Document Details
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Title:
WW II TESTS OF PLUTONIUM IN HUMANS TOLD ( CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, DTD 02/22/76 )
Subject Terms:
HREX; ETHICS; HUMANS; PLUTONIUM; PLUTONIUM INJECTION EXPERIMENT; PUBLIC INFORMATION RELEASE; WORLD WAR II
Document Location:
Location - DOE/NNSA NUCLEAR TESTING ARCHIVE Address - P.O. Box 98521 City - Las Vegas State - NV Zip - 89193-8521 Phone - (702)794-5106 Fax - (702)862-4240 Email - NTA@NV.DOE.GOV
Document Type:
NEWS STORY
Publication Date:
1976 Feb 22
Declassification Status:
Never classified
Document Pages:
0001
Accession Number:
NV0700061
Originating Research Org.:
CHICAGO SUN-TIMES - NEWSPAPER
OpenNet Entry Date:
1994 Aug 27
OpenNet Modified Date:
2012 May 14
Description/Abstract:
THIS ONE-PAGE DOCUMENT IS A PHOTOCOPY OF AN ARTICLE APPEARING IN THE FEBRUARY 22, 1976 EDITION OF THE CHICAGO SUN TIMES ENTITLED, "WW II TESTS OF PLUTONIUM IN HUMANS TOLD." THE BYLINE FOR THE ARTICLE INDICATES THAT IT ORIGINATED AT UPI, WASHINGTON. THE ARTICLE PROVIDES SOME DETAILS REPORTED ON THE "18 MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN, ALL OF WHOM WERE TERMINALLY ILL" THAT WERE INJECTED WITH "OVERDOSES OF BOMB-GRADE PLUTONIUM THREE DECADES AGO." DR. JAMES LIVERMAN OF THE ENERGY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ADMIN. (ERDA) WAS STATED AS SAYING THAT THE WW II-ERA EXPERIMENT WAS FORGOTTEN FOR 20 YEARS AND THE RECORDS ARE SKETCHY, BUT THAT "...THERE IS NO EVIDENCE THAT ANY OF THE 18 SUFFERED ILL EFFECTS FROM THEIR INJECTIONS." THE PATIENTS WERE SELECTED WITH A PREFERENCE FOR PERSONS 45 OR OLDER WHO WERE EXPECTED TO DIE WITHIN 10 YEARS OF AN EXISTING DISEASE. DR. LIVERMAN WENT ON TO SAY "...PRESUMPTIVE EVIDENCE BASED LARGELY ON RECENT INTERVIEWS WITH DOCTORS ABOUT MEDICAL PRACTICES IN THE LATE 1940S, SUGGEST THAT THE FIRST 17 PEOPLE WERE TOLD THAT THEY WERE IN A TERMINAL ILLNESS AND THE GOVERNMENT WANTED TO INJECT THEM WITH HAZARDOUS MATERIAL RELATED TO THE WAR EFFORT."