Project 4.1 - Research Paper Example

The Event: Project 4 Between June 6, 1946, and August 18th, 1958, the United s detonated 67 atomic bombs on the Marshall Islands. The most famous blast was that of Bravo, under the name Operation Ivy, which resulted in Project 4.1, officially named “The Study of The Response of Human Beings Exposed to Significant Beta and Gamma Radiation due to Fallout from High-Yield Weapons” (Skoog, 2003). This study divided citizens of the Marshall Islands into “exposed” and “control” groups and measured the short and long term effects of radiation exposure and fallout, both directly with them and with the land on which they resided (Skoog, 2003).

The result was that people had to be evacuated from their homes, live elsewhere, and had major health problems that were far-reaching and sometimes incurable. Though permission was sought from the Marshall Islands government, the fact remains that the people had to suffer in innumerable ways for a test study, a study that did not seek proper informed consent, nor did it attempt to cure anyone (Skoog, 2003). The Reforms that Followed: Because of Bravo and Project 4.1, numerous conspiracy theories abounded, none of which has been proven with concrete evidence.

The United States was accused of doing the Bravo launch on purpose by the Marshallese government, who insisted that it was a tactic to be able to study a population exposed to nuclear fallout without risking their own people. Regardless if such a thing is true, reforms followed Project 4.1, though not right away. Over $350 million dollars was awarded to Marshallese people due to the fallout and subsequent sickness (Skoog, 2003). The United States also paid for health care, site cleanup, and other costs associated with the nuclear mess that had become the Marshall Islands, specifically Bikini atoll (Skoog, 2003).

However, not all the reforms were monetary. In 1994, President Clinton announced the formation of the Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments (Meslin 1996). This committee is tasked with, among other things, examining the known experiments that took place on human fallout exposure between 1944 and 1974 and to evaluate the ethics of said experiments (Meslin 1996). Other reforms that have occurred since 1994 were that on September 10, 1996, the United Nations overwhelmingly approved the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, which will, in effect, end all nuclear testing anywhere in the world (Skoog, 2003).

Even though people were exposed to nuclear fallout in an unethical manner, research is now being done to see that such an incident does not occur again.Personal Reaction StatementThought I found that the study itself possibly had merit, doing it where humans inhabited the land was the wrong decision, in my opinion. There are plenty of unpopulated lands in the world, and the choice to use one that was populated was very poor judgment. Though I am not sure that I believe the conspiracy theories that state that the United States government specifically and purposely launched Bravo to begin the study and expose these people to the effects, the results are nevertheless horrifying.

The population that was exposed will have to contend with health issues for the rest of their lives, as will future generations from contamination of their land and homes. People needlessly died, because someone needed a bit of research. That in and of itself is horrifying, but the fact that there may (and I stress may) have been knowledge that this was a planned experiment, using humans as lab rats, is positively soul-wrenching in the extreme. I am only thankful that science has come far enough to know the effects of radiation poisoning on human beings, and to have established ethical boards against such practices.

Why Ethical Considerations Are ImportantEthical considerations are important for a number of reasons, but first and foremost because this is not an inanimate object that is being experimented on, it is a human life. To fail to see the impact that could be had on a human life due to nuclear research and deliberate exposure to fallout, whether in the short term or the long term, is to experience nothing short of callousness and selfishness, not to mention short-sightedness. The results of any study, whether it involves research or any other types of trials, must speak for themselves.

The results cannot do that if the ethics are not properly followed, and part of following said ethics is obtaining proper consent. If it is proven that ethics were not followed during a study, then the whole study will be rendered useless and thrown out. Those who do their work legitimately and correctly are passionate about ethics for that very reason, and for the reason that human lives are important. Those who do not, and are not passionate, should consider another line of work, so as not to reflect badly on the community of clinical researchers as a whole.

References:Meslin, E. M. (1996). Adding to the canon: The final report. The Hastings Center Report, 34. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/pss/3528469Skoog, K. (2003). Case study: U.s. nuclear testing on the marshall islands. Teaching Ethics, 67-81. Retrieved from http://www.rit.edu/cla/ethics/seac/U.S. Nuclear Testing on the Marshall Islands-- 1946 to 1958.pdf