U.S. Department of Justice
                        Office of Public Affairs
                         Washington, D.C  2053O
                                    
                                    
                       HUMAN RADIATION EXPERIMENTS
                HUMAN RADIATION INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP
                      DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE SUMMARY

     The Department of Justice did not conduct nor sponsor human
radiation experiments.  Nevertheless, it is participating in the
work of the subcommittees of the Human Radiation Interagency
Working Group.  The Department shares the Administration's
commitment to conduct an open and thorough inquiry of Cold War-
era government sponsored human radiation experiments.

     The Department provides the Working Group with legal advice
and counsel on a broad range of issues.  That counsel rests on
the Administration's commitment to make public the greatest
amount of information at the earliest possible time, while
mindful of the personal privacy of those involved in the
experiments and their families.

     The Working Group is developing a broad range of potential
responses for those who may have been affected by human radiation
experiments.  It is reviewing existing compensation programs as
potential models, including several administered by the
Department, in the event legislation is proposed after the facts
have been determined.  The Department's current programs include
the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, the National Vaccine
Injury Compensation Program, and the Civil Liberties Act of 1988.

     It should be emphasized that each of these programs was
carefully designed and tailored to provide efficient, appropriate
compensation for the carefully defined injuries Congress intended
to address.  Great attention was paid to defining an appropriate
recipient population, setting eligibility standards, assessing
the availability of relevant evidence, and determining the
propriety of monetary and other forms of compensation.  The
Department, with the same attention to detail, is approaching the
challenge of crafting an appropriate framework for the
Administration's response to the subjects of human radiation
experiments should it become appropriate to consider
compensation.

      The Department will join its fellow members on the Working
Group in making recommendations to the president and the Congress
regarding these matters.

Component Contact:  J. Patrick Glynn (501-7040)