[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 13 (Thursday, February 10, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: February 10, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                     COLD WAR RADIATION EXPERIMENTS

                                 ______


                          HON. LEE H. HAMILTON

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 10, 1994

  Mr. HAMILTON. Mr. Speaker, I would like to insert my Washington 
report for Wednesday, January 26, 1994, into the Congressional Record:

                     Cold War Radiation Experiments

       Recent news about cold war nuclear program experiments have 
     shocked many Americans. In the last two months Energy 
     Secretary Hazel O'Leary has produced new information about 
     radiation experiments on hundreds of human subjects and 
     unannounced nuclear explosion tests. A recent congressional 
     report disclosed that the U.S. conducted several nuclear 
     radiation warfare tests by deliberately releasing radioactive 
     gases from its nuclear weapons facilities.
       The White House is now directing an investigation of human 
     radiation experiments during the cold war. What began as an 
     effort by Secretary O'Leary to acknowledge and deal with 
     revelations about these experiments is now a government-wide 
     inquiry and could involve many more citizens than the 
     original estimate of 800.


                               Background

       Following Hiroshima and Nagasaki, U.S. scientists sought to 
     study the effects of nuclear testing. The advent of the cold 
     war and the USSR's emergence as a nuclear power lent an 
     urgency to these experiments and investigations. Cold war 
     national security also became a justification for widespread 
     secrecy. The combination of secrecy and urgency resulted in 
     questionable, perhaps unethical, testing methods. Congress 
     issued a report on these tests in 1986, but it was not widely 
     publicized, in part because the Reagan Administration 
     downplayed its findings.


                    Human Radiation Experimentation

       Revelations about federal radiation experiments on human 
     subjects have drawn the most attention. By various means and 
     in various places people were exposed to radioactive 
     substances as part of early research on the effects of 
     radiation. Although it is too early to draw general 
     conclusions, some of the most cited cases raise troubling 
     questions about this research, including whether many 
     subjects gave their consent or were provided adequate 
     information about what they were consenting to. Other 
     experiments appear to have been for worthy purposes and 
     properly conducted.
       The investigation must address several aspects of the 
     experimentation. What was the full scope of the experiments? 
     Was this a controlled and directed process or were the 
     experiments conducted with little overall control or 
     planning? What were the exact purposes of the experiments? 
     Which had well-defined medical and scientific purposes and 
     which, if any, were random attempts to learn anything about 
     the effects of radiation? Perhaps most critical are the 
     questions about the conduct of the experiments. Informed 
     consent is not the only issue. To what extent were minority 
     and vulnerable populations targeted for these experiments? 
     Finally, are there cases that require compensation for 
     victims?


                  Radiation Releases And Secret Tests

       A different line of experiments did not target human 
     subjects but certainly affected them. The Atomic Energy 
     Commission and the military conducted at least 13 deliberate 
     releases of radioactive gases from nuclear materials 
     production facilities between 1948 and 1952. One test in 
     December 1949 released a large quantity of radioactive gas, 
     estimated to be hundreds of times the amount released during 
     the 1979 Three Mile Island accident, from the Hanford Nuclear 
     Reservation in southeast Washington state and spread fallout 
     over thousands of square miles and several cities. Other 
     releases were conducted at the Army's Dugway, Utah site, 
     and the AEC's Oak Ridge facility. Two different purposes 
     motivated the various releases. Some were intended to test 
     the ability of U.S. scientists to detect and monitor 
     Soviet nuclear tests; others were part of the research and 
     planning for a radiation warfare weapon that was never 
     built.
       Secretary O'Leary also disclosed information about 204 
     previously classified nuclear explosion tests between 1963 
     and 1990. The purpose of the secrecy surrounding these tests 
     is unclear, but probably related to Soviet testing and their 
     ability to monitor our testing program. Apparently the 
     secrecy succeeded with Congress and the press, but not the 
     Soviets. The Soviets always claimed to know that we had set 
     off a much larger number of nuclear tests than we 
     acknowledged--and they were right. These tests, all 
     underground, released relatively little radiation, but 
     combined with the revelation of the deliberate releases, 
     raise anew concerns about the number of Americans indirectly 
     exposed to nuclear radiation by governmental tests.


                           The Investigation

       The scope of the investigation is daunting. Secretary 
     O'Leary's revelations were based on part of 32 million pages 
     of secret documents awaiting declassification. Her efforts 
     have led to the creation, by the White House, of an inter-
     agency task force composed of officials from several federal 
     departments including Energy, Defense, and Veterans' Affairs. 
     The task force is coordinating efforts to gather all evidence 
     of experimentation, and could add significantly to the 
     mountain of material to be reviewed and the number of 
     activities to be investigated. While the focus is on medical 
     and biological research, the investigation seeks information 
     from those who may have been affected by all types of 
     radiation experiments, including deliberate releases of 
     radioactive gases from nuclear facilities.
       The information gathered by the search will then be turned 
     over to an independent civilian advisory panel that is being 
     formed this month. The panel will review the evidence and 
     could make recommendations about compensation, where 
     justified. This process could take a year.


                               Conclusion

       I support a thorough and complete investigation of all 
     radiation experiments conducted or sponsored by the 
     government. The public has a right to know what happened and 
     real injustices must be rectified. The task force and 
     independent panel have a difficult job, not only in coping 
     with the sheer volume of information, but especially in 
     sorting out fact and fiction, right and wrong, about events 
     that took place often decades ago, under different 
     circumstances, and for which information may be incomplete. 
     While we must recognize that much less was known and 
     understood about radioactivity in the early days and that we 
     have become more conscious in recent years of the harmful 
     consequences of radioactivity, I cannot accept, and do not 
     believe most Americans can accept, that we did not understand 
     at the time the profound wrongs that may have been inflicted 
     on helpless people. Although we all have to reserve judgment, 
     my own view is that probably a terrible wrong was done. I 
     hope that the Administration task force and independent panel 
     are up to their responsibilities and give us an unsparing 
     report.
       Persons believing they or a relative were subject to 
     radiation experiments should call the following toll free 
     hotline: 1-800-493-2998.

                          ____________________