Laboratory reaches settlement in tissue analysis case

Contact: Kevin Roark, camerahead@lanl.gov, (505) 665-0582

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LOS ALAMOS, N.M., Oct. 3, 2001 -- The plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit that involved a long-term tissue analysis program at Los Alamos National Laboratory have reached a settlement agreement with the University of California, which manages the Laboratory for the Department of Energy. The study, which used tissues from autopsies conducted primarily at Los Alamos Medical Center, began in 1959 and ended in 1980.

Details of the $8 million settlement agreement are contained in a document to be filed with the New Mexico State District Court in Santa Fe. The court will consider the proposed settlement at a hearing scheduled for January 11, 2002.

The Laboratory acknowledges that because express consent to use the autopsy tissue may not have been obtained from next of kin, the plaintiffs and many of those they represent are aggrieved in this matter.

The Laboratory further acknowledges that while the program was conducted with the best of intentions, and within the legal and ethical standards of the time, if initiated today it would be conducted under current informed consent practices that are more formal and highly detailed.

The Laboratory regrets and understands that even though the program made important contributions to worker and public health knowledge, and benefited the nation by establishing solid long-term radioactive exposure limits, some aspects of the study could be upsetting to those who did not have an opportunity to give their informed consent.

Los Alamos National Laboratory is operated by the University of California for the U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration.

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