The Manhattan-Rochester coalition and tests on vulnerable populations without consent

During the Cold War, the United States military engaged in a series of secret tests on civilian populations in various North American cities, to test new types of weapons that were being developed by a network of scientists involved in a secret spin-off group from the Manhattan Project.  In at least one series of tests between 1953 and 1965, officials sprayed an aerosolized compound in an urban area where low-income persons of color resided, in St. Louis, Missouri.  Their task was an ultra-secret project that involved in part, human subject testing related to weaponized radiation. This vast project transcended national boundaries, and ultimately targeted tens of thousands of unwitting, disempowered, and dehumanized civilians, who were purposely tested for, and exposed to deadly compounds without their knowledge or consent, in a blatant violation of civil and human rights. 

Such a vast project required the effort of thousands of internal participants over roughly five decades.  Under the direction of the network leaders, lower-level participants’ ethical lapses and willing participation in harm, might be explained by the use of organizational tactics that purposely disabled critical analysis and internal dissent by those inside the organization.  Large numbers of people outside the secret network, even victims of the network’s actions, were unable to determine that illegal or harmful activity was being conducted by the military and its contractors, because of the same organizational tactics that additionally, disabled external dissent and critical analysis. 

Through understanding the specific elements and mechanisms of complex institutional deviance that disengage critical analysis, and pave the path towards victimization of populations, we can develop public policies that prioritize the public’s right to know, and construct checks and methods to minimize the chance of covert projects that are contrary to societal norms, human dignity, and human rights.