DISCLAIMER The following is a staff memorandum or other working document prepared for the members of the Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments. It should not be construed as representing the final conclusions of fact or interpretation of the issues. All staff memoranda are subject to revision based on further information and analysis. For conclusions and recommendations of the Advisory Committee, readers are advised to consult the Final Report to be published in 1995. TAB I-5 þþþDRAFT þ FOR DISCUSSION PURPOSES ONLYþþþ MEMORANDUM TO: Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments FROM: Advisory Committee Staff DATE: January 13, 1995 RE: New Ethics Documentation The following recently retrieved documents should be inserted in the binders (provided in December) which include basic documentation on ethics policies. Please note, we will send tab separators for these documents at a later time. Atomic Energy Commission March 28,1948 Subcommittee on Human Applications document and a related 1974 Shields Warren interview excerpt discussed below. These documents suggest that the Director of the AEC's Division of Biology and Medicine may have directed the Isotopes Division to respond to concerns about the plutonium injections by issuing a policy for research ethics and consent. (Discussed in Tab F) September 1950 Carl J. Wiggers' medical school commencement address published in the Alumni Bulletin, Western Reserve University School of Medicine (September, 1950), pp.60-65. Dr. Wiggers was an eminent Case Western physiologist. His speech states that "voluntary consent" was a long part of an "unwritten code" which the Nuremberg Code codified. April 9, 1974 Excerpts from an Interview with Shields Warren that provides some possible context for the March 28, 1948 document. Warren's comments suggest that the Division of Biology and Medicine, in the aftermath of the plutonium injections, believed that the Isotopes Division should develop guidelines to govern similar experiments in the future. (Discussed in Tab F) 1 Department of Defense March 12, 1954 Office of the Army Surgeon General guidance. This document, which in this iteration is addressed to contractors, was found in the files of Yale University researcher John Enders. It embodies the policies described in the Wilson Memorandum and the June 30, 1953 Army implementing directive, and states that these policies be used as a "non-mandatory guide" for contract research. Additionally note that the document, in contrast to the Wilson Memorandum, did not specifically reference atomic, biological or chemical warfare-related research. Thus it might appear to apply to "medical research" broadly. See also the June 27, 1956 document discussed below. (Discussed in Tab F) July 10, 1962 Army memorandum entitled "Use of Volunteers for Army Medical Research." This document reviews the history of army research ethics policies and describes the use of humans in army medical research. It broadly states that the Nuremberg Code and the March 12, 1954 SGO document have governed Army research. It further states that a 1960 survey shows the application of these principles to research with "students" and "patients." (Discussed in Tab F) August 27, 1951 Navy memorandum regarding the "Radioactive Isotopes Program" that indicates the need for a research ethics policy. Additionally, several documents attached to this memorandum demonstrate the requirment for consent forms for diagnostic and therapeutic uses of radioisotpes. (Discussed in Tab F) November 5, 1953 Army memorandum on the "Use of Volunteers in Research" that indicates contractors should abide the same "principles and safeguards" as Army laboratories. (Discussed in Tab F) June 27, 1956 Letter from a Tulane University researcher indicating the need to apply the March 1954 SGO guideline to contract research. Note that the letter is addressed to the Armed Forces Epidemiological Board and apparently relates to research under its purview -- further suggesting that the 1954 SGO guidelines were not limited to atomic, biological, and chemical warfare-related research. (Discussed in Tab F) 2