Re: "The Plutonium Files"-Question

["Otto G. Raabe" <ograabe@ucdavis.edu>]

December 31, 1999
Davis, CA

Eileen Welsome won a Pulitzer prize for a series of articles in which she
implied that researcher physicians the University of California chopped off
the leg of Elmer Allen in a ghoulish experiment to study the effects of
plutonium. Actually Allen, who was penniless, had bone sarcoma and his life
was saved by the physicians who removed his leg. His medical treatment was
free as he had agreed to the Pu-238 tracer experiment that involved an
injection into the leg one day before it was scheduled to be removed. He
was also provided with an artificial leg.

Welsome wrote about the horrible life Allen had following the amputation
and insinuated that the plutonium experiment caused the loss of his leg and
all his subsequent depression. Actually he had no known or expected
biological effects from the small amount of plutonium that remained his
body after the amputation.

Welsome implied that these were secret horrific studies, but the main thing
that was secret was the actual names of the subjects. The studies and their
data have been part of the scientific literature for about 40 years. ICRP
had much earlier used the data to prepare plutonium metabolism models. What
she did accomplish is the use of the Freedom of Information Act to break
the code and figure out the names of the subjects. She first found out
about Allen who lived in Texas, and traced his family. I am not sure she
really helped the family even if they did receive a monetary settlement
from the government following a lawsuit. 

I understand that her book is somewhat more careful (or is it coy) about
accusing researcher of atrocities.

Otto 

		*****************************************************
		Prof. Otto G. Raabe, Ph.D., CHP
              Institute of Toxicology & Environmental Health (ITEH)
		   (Street address: Building 3792, Old Davis Road)
		University of California, Davis, CA 95616
		Phone: 530-752-7754  FAX: 530-758-6140
		E-mail ograabe@ucdavis.edu
              *****************************************************
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