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Eugene Saenger
Radiologist, University of Cincinnati
DOD-funded researcher who subjected 88 cancer patients to total body irradiation for military purposes
Overview
Eugene L. Saenger (1917-2007) was a radiologist at the University of Cincinnati who, from 1963 to 1971, conducted Department of Defense-funded total body irradiation experiments on 88 cancer patients. The DOD funding contract specified the purpose as determining the effects of radiation on combat effectiveness, but patients were not told the study was military-funded or that radiation doses were designed to simulate nuclear warfare conditions. Saenger selected patients who were predominantly poor and Black. At least 21 of 88 patients died within weeks of irradiation. A class action lawsuit resulted in a $3.6 million settlement in 1999. Saenger was never criminally charged and insisted the experiments were therapeutic until his death.
Key Affiliations
Controversies & Concerns
Subjected 88 cancer patients to total body irradiation at doses far exceeding therapeutic levels for DOD military research purposes without informed consent
Selected predominantly poor Black patients for radiation experiments; did not inform them the study was funded by the Pentagon or designed for military purposes
At least 21 of 88 patients died within weeks of irradiation with acute radiation syndrome symptoms
Continued defending the experiments as therapeutic until his death in 2007 despite overwhelming evidence they served military rather than medical purposes
Related Investigations (1)
Known Associates & Connections
John Charles Cutler
Fellow government-funded researcher who conducted human experiments without consent; contemporaries in the Cold War medical research establishment
Sources & Documentation
1 documented sources from official records, investigations, and reports
Personal Information
- Born
- 1917-03-04
- Birthplace
- Cincinnati, Ohio
Education
- •University of Cincinnati (B.A.)
- •University of Cincinnati College of Medicine (M.D., 1942)
Key Timeline
1963
Begins DOD-funded total body irradiation experiments at University of Cincinnati
1971
Experiments end after renewed scrutiny following Senator Kennedy hearings
1994
Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments investigates the Cincinnati studies
1999
Class action lawsuit settled for $3.6 million; Saenger not personally held liable
2007-10-10
Dies at age 90; never criminally charged for the experiments