Bibeau

Harold and Melanie Bibeau appeal the district court’s judgment in favor of the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act, 28 U.S.C. §§ 2671-2680 (1994) (“FTCA”). We affirm.

I.

Harold Bibeau, a former prison inmate at the Oregon Department of Corrections, and his wife, Melanie Ann Dooyen Bibeau, brought claims under the FTCA based on personal injury suffered by Mr. Bibeau, who participated in prison based research. While incarcerated from 1963-1969, Mr. Bibeau participated in government funded research experiments that exposed his testes to high levels of radiation. These experiments, known as the “Heller Experiments,” were designed to produce information regarding the effects of radiation on the male reproductive system. For voluntarily participating in the Heller Experiments, Bibeau was paid $5 per month for agreeing to radiation exposure, $10 per biopsy, and $100 for undergoing a vasectomy.

Bibeau alleges that, as a result of the experiments, he suffers from intermittent pain and rashes on his scrotum and groin, pain from the biopsies, as well as severe emotional distress. He also alleges that he suffers from a significantly increased risk of developing cancer and other…