SCIENTISTS’ SURPRISE: STUDENTS SERVED RADIOACTIVE OATMEAL GOING DANGEROUSLY ROGUE
Students at a state special-needs school in Massachusetts decades ago flocked to join the school’s Science Club, lured by gifts, promises of field trips, and hopes of emotional support from the scientists in charge. What they received instead was a daily dose of radioactive oatmeal. As part of a secret experiment by the Quaker Oats Company and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), dozens of boys at Fernald State School during the late 1940s and early 1950s were fed oatmeal laced with radioactive tracers. The goal was to study their bodies’ absorption of iron and calcium and prove the cereal’s nutritional benefits. Some boys also were injected with radioactive calcium. A student named Fred Boyce and about 70 other boys ages
10–17 were eager to join the Science Club mainly for the perks enjoyed by members. Boyce, who was sent to the school after his parents abandoned him, also hoped the scientists might intervene on the students’ behalf and report dismal conditions at Fernald, where students, many of whom were mentally disabled, were abused and treated brutally. Boyce and others received no help from the scientists, however, and weren’t even informed they were subjects of a scientific experiment until more than 40 years later. “We didn’t know anything at the time,” Boyce told Smithsonian magazine. “We just thought we were special.”
objections at the time. At the dawn of the Atomic Age, most Americans saw science as a powerful force for progress — the Atomic Energy Commission approved dozens of human experiments with radioactivity. The importance of ethics review boards and informed consent of research subjects was nowhere on scientists’ radar at the time. Not until 1972, when the Associated Press reported on a Tuskegee Institute study in which Black men with syphilis were promised treatment they never received, did Congress finally pass legislation protecting people from unethical research. Scientists later determined the boys at Fernald didn’t suffer serious health effects; one said the exposure was about the same as 30 chest X-rays. For students like Boyce, however, the injuries ran deep. Thirty former Fernald students later sued Quaker Oats and MIT and were awarded $1.85 million in a 1998 settlement.
The study at Fernald,
originally named the Massachusetts State School for the Feeble-Minded, was led by an MIT professor of nutrition. No one raised
Please Don’t Be Used Against Me in Court Dear Diary,
Many of us have fond memories of writing in diaries or journals throughout our youth. We would share our thoughts and feelings in a book we would keep hidden from friends, family members, and others. It was our sanctuary where we could be ourselves without worrying about judgment or embarrassment. You may even remember the feeling of rage or hopelessness when you spotted your brother or sister holding your diary. Thankfully, there usually wasn’t anything too incriminating in our teenage diaries, and some of us have continued the practice well into adulthood. However, a recent news story proves we should be cautious about the information we share in our private journals.
incident and looking into Vanessa Guerra, a suspect in the case, a law enforcement officer allegedly found her diary. He flipped through the pages, looking for any information that would catch his eye, when he stumbled upon an entry from Aug. 12, the same day a 2004 Ford Freestar van was stolen and resold at an auto salvage business. “Totally stole a car today! Something I never thought of doing,” Guerra allegedly wrote in her diary. Guerra was charged with receiving stolen property and theft, although she claims she didn’t know the vehicle was stolen. However, workers at the auto salvage business informed law enforcement they recognized Guerra as the seller of the stolen vehicle.
Most people will probably not blab to others about crimes they have committed, especially if they are currently unsolved. This case reminds us to be just as cautious about what we write in private journals. While your diary may be your safe place to share your innermost thoughts and feelings, your entries could come back to haunt you if you’re involved in a criminal case, especially if you blatantly admit to the crime.
Last year, a Minnesota woman was arrested for auto theft. While investigating the
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