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NOTE TO S MARKS, SUBJECT: TRANSMITTAL OF ENCLOSURES ( ATT: NEWSPAPER ARTICLES HUMANS INJECTED WITH PLUTONIUM AT STRONG ( DTD 2/22/76 AND INVOLUNTARY " GUINEA PIGS " DTD 2/23/76 )

HREX; CONSENT ISSUES; DISCREET; ETHICS; GOVERNMENT; HUMANS; PATIENTS; PLUTONIUM; PLUTONIUM INJECTION EXPERIMENT; PUBLIC INFORMATION RELEASE; RADIATION PROTECTION STANDARDS; WORLD WAR II

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

CORRESPONDENCE, LETTERS, MEMOS

1976 Feb 22

Never classified

0003

NV0700065

1994 Aug 27

2017 Dec 15

THIS IS A 3 PAGE DOCUMENT CONSISTING OF 3 ITEMS THAT APPEAR TO BE SENT TO DR. MARKS (OF AEC DIVISION OF BIOMEDICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH) FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER. THE FIRST ITEM (PAGE 0000218) IS A TYPE-WRITTEN ROUTING SLIP FROM THE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER, FROM D. K. HESS TO DR. S. MARKS (OF AEC DBER), DATED FEBRUARY 26, 1976. THE SECOND ITEM (PAGE 0000219) IS A PHOTOCOPY OF A PORTION OF AN ARTICLE FROM THE FEBRUARY 22, 1976 EDITION OF THE ROCHESTER NEWSPAPER DEMOCRAT AND CHRONICLE ENTITLE, "HUMANS INJECTED WITH PLUTONIUM AT STRONG.." THE AUTHOR IS GIVEN AS MAURICE H. THOMPSON, D&C STAFF WRITER. THE ARTICLE STATES THAT STRONG MEMORIAL HOSPITAL WAS ONE OF FOUR HOSPITALS THAT TOOK PART IN THE WORLD WAR II SECRET PROJECT TO INJECT PATIENTS WITH NON-LETHAL DOSES OF PLUTONIUM. "THE SUBJECTS WEREN'T TOLD WHAT THEY WERE BEING GIVEN, A UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER PROFESSOR CONFIRMED YESTERDAY." A DR. WILLIAM F. BALE, PROFESSOR OF RADIATION BIOLOGY AND BIOPHYSICS AT THE UNIVERSITY, WHO WAS COMMISSIONED AS A RESEARCHER FOR THE RELATED ATOMIC ENERGY PROJECT AT THE UNIVERSITY AT THE TIME OF THE STUDY, WAS QUOTED AS SAYING THE TEST SUBJECTS "...DID NOT COME VOLUNTARILY TO THE PROJECT AND IT IS MY IMPRESSION THEY DID NOT KNOW THEY WERE BEING TREATED WITH PLUTONIUM." THE CONTINUATION OF THE ARTICLE ON ANOTHER PAGE WAS NOT INCLUDED HERE. THE THIRD ITEM (PAGE 0000220) IS A PHOTOCOPY OF AN ARTICLE ENTITLED, "INVOLUNTARY 'GUINEA PIGS' 'HIGHLY UNLIKELY' NOW". THE HANDWRITTEN NOTE AT THE TOP OF THIS PAGE INDICATES THE ARTICLE CAME FROM THE FEBRUARY 23, 1976 EDITION OF THE TIMES UNION NEWSPAPER OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK. THE ARTICLE STATES THAT "LOCAL HEALTH OFFICIALS AGREED TODAY THAT IT IS HIGHLY UNLIKELY THAT A MEDICAL EXPERIMENT COULD BE CONDUCT NOW IN WHICH PATIENTS AREN'T TOLD WHAT WAS BEING DONE TO THEM AND THE RISKS INVOLVED." THE COMMENT RESULTED FROM A RECENT REVELATION THAT STRONG MEMORIAL HOSPITAL WAS ONE OF FOUR HOSPITALS TAKING PART IN THE SECRET GOVERNMENT MEDICAL EXPERIMENTS BETWEEN 1945 AND 1947. DR. WILLIAM F. BALE, PROFESSOR OF RADIATION BIOLOGY AND BIOPHYSICS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER AND THE ADMINISTRATOR OF THE PROGRAM WAS QUOTED AS SAYING "...THE PATIENTS WERE PROBABLY TOLD THEY WERE PART OF A SCIENTIFIC PROJECT AND WOULD BE INJECTED WITH SOMETHING HARMLESS WHICH WOULD CONTRIBUTE TO OUR SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE. THEY WERE PROBABLY TOLD THAT IT WOULD BE AN ACT OF PATRIOTISM TO TAKE PART." DR. BALE DOUBTS THAT ANY OF THE PATIENTS WERE EVER TOLD THEY WOULD BE GIVEN A RADIOACTIVE SUBSTANCE. THE ARTICLE PROVIDES A SHORT DESCRIPTION OF CURRENT GUIDELINES FOR PATIENT PROTECT THAT WERE IN PLACE AT THE TIME THE ARTICLE WAS WRITTEN, INCLUDING THE DHEW REGULATION ON INFORMED CONSENT AND DISCLOSURE OF THE TYPE OF EXPERIMENT TO BE DONE AND RISKS INVOLVED, THE REVIEW COMMITTEES, AND THE STATE HEALTH DEPARTMENT'S "PATIENT BILL OF RIGHTS."