Re: MIT, Quaker Oats Settle Radiation Lawsuit

[Harold.Reynolds@rfets.gov (Harold Reynolds)]

Is anyone other than me disturbed by the fact that MIT is rolling over on this
issue rather than trying to show that such minor doses probably had no
detremental effects at all.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Subject: MIT, Quaker Oats Settle Radiation Lawsuit
From:    "Sandy Perle" <sandyfl%ix.netcom.com@inet.rfets.gov> at inet
Date:    1/2/98  7:00 PM

This is of general interest, and, might raise questions. Therefore, I 
am providing the entire article as found on the wire services. It was 
a subject I had not been awarre of, and, this might be new to others 
as well.

Happy New Year to all Radsafers!
================================

BOSTON (Reuters)  December 31 10:58 AM EST   - The Massachusetts 
Institute of Technology and Quaker Oats Co. agreed to pay $1.85 
million to former students of a Massachusetts school used in 
radiation experiments without their knowledge 40 to 50 years ago, 
officials said Wednesday. 

The prestigious university will pay the bulk of the class-action
settlement, approved by the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts
Tuesday, for the controversial nutrition studies, MIT officials said. 

Members of the science club at the Fernald School in Waltham, Mass.,
were fed, without their knowledge, breakfast cereal and iron
supplements contaminated with minute amounts of radiation between 1945
and 1956. 

Quaker Oats provided a grant to fund the research into how iron and
calcium are absorbed by the human digestive system, MIT said. 

"The exposures to radiation were approximately equal to the amount of
natural background radiation we all receive from the environment each
year," MIT said in a statement. "Both a Commonwealth of Massachusetts
and a federal investigation into of the studies found no discernible
effects on health of study participants." 

At least 90 boys, aged 10 to 16, were used in the experiments, said
Jeffrey Petrucelly, an attorney for the former students. They have
only found out in the last two or three years about the radiation
doses, he said. 

"MIT and the school informed the parents the children would be
involved in a science club learning about nutrition and science in
general. In fact, they were experimented on with radioactive
isotopes," Petrucelly said. 

Legal advertisements have been placed in newspapers across the state
to contact former classmates of the settlement. 

MIT said it believes its researchers acted properly under existing
standards of conduct. But the school agreed to the settlement to avoid
the expense and diversion of a lengthy legal battle. 
------------------
Sandy Perle
Technical Director
ICN Dosimetry Division
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Office: (800) 548-5100 x2306 
Fax:    (714) 668-3149
  
sandyfl@ix.netcom.com
sperle@icnpharm.com

Personal Homepage:
http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/1205

ICN Dosimetry Website:
http://www.dosimetry.com


"The object of opening the mind, as of opening 
the mouth, is to close it again on something solid"
              - G. K. Chesterton -