Softpedia, 21 Oct 10
Last year, a massive scandal erupted when PETA learned that NASA was planning to conduct a series of radiation experiments on unsuspecting monkeys.
The faith of the experiments is now uncertain.
These studies were to be conducted at the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), with direct funds being provided by the American space agency.
Squirrel monkeys were to be exposed to radiation so that experts could analyze the effects that long-term high-energy gamma rays would have on the primates’ ability to perform tasks.
When People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) learned that NASA was planning these experiments, it began a series of protests, arguing that it was inhumane to expose the squirrel monkeys to such high doses of radiation.
Using the Freedom of Information Act, the group issued a request to review the documents assocaited with the NASA-BNL collaboration in this regard.
Needless to say, this was precisely the most important aspect of the documents. “Unfortunately, before the government sent us these documents, it blacked out Brookhaven’s decision, so we don’t know if plans to hurt these animals are moving forward or not,” a PETA statement reads……officials at Animal Defenders International (ADI) drew attention to the fact that while NASA and RosCosmos were deciding to irradiate monkeys, the European Space Agency considered such experiments unnecessary.
Read more:
http://nuclear-news.net/2010/10/21/secrecy-over-plans-for-radiation-experiments-on-monkeys/#more-11165
