A review of the use of radio-isotopes in medicine and medical research in Australia (1947–73)

Abstract

Recent reports in the Australian media have claimed that after the Second World War 'hundreds of (Australians) were injected with radioactive materials in medical experiments that continued in Australian hospitals until the 1960s'. These claims prompted a review of archival records of the Australian Radiation Laboratory (ARL) that are held by the Australian Archives pertaining to the medical uses of radio-isotopes during the period 1947-73. The material examined indicates that the procurement, distribution, and therapeutic and diagnostic uses of radio-isotopes were stringently controlled by the Radio-isotopes Standing committee (RSC) until 1973, when the responsibility of regulation of medical uses of radio-isotopes passed to the Therapeutic Goods Administration. On the basis of available information it appears that the claims made by the media that many Australians were subjected to unconscionable medical experiments are unjustified. A full report has been released by the Commonwealth Minister for Human Services and Health. The following is an abridged version of that report, detailing some of the more contentious uses of radio-isotopes for medical purposes in Australia during the period 1947-73.