The Arctic Aeromedical Laboratory's Thyroid Function Study: A Radiological Risk and Ethical Analysis
- ISBN-10
- 0309588847
- ISBN-13
- 9780309588843
- Category
- Science
- Pages
- 98
- Language
- English
- Published
- 1996-02-09
- Publisher
- National Academies Press
- Authors
- Institute of Medicine, National Research Council, Division on Earth and Life Studies
Description
During the 1950s, with the Cold War looming, military planners sought to know more about how to keep fighting forces fit and capable in the harsh Alaskan environment. In 1956 and 1957, the U.S. Air Force's former Arctic Aeromedical Laboratory conducted a study of the role of the thyroid in human acclimatization to cold. To measure thyroid function under various conditions, the researchers administered a radioactive medical trace, Iodine-131, to Alaska Natives and white military personnel; based on the study results, the researchers determined that the thyroid did not play a significant role in human acclimatization to cold. When this study of thyroid function was revisited at a 1993 conference on the Cold War legacy in the Arctic, serious questions were raised about the appropriateness of the activity--whether it posed risks to the people involved and whether the research had been conducted within the bounds of accepted guidelines for research using human participants. In particular, there was concern over the relatively large proportion of Alaska Natives used as subjects and whether they understood the nature of the study. This book evaluates the research in detail, looking at both the possible health effects of Iodine-131 administration in humans and the ethics of human subjects research. This book presents conclusions and recommendations and is a significant addition to the nation's current reevaluation of human radiation experiments conducted during the Cold War.
Get the book
Other editions
-
- 1996-02-26
- 116 pages
- Paperback
- National Academies Press
Similar books
-
Environmental Histories of the Cold War
By D.C.), German Historical Institute, J. R. McNeillExplores the links between the Cold War and the global environment, ranging from the environmental impacts of nuclear weapons to the political repercussions of environmentalism.
-
Thyroid Cancer and Other Thyroid Disorders, An Issue of Endocrinology and Metabolism Clinics of North America,
By Kenneth D. Burmanxii Thyroid Cancer and Other Thyroid Disorders ENDOCRINOLOGY AND METABOLISM CLINICS OF NORTH AMERICA FORTHCOMING ... of Diabetes Leonid Poretsky and Emilia Pauline Liao, Editors September 2013 Endocrine and Neuropsychiatric Disorders ...
-
Atomic Audit: The Costs and Consequences of U.S. Nuclear Weapons Since 1940
By Stephen I. SchwartzAlthough Major General Howard G. Bunker , the air force's assistant for atomic energy , believed that a revamped method of data collection would provide a more valid measure of direct and indirect costs , the deputy chief of staff for ...
-
Human Radiation Experiments: Hearing Before the Committee on Governmental Affairs, U. S. Senate
By DIANE Publishing Company... review of the Arctic Aeromedical Laboratory thyroid function study involving the native Alaskans and American servicemen . I think it was in 1957. At least the report was written in 1957 . While the Institute of Medicine report ...
-
Human Radiation Experiments: Hearing Before the Committee on Governmental Affairs, United States Senate, One Hundred Fourth Congress, Second Session, March...
By United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Governmental AffairsHuman Radiation Experiments: Hearing Before the Committee on Governmental Affairs, United States Senate, One Hundred Fourth Congress, Second Session, March...
-
Radiation Risks in Perspective
By Kenneth L. MossmanBate, R., How precaution kills. The demise of DDT and the resurgence of malaria, in Politicizing Science, Gough, M. (Ed.), Hoover Institution Press, Stanford, CA, 261, 2003. Bradley, M.O., For fearful residents, there was no script.
-
Building Public Trust
By DIANE Publishing CompanyThis report is divided into three sections: (1) "openness in government", describes steps the Administration has taken to make government records of human radiation experiments readily available to the public; (2) "protecting future human ...
-
The Environment in Anthropology (Second Edition): A Reader in Ecology, Culture, and Sustainable Living
By Richard Wilk, Nora Haenn, Allison Harnish... Research Council. 1996. The Arctic Aeromedical Laboratory's thyroid function study: A radiological risk and ethical analysis. National Research Council Committee on Evaluation of 1950s Air Force Human Health Testing in Alaska Using ...
-
Rethinking Clinical Trials and Redefining Responsibility for Research Participants: A Focus on Africa
By Ike Iyioke... Research Council. (1996) The Arctic Aeromedical Laboratory's Thyroid Function Study: A radiological ethical analysis. Washington, DC: National Academy Press. Nelson, M. “Teaching holism in environmental ethics” an unpublished ...
-
The Plutonium Files: America's Secret Medical Experiments in the Cold War
By Eileen WelsomeWelsome also tells the stories of the scientists themselves, many of whom learned the ways of secrecy on the Manhattan Project.