The radioactive sodium trials published in 1937 established Joseph Gilbert Hamilton as a primary investigator of isotope behavior within living tissue. A physician and physicist at the University of California, Berkeley, his research path transitioned from chemical studies to the intensive, controversial examination of transuranic element retention through secret human experiments conducted between 1945 and 1947.
Academic Foundation and Early Trials
Hamilton earned a B.S. in Chemistry in 1929 from the University of California. He pursued medical studies in Berkeley, interning at the University of California Hospital in San Francisco, and received his M.D. in 1936. During this period, the Berkeley cyclotron became a vital tool for producing radioactive isotopes. Hamilton utilized these resources to investigate the physiological effects of sodium, potassium, chlorine, bromine, and iodine, specifically identifying radioactive iodine as a diagnostic and therapeutic tool for thyroid disorders.
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In 1944, concerns regarding Manhattan Project personnel exposure to plutonium prompted toxicity experiments on rats. Deeming these results insufficient, Hamilton participated in a transition to human subjects. Between 1945 and 1947, he headed one of three teams that injected plutonium into 18 patients without their knowledge. His team at the University of California Hospital injected three subjects, including Albert Stevens, Simeon Shaw, and Elmer Allen. These trials provided data on isotope retention that compelled the Atomic Energy Commission to revise and lower tolerance limits for strontium and transuranic substances.
Ethics and Final Years
In 1948, Hamilton became the director of the Crocker Laboratory, a position he held until his death. By 1950, after the Atomic Energy Commission assumed control of these initiatives, Hamilton authored a memo to Shields Warren recommending the use of chimpanzees instead of humans for radiation cognitive studies to avoid public criticism, which he characterized as having a little of the Buchenwald touch. Hamilton died of radiation-induced leukemia in 1957 at age 49. His name is memorialized on the Monument to the X-ray and Radium Martyrs of All Nations.
Fast facts
- Born: 1907
- Died: 1957
- Education: University of California, Berkeley
- Occupations: Physician, physicist, radiologist
- Laboratory Director: Crocker Laboratory, 1948-1957
- Citizenship: United States
Questions readers ask
What were the results of the human plutonium injections?
The data from these trials led the Atomic Energy Commission to establish significantly lower tolerance limits for radioactive strontium and transuranic elements.
How did Joseph Gilbert Hamilton die?
He died of radiation-induced leukemia at the age of 49.
Achievements
- Held posts at University of California, Berkeley
