Jonathan D Moreno
Routledge,
£11.95, pp 368
ISBN 0 415 92835 4

Any fan of science fiction knows that movies and television series such as the X­Files often incorporate stories about top secret government medical research projects. While one may reasonably dismiss the plausibility of projects involving aliens or cyborgs, the existence of secret government experiments on unwitting citizens is well documented.

There is a long and varied history of medical experimentation in the United States by government operated or sanctioned institutions in the mid to late 20th century. Soldiers, prisoners, mentally ill children, and ethnic minorities were used as guinea pigs for various medical studies. As the most vulnerable people in society, they were often included in studies without their proper consent, in secrecy, or under coercion. These studies included everything from testing the efficacy of contraceptives and anti­wrinkle cosmetics to examining the natural course of disease processes such as hepatitis and cancer by deliberately infecting healthy individuals.

In Undue Risk Jonathan Moreno details his experience as a member of the President's Advisory Commission on Human Radiation Experiments. The commission—composed of ethicists, lawyers, physicists, and radiologists among others—was charged with examining radiation research during the cold war era. Its objective was not only to examine whether any ethical violations had taken place but also to detail the extent of the US government's involvement in radiation experimentation on soldiers, prisoners, and members of the general public.

Moreno does a fantastic job of providing a lucid explanation of the convoluted history and numerous cases involving radiation experimentation. As one of the staff archivists told the commission, “You have to understand. There is no box somewhere in the Pentagon basement labeled `Human Radiation Experiments.'” Before any kind of ethical or legal assessment could be done, the commission undertook the laborious process of searching for evidence through previously classified documents and interviewing research subjects. Following the process, by which the commission accounted for the harm inflicted on, for example, patients who were injected with radioactive isotopes and people who had lived near radiation testing sites and nuclear power plants, is utterly intriguing. Undue Risk is a fascinating book detailing violations of public trust and responsibility. Well written, informative, and fast paced, it provides an important examination of the history and ethical implications of military­medical research that supplants national security over civil and human rights.