Disabled Britons Reported Killed in Atomic Testing
By Kay Schriner
The Independent, a London newspaper, has reported that disabled Britons apparently were killed while being used test the effects of atomic bombs during the 1950s. According to this report, institutionalized individuals with disabilities were taken to Australia to be used as "guinea pigs" when the British were conducting tests there.
The story came to light when Robert Jackson, director of the Centre for Disability Research and Development in Perth, Australia, was told by an Australian pilot that he had flown the disabled Britons to the testing site at Maralinga in South Australia. "I was one of the pilots, and we didn't fly them out again," the pilot told Jackson.
The Independent reports that a refrigerator mechanic went to the building where the disabled Britons were held to do some repairs, and said later that the "sound coming coming from inside the building was like the gibbering of mentally retarded people . . . [but] after the second atomic test, you couldn't hear them anymore."
Dr. Jackson is convinced the reports are accurate. It is "highly likely" that the testing was done as described, he is quoted as saying. It was common for people with intellectual disabilities to be viewed as less than human in those days. "They were treated very poorly. They were dispensable."
Kathy Marks, The Independent's reporter, also mentions that the United States Energy Department conducted a series of secret experiments on the effects of radiation between 1953 and 1967. Carried out by the Central Intelligence Agency, the test subjects included boys with intellectual disabilities at a Massachusetts school who were served radioactive milk with their breakfast cereal.
To see the complete story, go to: http://www.independent.co.uk/story.jsp?story=77358
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