171
committee concludes that it cannot be determined whether 3
patients who received plutonium injections in the 1940s un-
derstood or agreed to radiation exposure they received but
that researchers took reasonable steps to protect the patients
from harm.
•Two teams working independently at the Fermi Lab's
Accelerator Laboratory outside of Chicago, IL, announce
the discovery of the top quark with a mass-energy of 176
GeV or 199 GeV (approximately 200 times heavier than a
proton). The teams use a 1.7 mi. diameter proton / anti-
proton accelerator.
•The Chilean navy threatens to use force to keep a Ja-
pan-bound freighter, British-flagged Pacific Pintail, loaded
with high-level nuclear waste out of its 320-kilometer terri-
torial waters. A Chilean patrol boat, the Micalva, is sent to
the area to persuade the Pacific Pintail to leave Chilean wa-
ters. «These waters are not to be navigated. I know of large
ships that have been damaged by extraordinarily rough seas
in the area», says navy commander in chief Adm. Jorge
Martinez Busch. The nuclear vessel also faces natural dan-
gers in extremely rough and stormy weather, battling against
10-meter waves and gale-force winds.