PODCAST · history

Human Radiation Experiments A Final Report

by Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments

For decades, the U.S. government conducted thousands of human radiation experiments to assess the impacts of atomic radiation and radioactive contamination on human health. These tests, often overseen by the military, the Atomic Energy Commission, and various federal agencies, included shocking practices such as feeding radioactive food to vulnerable children, intentionally releasing radioactive materials over cities, and subjecting inmates to harmful radiation. Much of this information remained classified for years. In the 1990s, investigative journalist Eileen Welsomes groundbreaking reports for The Albuquerque Tribune shed light on these experiments, culminating in the establishment of the Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments by President Bill Clinton. The committees findings, published in 1995, unveiled the troubling legacy of these government-sanctioned studies. (Summary modified from Wikipedia)