Document Details
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(610 K)
Title:
THE HEALTH EFFECTS OF PLUTONIUM AND RADIUM-SURVIVAL, CAUSES OF DEATH, AND ESTIMATED TISSUE DOSES IN A GROUP OF HUMAN BEINGS INJECTED WITH PLUTONIUM (PARTIAL)
Author(s):
Subject Terms:
HREX; CONSENT ISSUES; DEATH; ETHICS; HEALTH EFFECTS; HUMANS; MEDICAL SURVEILLANCE; PLUTONIUM; PLUTONIUM INJECTION EXPERIMENT; PUBLICATION; RADIUM; TISSUE
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:
REPORT
Publication Date:
1976 Dec 31
Declassification Status:
Never classified
Document Pages:
0014
Accession Number:
NV0700080
Originating Research Org.:
Univ. of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT (United States)
OpenNet Entry Date:
1994 Aug 27
OpenNet Modified Date:
2012 May 14
Description/Abstract:
THIS 13 PAGE DOCUMENT IS A CHAPTER OF A BOOK, THE HEALTH EFFECTS OF PLUTONIUM AND RADIUM, EDITED BY S. S. WEBSTER OF THE COLLEGE OF MEDICINE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH. IT IS TITLED "SURVIVAL, CAUSES OF DEATH, AND ESTIMATED TISSUE DOSES IN A GROUP OF HUMAN BEINGS INJECTED WITH PLUTONIUM" AND WAS WRITTEN BY R. E. ROWLAND OF THE ARGONNE NATIONAL LABORATORY AND P. W. DURBIN OF THE LAWRENCE BERKELEY LABORATORY. THE US ENERGY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT AGENCY (A SUCCESSOR TO THE FORMER ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION AND A FORERUNNER OF TODAY'S DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY) SPONSORED PREPARATION OF THE BOOK CHAPTER. THE SUBJECT OF THE DOCUMENT IS THE DOSIMETRY OF THE 18 PATIENTS INJECTED WITH PLUTONIUM IN 1945 TO 1947. THE DOCUMENT DOES NOT DISCUSS INFORMED CONSENT (OR DISCLOSURE) (BUT MAY HAVE SOME INFORMATION FOR THOSE CONCERNED WITH ETHICAL ISSUES). THE AUTHORS HAD INFORMATION ON THE CAUSES OF DEATH OF 13 OF THE PATIENTS WHO HAD DIED. ONE WAS UNKNOWN. THE AUTHORS STATE "FROM THE LISTED CAUSES OF DEATH IT APPEARS THAT PLUTONIUM CANNOT BE CONSIDERED TO BE A CONTRIBUTING CAUSE FOR ANY OF THESE CASES." THEY CALCULATED SKELETAL AND LIVER DOSES FOR THE PATIENTS AND COMPARED THEM WITH THE DOSES FOR THOSE INDIVIDUALS WHO HAD DOSES FROM RADIUM ISOTOPES. THE AUTHORS CONCLUDE "THEREFORE, THESE CASES SERVE TO DEMONSTRATE THAT PLUTONIUM DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE MORE CARCINOGENIC THAN EXPECTED AND, AS FAR AS BONE IS CONCERNED, MAY ACTUALLY BE LESS CARCINOGENIC THAN EXPECTED."