Contacts: Mona S. Rowe, (631) 344-5056
Statement on Proposed NASA Study at Brookhaven National Laboratory
December 2, 2009
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has raised concerns about a proposed NASA study that would use squirrel monkeys.
The study would be conducted by researchers at McLean Hospital, a psychiatric facility of Harvard Medical School, and is proposed to take place at a NASA facility on the Brookhaven Lab site.
In the study, squirrel monkeys would receive a level of radiation similar to what an astronaut would encounter on a Mars mission. The monkeys would then live out the remainder of their natural lifetime at McLean, while researchers there would observe them for subtle changes in behavior and performance.
Brookhaven Lab has not yet received the NASA proposal. All studies at the NASA facility require approval by multiple review committees.
Number: 09-1039
| BNL Media & Communications Office
