- A study conducted in the 1960s involved feeding women radioactive chapatis to study iron absorption in the body.
- An MP is calling for an inquiry into the study and the lack of follow-up.
Researchers are currently searching for more than 20 women who were fed radioactive chapatis in the 1960s as part of a study conducted by scientists in Coventry. The study, which aimed to investigate iron absorption in South Asian women and address concerns about anaemia in this population, provided the women with bread containing a radioactive substance called Iron-69. The women were then invited to a research facility in Oxfordshire for testing. However, there are concerns about the lack of informed consent and information provided to the women regarding the study’s purpose and content of the bread.
Labour MP for Coventry North West, Taiwo Owatemi, has expressed deep concern and labeled the experiments as “horrifying.” She is in contact with researchers from the University of Warwick in an effort to identify the women involved. Owatemi plans to call for a debate in Parliament and a formal inquiry into the study’s conduct and the lack of follow-up with the women after its conclusion.
Researchers are hunting for women fed radioactive chapatis in the 1960s in an experiment an MP labelled ‘horrifying’
The reasons for the study resurfacing now are unclear, and MailOnline has reached out to the University of Warwick for comment. MP Owatemi emphasized her concern for the women and their families and highlighted the lack of consent and information given to the participants at the time. She also expressed dismay at the absence of follow-up studies on the women’s health after the conclusion of the experiment.
In 1998, the Government’s Medical Research Council conducted a report on this study and similar radiation studies from the 1950s and 1960s. The report concluded that while the researchers adhered to the guidelines of the time and the subject matter of the studies was not unethical, if the same experiment were conducted today, additional measures to inform participants adequately would be implemented.
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