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PHILADELPHIA, PA - DECEMBER 31: A general view of Philadelphia City Hall from Market Street on December 31, 2015 in Philadelphia City. (Photo by Paul Marotta/Getty Images) PHILADELPHIA - The City of Philadelphia has issued a formal apology for experiments conducted by the University of Pennsylvania at the Holmesburg Prison in Philadelphia decades ago. According to the city, the experiments were conducted from the 1950s to the 1970s and purposely exposed incarcerated individuals to pharmaceuticals, viruses, fungus, asbestos and dioxin, a component of Agent Orange. RELATED: Brother of MOVE bombing victims receives sisters remains, apology from PhiladelphiaMany of the incarcerated individuals who were experimented on were Black men who were illiterate, awaiting prosecution and attempting to save enough money to make bail. "While this happened many decades ago, we know that the historical impact and trauma of this practice of medical racism has extended for generations - all the way through to the present day.