retardation, yet the fact remains that no medication was given for this retardation
for more than eleven years after the fallout.

Despite the fact that the reports

consistently mentioned the fact of unreliability of birth dates, these latter
two cases were well documented.
dates,

Furthermore, despite these unreliable birth

the reports kept mentioning the apparent retardation.

Assuming that the

administration of a hormonal agent would not be harmful to the children--even

if it had no effect--it is difficult to understand why the doctors had to wait
until the appearance of thyroid abnormalities in order to realize the value of
administering Thyroxine to the growth-retarded youngsters.
Another matter of concern to the Committee is the information in the threeyear report which indicates that:

"Eight irradiated and nine unirradiated people were used in a study of
immunological response to tetanus toxoid, The primary stimulus of
tetanus toxoid had been given 2 1/2 months previously.
Sera were obtained
just prior to the second injection of toxoid and then six days later,
Subsequently, tetanus toxin-antitoxin titrations of the sera were obtained

for the two groups in mice by the method previously described." (p, 6)
In other words,

these eight irradiated people were injected with a supposedly

Sage amount of tetanus toxoid and later blood samples were taken just before a
second injection,

The comparison of the blood's reaction to the first and second

injections was an indication of «nether the ability of the blood to combat
infections

(such as tetanus)

«4s shown,

What the Committee is especially concerned

about is whether the people understood about the test, and whether or not they
did,

if there was any danger to any of the recipients.

Assuming there was no

further danger, the Committee questions just what benefit this study was to the
people involved.

Granted,

such a study micht indicate a need for greater medical

care of the people, should it be proven that their responses were poor, which would

leave them open to serious illness in the future from what would normally be a simple
infection.

However, since it is often stated that the number of people involved

is too small for statistical analysis in terms of other effects,

147

[O14 159.

it is curious

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