The Arctic Aeromedical Laboratory's thyroid function study : a radiological risk and ethical analysis / Committee on Evaluation of 1950s Air Force Human Health Testing in Alaska Using Radioactive Iodine¹³¹ ... [et al.].

Format:

Book

Contributor:

National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on Evaluation of 1950s Air Force Human Health Testing in Alaska Using Radioactive Iodine¹³¹.

Arctic Aeromedical Laboratory (U.S.)

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Thyroid gland function tests--Health aspects--Alaska.

Thyroid gland function tests.

Iodine--Isotopes--Diagnostic use--Moral and ethical aspects.

Iodine.

Medical ethics--Alaska.

Medical ethics.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (116 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Washington, D.C. : National Academy Press, 1996.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

During the 1950s, with the Cold War looming, military planners sought to know more about how to keep fighting forces fit and capable in the harsh Alaskan environment. In 1956 and 1957, the U.S. Air Force's former Arctic Aeromedical Laboratory conducted a study of the role of the thyroid in human acclimatization to cold. To measure thyroid function under various conditions, the researchers administered a radioactive medical trace, Iodine-131, to Alaska Natives and white military personnel; based on the study results, the researchers determined that the thyroid did not play a significant role in human acclimatization to cold. When this study of thyroid function was revisited at a 1993 conference on the Cold War legacy in the Arctic, serious questions were raised about the appropriateness of the activity--whether it posed risks to the people involved and whether the research had been conducted within the bounds of accepted guidelines for research using human participants. In particular, there was concern over the relatively large proportion of Alaska Natives used as subjects and whether they understood the nature of the study. This book evaluates the research in detail, looking at both the possible health effects of Iodine-131 administration in humans and the ethics of human subjects research. This book presents conclusions and recommendations and is a significant addition to the nation's current reevaluation of human radiation experiments conducted during the Cold War.

Contents:

The Arctic Aeromedical Laboratory's Thyroid Function Study: A Radiological Risk and Ethical Analysis

Copyright

Preface

Contents

Executive Summary

DESCRIPTION OF THE AAL THYROID FUNCTION STUDY

HEALTH EFFECTS OF I ADMINISTRATION IN HUMANS

THE ETHICS OF HUMAN SUBJECTS RESEARCH

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

1 Introduction

THE COMMITTEE'S CHARGE

THE AAL AND THE THYROID FUNCTION STUDY

CONDUCT OF THE STUDY: SAMPLE SIZE AND DISTRIBUTION

Alaska Natives

Army and Air Force Servicemen

CONDUCT OF THE STUDY: SUBJECT SELECTION

Wainwright

Anaktuvuk Pass

Fort Yukon

Arctic Village

Point Hope

Military Testing

STUDY RESULTS

THE COMMITTEE'S METHODS

Written Information

Interview and Public Hearing Information

COMMON THEMES FROM THE PUBLIC SESSION

2 Health Effects of I Administration in Humans

RADIOLOGICAL BACKGROUND OF THE AAL STUDY

OVERVIEW OF EPIDEMIOLOGICAL EVIDENCE REGARDING RADIATION-INDUCED THYROID CANCER

CALCULATIONS OF RADIATION RISK

RISK ESTIMATES FOR THE AAL STUDY

SIGNIFICANCE OF CALCULATED RISKS OF RADIATION-INDUCED THYROID CANCER

RADIATION GUIDELINES FOR I USAGE-THEN AND NOW

1957 Guidelines

Current Guidelines

THE EVOLUTION OF OUR UNDERSTANDING OF RADIATION HEALTH EFFECTS

3 The Ethics of Human Subjects Research

BACKGROUND

Evolution of Ethical Standards

The Nuremberg Code

After the Code

The Evolution of Modern Federal Regulations

The Nuremberg Code as Applied to AAL Research in 1955-1957

The Common Rule and the AAL Research: Looking Back from the 1990s

CONCLUSION

4 Conclusions and Recommendations

References

Appendix A Thyroid Function in Health and Disease

THE HUMAN THYROID

ROLE OF IODINE IN THYROID FUNCTION AND DIAGNOSTIC TESTS

URINARY AND SALIVARY EXCRETION STUDIES.

CONVERSION RATIO AND PLASMA LEVELS OF PBI

RACIAL DIFFERENCES IN THYROID FUNCTION

UTILIZATION OF I AS A DIAGNOSTIC TOOL

CONTRAINDICATIONS TO THE USE OF I

Appendix B Summary of the Public Session

Appendix C Thyroid Radiation Dose Estimates for I as Determined by the Radiation Internal Dose Information Center, Oak...

Appendix D SECRETARY OF DEFENSE Washington

Appendix E Informed Consent Elements of Disclosure

Appendix F Principles for the Conduct of Research in the Arctic

INTRODUCTION

IMPLEMENTATION

PUBLICATIONS

Appendix G Biographical Sketches of Committee Members

Appendix H Glossary.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9786610192236

9780309175920

0309175925

9781280192234

1280192232

9780309588843

0309588847

9780585164496

0585164495

OCLC:

559259828