MISCELLANEOUS NOTES:
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(The following based on Hamilton correspondence in the E.O. Lawrencefiles)
Asearly as 1943, Hamilton and Stone were corresponding concerning health and the
metabolism of Pu. In a June 1, 1943 letter, Stone expresses interestin the effects of
contamination in people. In 1944, the issues of biological experimentation and the need
for human protection are brought up. Early correspondence seemsto be fairly open, and
secrecy does not appear to be a central issue. Plutonium is referred to as the Product, but
the real name does occasionally appear.
In 1945 and 1946, most correspondencepertinentto the Project is classified; most records
still extant by Hamilton which pertain to the Project appear to date from this period.
There is very little of this nature from 1947 to 1957. Project 48 is referred to (possibly
project 48A), which is the code for the project under which Plutonium studies were
conducted, amongother studies (including the Uranium tracer experiments, Operation
Crossroads or the Bikini Atoll environmental studies, and radiation experiments on
animals). There are lists of people who haveaccessto classified reports.
In the 1950's, there are somedirect references to the project. In October, 1952, L. Van
Middleworth asks if the old material on Plutonium from 1945-1946 can be published. In
June, 1956, Hamilton specifically mentions the man with the ulcer who was injected with
Pu [i.e.
}.
The correspondence from the 50's also includes mention of quite a number of other
human subject experiments, such as human studies andastatine, radio-sodium,
radioactive iodide (in normal newborn infants), fluorine, and others (some on dying
people). The Subcommittee on Human Applicationsis referred to several times. In
1955, The AEC, Hamilton, and Ferrebee exchangeletters regarding the sources of
accepted dosages, which Ferrebee would like to see published.
A number ofreports are published regarding the history of nuclear medicine and radioisotopes, in which human experiments are either not mentioned or are mentioned with
respect to the 1930's and radio-sodium or iodine, and treatment for thyroid problemsor
leukemia,
Mostof the Hamilton files in the E.O. Lawrence collection pertain to Hamilton's work as
director of the Crocker Lab, and documentthe use of the 60” Cyclotron.
(I believe there must have been two separate series: the classified materials and the
generalfiles, the classifed series is still missing. These may have been sent to Livermore
in 1967 or so, as we have transmittals ofHamilton's classified correspondence).
Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory
Archives and Records Office
Human Radiation Experiments Search and Retrieval Project
Anna Berge Research Notes
Electronic Document Title: Plutonium
April 4, 1994
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