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, a multidisciplinary research institution engaged in strategic science on behalf of national security, is operated by Los Alamos National Security, LLC, a team composed of Bechtel National, the University of California, The Babcock & Wilcox Company, and the Washington Division of URS for the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration.
Los Alamos enhances national security by ensuring the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, developing technologies to reduce threats from weapons of mass destruction, and solving problems related to energy, environment, infrastructure, health, and global security concerns.