File on 4: A Coal Town Mystery

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A Coal Town Mystery

BBC Radio 4 - File on 4, A Coal Town Mystery

File on 4 investigates how organs from coal miners were used for historic research.

Emma Forde examines the historic use of coal miners' organs in research and investigates what permissions were sought.

It’s a scandal that went uncovered for 30 years. Body parts and organs from former workers in the nuclear industry were systematically removed for research. But the families of those former workers were never told. The truth only came to light following a three year inquiry published in 2010. But was this practice contained to one industry, or was this happening on behalf of others too? 

News reports around the time of the Sellafield scandal claimed that organs of coal miners were also being routinely removed during post-mortems at the request of the then National Coal Board. 

So, was the coal industry involved in a similar scandal - and to what extent? And could the need to advance research and science ever be seen to outweigh the need for permission?

Reporter and producer: Emma Forde
Technical Producer: Richard Hannaford
Journalism Assistant: Tim Fernley
Editor: Clare Fordham

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