Eugene Saenger, radiation pioneer, dead

[RandyW]

Eugene Saenger, radiation pioneer, dead

CINCINNATI, Oct. 6 (UPI) -- Dr. Eugene Saenger, an Ohio radiologist whose ground-breaking work was tarnished by controversy, has died at the age of 90.

Saenger died Sept. 30 in Cincinnati from bladder cancer, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Saenger's research contributed greatly to knowledge about the effects of radiation on the human body, but his legacy was tarnished by experiments in the 1960s in which he radiated more than 90 poor, black, uneducated patients with inoperable tumors.

Saenger maintained the tests were to relieve pain and perhaps shrink tumors, but critics insisted the only purpose was to determine the effects of radiation on the human body for the U.S. military, which funded the studies, the Times reported.

Saenger maintained he was proud of the studies, despite a federal judge in 1999 approving a multi-million-dollar settlement to the patients' families.

Saenger, who also conducted groundbreaking work on the growth of cancer cells in children, graduated **WORD NOT ALLOWED** laude from Harvard University with a medical degree from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.