Oregon State Penitentiary Experiment
The Oregon State Penitentiary Experiments refer to a series of controversial radiation studies conducted on incarcerated individuals between 1963 and 1971, aimed at understanding the effects of ionizing radiation on human reproduction. Initiated by the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) in response to concerns about radiation exposure during space flights and nuclear events, the experiments involved sixty-seven male inmates who consented to receive targeted doses of radiation to their testes. These doses ranged from 8 to 600 rads, with participants also agreeing to provide semen samples, undergo biopsies, and receive vasectomies post-study to prevent potential birth defects.
At the time, research involving prisoners was viewed as ethically permissible, but this perspective changed significantly in the early 1970s, leading to the program's shutdown. Concerns about the adequacy of informed consent arose, as many participants later reported they were not fully aware of the risks involved, including pain, tumors, and cancer. Although the study initially proceeded with little scrutiny, it later attracted public and governmental condemnation, culminating in a 1996 report that criticized the researchers for insufficiently informing the participants about the potential hazards. Overall, the Oregon State Penitentiary Experiments highlight complex ethical dilemmas surrounding medical research on vulnerable populations and have left a lasting impact on the conduct of human experimentation.
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Oregon State Penitentiary Experiments
In 1963, the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), forerunner to the Department of Energy, became interested in determining the effects of radiation on human reproduction. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was also keenly interested. Six years before Apollo 11 landed on the moon, activity in the US space program was surging and NASA wanted to know how radiation from close exposure to the sun during spaceflights would affect astronauts. Secondary concerns for the AEC related to general exposure to the public during a nuclear event and the effect of radiation exposure on employees working on projects involving radioactive materials. To determine the effects, experiments were carried out on prisoners in the Oregon State Penitentiary between October 1963 and May 1971.
Background
In the Oregon State Penitentiary, sixty-seven inmates ranging from twenty-five to fifty-two years of age gave consent to have a dose or doses of radiation applied to their testes. Of those, fifty-six received one irradiation, six received two irradiations, one received three irradiations, and one received a weekly irradiation over the course of eleven weeks. The dose of radiation ranged from 8 to 600 rads. The term rad stands for radiation absorbed dose. The primary research objective was to determine how ionizing radiation affected sperm production by clarifying the minimum dose levels for first effect and permanent damage. A similar study was conducted concurrently at the Washington State Petitionary.
The AEC issued grants of $1.12 million over ten years to conduct the Oregon experiments. At the head of the project was senior researcher Dr. Carl Heller, an internationally known medical scientist and researcher in the field of endocrinology associated with the Pacific Northwest Research Foundation. Heller designed a machine that could be carefully calibrated to deliver a dose of radiation on two sides. Prisoners laid face down in a coffin-like box that allowed their scrotums to be positioned into a small plastic box just below the table. It was filled with warm water to encourage the testes to descend. X-ray tubes were positioned on either side of the box. Peepholes and a system of mirrors allowed the scientists to align the tubes.
The prisoners were required to be of good health and pass a rudimentary psychological test to participate in the study. Those who underwent irradiation also consented to provide semen samples and undergo biopsies of their testes. They also had to agree to have a vasectomy at the end of the study due to the lingering fear that the participants may father children with chromosomal abnormalities.
Heller did not advertise to recruit volunteers. Instead, he relied on word of mouth among the prisoners, and news soon traveled that the study was paying its participants. Prisoners usually made twenty-five cents a day working within the prison; Heller offered each prisoner a small payment for participating in the study, with bonuses for each biopsy and for undergoing a vasectomy. Most prisoners volunteered to earn the extra money. A few saw it as a way they could contribute to the greater good. Likely none were fully aware of the risks.
Overview
Human research using prisoners and other vulnerable populations was considered acceptable in the 1960s. As such, the Oregon State Penitentiary project did not draw any particular attention from the government and flew under the radar of the general public. However, attitudes within the scientific community and the general public shifted quickly in the early 1970s. New understandings of informed consent, risks and benefits, and subject-selection criteria emerged. The program was shut down in May 1971 by the prison superintendent after reading several newspaper reports arguing against experimenting on prisoners.
Although prisoners gave consent, the matter of just how informed they were was under serious question. Some prisoners later testified that the side effects, such as pain, swelling, tumors, and potentially cancer, were never mentioned to them. In addition, offering payment could be seen as a form of coercion. Heller provided no information to prisoners early on in the study and later only made a vague reference to the possibility of “tumors.” One prisoner testified that when he asked about “bad effect,” Heller replied, “One in a million chance.” However, prostate cancer, loss of vision, painful lumps in the testes, and vascular diseases occurred among the participants. Some of these issues may have resulted from the experiments.
A group of twenty prisoners sued for damages in 1976. The case, which was settled for about $6,000, drew some attention. The response from those involved was likely less than fully forthcoming. NASA denied any interest or involvement. According to a 1976 report from the now-defunct Energy Research and Development Administration, “The consent procedure involved full explanation of the short- and long-term effects.” The report also stated that prisoners’ primary incentive for volunteering was “the feeling that they were performing an important public service.” However, in 1986, the Subcommittee on Energy Conservation and Power within the US House of Representatives released a report condemning the study along with other experiments on humans involving radiation.
In 1994, with the encouragement of then-Energy Secretary Hazel R. O’Leary, the government declassified documents related to the experiments and many details came to light, including NASA’s close involvement. The White House created the Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments (ACHRE), which published its final report in 1996. The ACHRE concluded that although the researchers acted within an environment in which their conduct was considered acceptable, they did not adequately inform the participants of the risks involved.
Bibliography
“1963–1973: High-Dose Radiation Tests on Prisoners’ Testicles to Find Sterility Dose.” Alliance for Human Research Protection, 29 Dec. 2022, ahrp.org/1963-1973-high-dose-radiation-tests-on-prisoners-testicles-to-find-dose-that-makes-them-sterile/. Accessed 5 June 2023.
Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments. ACHRE Final Report, October 1996. bioethicsarchive.georgetown.edu/achre/final/. Accessed 5 June 2023.
“AEC Human Testicular Irradiation Project.” Energy Research and Development Administration, 23 Feb. 1976.
American Nuclear Guinea Pigs: Three Decades of Radiation Experiments on U.S. Citizens. 99th Congress, 2d Session. U.S. House of Representatives, Subcommittee on Energy Conservation and Power (24 Oct. 1986).
Lee, Gary. “Prisoner Irradiation Probed.” Washington Post, 20 Nov. 1994, www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1994/11/20/prisoner-irradiation-probed/908d0102-0021-409c-a0a0-71f0700b3721/. Accessed 5 June 2023.
Steele, Karen Dorn. “Radiation Experiments Raise Ethical Questions.” High Country News, 4 Apr. 1994. www.hcn.org/issues/8/250. Accessed 5 June 2023.