Other experiments directed by the United States Atomic Energy Commission and the Manhattan Project continued into the 1970s. In Nashville, pregnant women were given radioactive mixtures. In Cincinatti, some 200 patients were irradiated over a period of 15 years. In Chicago, 102 people received injections of strontium and cesium solutions. In Massachusetts, 74 schoolboys were fed oatmeal containing radioactive substances. In all these cases, the subjects did not know what was going on and did not give informed consent.[3]
In the book, these stories are interwoven with details of more well-known radiation experiments and accidents. These include: U.S. soldiers deliberately exposed to nuclear bomb blasts; families who lived downwind from atomic tests; radiation exposure in the Marshall Islands; and the Japanese Lucky Dragon trawler caught in a massive hydrogen bomb blast in 1954.[3]
The government covered up most of these radiation mishaps until 1993, when President Bill Clinton ordered a change of policy and federal agencies then made available records dealing with human radiation experiments. The resulting investigation was undertaken by the president’s Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments, and it uncovered much of the material included in Welsome's book. The committee issued a controversial 1995 report which said that "wrongs were committed" but it did not condemn those who perpertrated them.[3]
Jonathan D. Moreno was a senior staff member of the committee. He wrote the 1999 book Undue Risk: Secret State Experiments on Humans, which covers some of the same ground as The Plutonium Files.[4]
See also
- Experimentation on prisoners
- Harold Hodge
- Unethical human experimentation in the United States
- Acres of Skin
- Ruth Faden
References
- ^ Book review The New England Journal of Medicine, Volume 341:1941-1942, December 16, 1999.
- ^ Book Review Bulletin of the History of Medicine, Volume 76, Number 3, Fall 2002, pp. 637-638.
- ^ a b c d R.C. Longworth. Injected! Book review:The Plutonium Files: America's Secret Medical Experiments in the Cold War, The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Nov/Dec 1999, 55(6): 58-61.
- ^ Michael Flynn (November 1999 vol. 55 no. 6, page 61-62). "The volunteers who didn't". Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)