Panel Lets Radium Nose Treatments Blow Over

Warning people about the dangers of radioactive nasal treatments they received a half-century ago would only cause unnecessary worry and useless medical tests, a government panel has concluded.

The Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments said the benefits of notifying patients of the dangers of the radioactive nasal treatments do not outweigh the potential harm of doing so.

Even if people were notified, “nothing could be done for those suffering from brain cancers because there’s no known treatment,” said Stephen Klaidman, the committee’s spokesman.

The recommendation is contained in a draft report the panel is to give the Clinton administration next week of its study of a wide range of human radiation tests the government conducted after World War II.

Radium, encased in capsules and inserted into nostrils at the end of long sticks, was intended to shrink tissues near the eustachian tubes. The treatment was developed at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore to treat children for hearing loss.

The treatment was given to military pilots and divers, including Navy submariners, to prevent broken ear drums resulting from drastic changes in pressure.

Civilians were given radium for hearing loss, colds, adenoid troubles and other ailments. Some have questioned whether radium caused such health problems as tumors, endocrine and autoimmune disorders, miscarriages and brittle teeth.