Re: Uranium Workers Used in Experiments

[Kerembaev@cs.com]

Radsafers,
Seems to me, these lawsuits will keep popping up.
I am not a liability expert, one may say nobody new that some of those levels 
were harmful, some may find an old news paper or scientific article saying 
that there were a some evidence.
First.
Morally, it will be the right step to pay to those who was exposed to the 
levels definitely harmful by today's standards.
Second.
If a political environment is for the restitutions it is better to pay off, 
that will eastablishe the industry as a responsible subject, may be for the 
first time in its history it will get a RESPONSIBLE image.
Tobacco setllement not a direct but a given idea case.
Third.
Even more to that, if I were a DOE, I would my self initiate the restitution 
process. 
In that case:
DOE would get an initiative power, receive a political credit and improve its 
a dark and a very suspicions public image, honestly to say, DOE loves that 
image, it makes probably some people to feel very important. Well, times in 
nowadays are different, even CIA!!!! , what could possibly more deserve that 
kind of image, went on the university's campuses job fairs to improve their 
public image.
The auto industry recalls did help its image, today most of the consumers do 
not care about those safety recalls at all. 
A new always was and will be the well forgotten old.

Emil.
kerembaev@cs.com

In a message dated 2/7/00 7:19:41 Pacific Standard Time, 
sandyfl@earthlink.net writes:

<< Uranium Workers Used in Experiments
 
 LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) February 6 - Some workers at a federal uranium 
 processing plant participated in experiments in the 1950s that had 
 them breathing the radioactive element, The Courier-Journal reported 
 Sunday. 
 
 Some of the participants at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant 
 volunteered for the tests, but some may not have been informed of the 
 dangers, according to a draft report by the Department of Energy on 
 an investigation of health, safety and environmental problems at the 
 western Kentucky plant. 
 
 In one experiment, staff members volunteered to breathe a radioactive 
 gas to see how quickly uranium was excreted in their urine, according 
 to the report. 
 
 In other tests, a senior staffer drank a solution containing uranium, 
 and at least 14 workers tested the effectiveness of respirators 
 against radioactive dust, gas and smoke, according to the report. 
 
 A copy of the report was obtained by The Courier-Journal. 
 
 Although the general dangers of radiation were known at the time of 
 the experiments, its interactions with the human body were not 
 entirely understood. Many believed that uranium dust and byproducts 
 of the enrichment process posed little or no hazard for humans. 
 
 The draft report also says wholesale pollution of the air, ground and 
 water around the plant - in quantities that may have been 
 significantly underreported - may have exposed residents to 
 radiation. 
 
 When asked about the report, Energy Department officials said only 
 that it was under review. The Paducah plant has been managed by the 
 department, as well as by predecessor federal agencies and private 
 contractors. 
 
 The report details a range of problems at Paducah from 1952 to 1990. 
 For years, investigators found, workers were not always told of the 
 dangers they faced working with highly toxic radioactive materials. 
 And their families may have been exposed when workers took 
 contaminated clothing home to be laundered. 
 
 Vast amounts of uranium-contaminated smoke, steam and gas were vented 
 into the open air - sometimes secretly in what employees called 
 ``midnight negatives.'' Inside some buildings, workers were exposed 
 to unplanned releases and leaks of radioactive gases and hazardous 
 chemicals such as hydrofluoric acid, the report said. 
 
 The department began its review after a lawsuit by three employees 
 alleged that former plant operators Lockheed Martin Corp. and Martin 
 Marietta Corp. had profited by lying to the government about the 
 extent of environmental pollution and worker exposure to radiation. 
 
 The investigators said that although measured exposures to radiation 
 were high by today's standards, total exposures were comparable to 
 those occurring at Defense Department facilities, commercial nuclear 
 power plants and other DOE factories. 
 
 However, documents showed that, during the 1950s, 40 to 60 workers 
 sought medical help every four months after exposure to accidental 
 releases of uranium, hydrogen fluoride and fluorine. 
 
 In a companion story focusing on a feed mill at the Paducah plant, 
 The Courier-Journal reported that workers were exposed to radiation 
 levels so high it was possible for a worker to be exposed to as much 
 radiation in one day as was then considered safe for an entire year. 
 
 The paper cited a newly released report, dated Feb. 21, 1961, that 
 contained data on radiation emissions. 
 
 During a typical week, about 60 to 70 men worked round the clock in 
 four shifts in the feed plant, producing fluorine from hydrofluoric 
 acid and combining the lethal gas with uranium powder. The feed mill 
 was closed in the late 1970s.
 
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Sandy Perle                    Tel:(714) 545-0100 / (800) 548-5100             
             >>
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