May 13, 2010
COLD WAR AFTERMATH: Radiation 'Experiments' Kept Classified to Avoid Legal Liability
Burial Included 'Papers'
By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Reporter
Huntington, WV (HNN) – Documents obtained by Huntingtonnews.net from 1994 relating to others from the 1940s indicate that otherwise disclosable data related to human biomedical data was kept “confidential” to avoid legal liability. The document dated December 8, 1994 is a Memorandum for members of the Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments.
The Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) and the Department of Veterans Affairs Atomic Medicine Division “appears” to have developed a convoluted set of rules for “disclosure of critical human biomedical data that were hidden, as well as rules that were publicly known regarding national security disclosure.”
One of the hurdles faced by former workers at Atomic Energy facilities, such as the Huntington Pilot Plant and Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant, have been a lack of records of employment. In order to be considered for compensation, the claimant had to provide verifiable proof (often affidavits from other former employees) that they worked in the area and/or plant that was covered by the reimbursement program.
The document states: “Public Relations, legal and labor concerns clearly led to the withholding of otherwise disclosable human experimentation data… it appears that legal liability concerns led to record keeping, evidently secret record keeping in anticipation of liability concerns.”
A 1952 memorandum from the Joint Chiefs of Staff to the Service Chief Regarding “Security Measures on Chemical and Biological Warfare stated: “The Joint Chiefs of Staff further consider that responsible agencies should … ensure insofar as practicable that all published articles from BW (biological warfare ) or CW (chemical warfare) between the AEC and the Department of Defense, in which the AEC agreed that all data bordering upon military Security Information would be submitted to the DOD prior to approval for release by the AEC.”
Since the Huntington Pilot Plant/Reduction Pilot Plant was considered contaminated and buried in a classified site on the grounds of the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Piketon, Ohio, former workers have stated that trucks, equipment and debris were placed in the ditch.
Interestingly, “A Guide to Key Facilities and Sites at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant” authored by Mary Byrd Davis for the Uranium Enrichment Project indicated that some of the items buried from Huntington were “classified records.” In fact, during a Decommissioning and Decontamination meeting in Piketon on Tuesday, May 11, a statement was made that “papers” were one of the items in the burial site.
Ms. Davis document stated: “The waste buried at the site (X-749A) included a dismantled INCO (International Nickel Company) Nickel Plant from Huntington, WV. The INCO plant was contaminated with nickel carbonyl and uranium. (The plant had produced nickel in support of DOE’s three enrichment plants). The site also includes classified records, compressor blades and other classified parts. The facility was closed in 1994 with the construction of a multilayer cap and a drainage system to capture surface water runoff.”
You can download a copy of the formerly secret documents by clicking HERE.
Share This Story:
Make HNN Your Homepage (IE Users Only)
COLD WAR AFTERMATH: Radiation 'Experiments' Kept Classified to Avoid Legal Liability
Burial Included 'Papers'
By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Reporter
Huntington, WV (HNN) – Documents obtained by Huntingtonnews.net from 1994 relating to others from the 1940s indicate that otherwise disclosable data related to human biomedical data was kept “confidential” to avoid legal liability. The document dated December 8, 1994 is a Memorandum for members of the Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments.
The Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) and the Department of Veterans Affairs Atomic Medicine Division “appears” to have developed a convoluted set of rules for “disclosure of critical human biomedical data that were hidden, as well as rules that were publicly known regarding national security disclosure.”
One of the hurdles faced by former workers at Atomic Energy facilities, such as the Huntington Pilot Plant and Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant, have been a lack of records of employment. In order to be considered for compensation, the claimant had to provide verifiable proof (often affidavits from other former employees) that they worked in the area and/or plant that was covered by the reimbursement program.
The document states: “Public Relations, legal and labor concerns clearly led to the withholding of otherwise disclosable human experimentation data… it appears that legal liability concerns led to record keeping, evidently secret record keeping in anticipation of liability concerns.”
A 1952 memorandum from the Joint Chiefs of Staff to the Service Chief Regarding “Security Measures on Chemical and Biological Warfare stated: “The Joint Chiefs of Staff further consider that responsible agencies should … ensure insofar as practicable that all published articles from BW (biological warfare ) or CW (chemical warfare) between the AEC and the Department of Defense, in which the AEC agreed that all data bordering upon military Security Information would be submitted to the DOD prior to approval for release by the AEC.”
Since the Huntington Pilot Plant/Reduction Pilot Plant was considered contaminated and buried in a classified site on the grounds of the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Piketon, Ohio, former workers have stated that trucks, equipment and debris were placed in the ditch.
Interestingly, “A Guide to Key Facilities and Sites at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant” authored by Mary Byrd Davis for the Uranium Enrichment Project indicated that some of the items buried from Huntington were “classified records.” In fact, during a Decommissioning and Decontamination meeting in Piketon on Tuesday, May 11, a statement was made that “papers” were one of the items in the burial site.
Ms. Davis document stated: “The waste buried at the site (X-749A) included a dismantled INCO (International Nickel Company) Nickel Plant from Huntington, WV. The INCO plant was contaminated with nickel carbonyl and uranium. (The plant had produced nickel in support of DOE’s three enrichment plants). The site also includes classified records, compressor blades and other classified parts. The facility was closed in 1994 with the construction of a multilayer cap and a drainage system to capture surface water runoff.”
You can download a copy of the formerly secret documents by clicking HERE.
Share This Story:
Make HNN Your Homepage (IE Users Only)
