DOE Facts: DOE Products to Facilitate Study of Radiation Experiments

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DOE PRODUCTS TO FACILITATE STUDY OF DOE will produce three products to aid research into human radiation experiments: (1) a written history and associated guide to critical records collections; (2). a central collection of selected documents; and (3) a list of human radiation HISTORY AND RECORDS SERIES GUIDE 0 4 This product will have historical narratives describing the will tell the story of human experimentation within DOE and its predecessor agencies. (See the Institutional Mapping Fact Sheet for further information.) 4 organizational context of the experiments, These narratives 0 The guide will also have written descriptions of records / series or collections that are of particular value for researching human radiation experimentation. 0 For each records series, information is included about volume, dates, location, content, and applicable access restrictions, such as personal privacy or national security classification (see attached examples). 0 This guide will be publicly available and will serve as a "road map" to the vast quantity of extant DOE records and will permit focused efforts to locate, declassify, and access specific information. I U.S. Department of Energy Public Affairs Office Contact: Mary Ann Freeman

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CENTRAL COLLECTION OF SELECTED DOCUMENTS 0 As we compile data for the records series guide, we are ' locating, reproducing, and making available selected source documents on human radiation experimentation. documents include letters, memoranda, meeting minutes, reports, journal articles, lectures, and speeches. documents were selected because they are judged to have information of special value. 0 About 11,000 documents have been gathered to date: these 0 The documents are placed on optical disks and are available to the public through the Coordination and Information Center (CIC) in Las Vegas, Nevada. The CIC was originally established to provide infcrmation to the public about radioactive fallout from nuclear weapons computerized indexes, and staff assistance. CIC services include a public reading room, THE LIST OF HUMAN RADIATION EXPERIMENTS: / DOE is compiling a list of human radiation experiments into a publicly available electronic database. The database will include name of the experiment, a short description, its date and location, and sources of information (such as journal articles and identified 0 DOE'S role in human radiation experiments during the. dates to the 1940's. To gather comprehensive information, it is necessary to search the records of DOE as well as records of predecessor agencies, including the Manhattan Engineer District, Atomic Energy Commission, and Energy Research and 0 About 3 million cubic feet of DOE and predecessor agency records are stored in Departmental facilities; about 182,121 cubic feet are in federal records centers; and about 8,300 cubic feet of permanent archival records of the Atomic Energy Commission and of the Manhattan Engineer District are maintained by the National Archives and Records

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. - e These records are scattered among dozens of facilities across the nation, are often poorly described and indexed, and generally resist easy access and use. e DOE is using standard archival, records management, and historical techniques to improve access to human experimentation information in these records. e These products will give the public access to a broad range of information about human radiation experiments and related e The information will be helpful in determining the nature and extent of human radiation experimentation and the context in which they occurred. e The information will facilitate an objective scientific and historical evaluation of human radiation experiments. WHO ARE THE KEY STAKEHOLDERS?: 4 Subjects of Human Radiation Experimentation and their families. The products will provide critical facts about The Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments. This work will provide the Committee with information they need to carry out their mandate from the President. /’ Government Officials and Advisory Committee Members. The products will aid determinations about whether human radiation experimentation was conducted in accordance with applicable regulations and guidelines. Historians and Other Researchers. The products will enhance the ability of researchers to analyze scientific, medical, historical, and administrative aspects of human radiation experimentation and related topics. The Public. A s a result of this process, information will be made widely available to the public about activities of DOE and its predecessor organizations relating to human

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QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 0 . How many records pertinent to human radiation experimentation does the Department possess?. A. It is impossible to know this with precision now because of the large volume and decentralized nature of DOE records. We are working to improve our intellectual control over these records, and we anticipate learning much more about the documentary evidence over the next 6 months. 0 . Where are records on human radiation experimentation A. They are located at Headquarters and at field facilities such as those in Oak Ridge, Tennessee; Richland, Washington; and L o s Alamos, New Mexico. Records are also located in National Archives and Records Administration facilities across the nation. Q . Why is so much effort necessary to find the records? researching human experimentation. They also have been maintained in different ways at many different places over the last 50 years. But while the job is difficult, we are working toward developing a records management infrastructure that will provide benefits to DOE, historians, and other researchers for many years to come. , A . These records were created for purposes other than Q. Will the Department search for records in non-Federal institutions, such as universities and former contractors? A. Where appropriate, the Department will seek permission to examine records in non-Federal custody. Q. Will DOE be able to find all the records relating to human A. We will do our best to find and make available pertinent records. But because of the volume and many locations of the records, relevant materials probably will continue to be found f o r some time to come. Some records also may have been lost or routinely disposed of in the past.