Radiation Records Being Investigated

["Sandy Perle" <sandyfl@earthlink.net>]

Note: The witch hunt continues. Some of the accusations come from a 
guard at the facility. Another is from a wife who supposedly has a 
blacked out copy of a medical record that was provided her husband in 
1973. Interesting that this all coincides with the Republican led 
Congress trying to push through a "no fault compensation program." 
Ironic that their campaign theme this year in NO NEW TAXES, yet we 
the taxpayer are going to have to pay these individuals for their 
maladies without proof of radiation induced disease. Go figure!

Radiation Records Being Investigated

WASHINGTON (AP) - The government is investigating whether officials 
at federal uranium enrichment plants falsified radiation exposure 
records for workers, the Department of Energy's top safety official 
said Wednesday. 

``We have heard those allegations and we're pursuing them,'' said 
David Michaels, assistant secretary for environment, safety and 
health. 

Michaels made his comments after Jeffrey Walburn, a guard at the 
Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Piketon, Ohio, told Senate 
Governmental Affairs Committee members not to believe anything they 
read about exposure levels. 

``The records are not accurate or believable,'' said Walburn, who 
suffers from respiratory problems. ``They can make your dosimetry 
(radiation measurement) a tailor-made reading of what they want it to 
reveal.'' 

Ann Orick of Knoxville, Tenn., showed senators a copy of a medical 
report her husband - a co-worker - received after a 1973 accident at 
the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Tennessee. The handwritten 
document has two parts blacked out where plant officials hid the 
identity of the red-and-white powder with which he came in contact. 

Mrs. Orick said her husband suffers breathing problems and said her 
family is frustrated they cannot find out what caused the ailment. 

``I bet we can,'' replied committee chairman Fred Thompson, R-Tenn., 
prompting an ovation from what had been a hushed audience. 

``How can they treat him properly if they don't know what they're 
dealing with? We need to do something about that,'' he told Michaels. 

Michaels said the Clinton administration is working on legislation to 
compensate sick workers. Thompson warned the bill should not rely on 
questionable documents or force workers to demonstrate exposure 
levels that cannot be proven. 

Michaels said Energy Secretary Bill Richardson already has said 
``that the burden of proof should not be on workers.'' 

Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, urged speedy action. 

``The longer we wait the worse it gets,'' he said. ``A lot of people 
need some medical care (and) some real compensation.'' 

The Clinton administration has proposed offering medical benefits, 
lost-wage reimbursement, optional job retraining or a single $100,000 
cash payment to workers suffering illnesses caused by exposure to 
beryllium. In addition, the administration has proposed compensation 
of $100,000 apiece to workers at the Paducah plant exposed to 
radioactive materials known to cause cancer. 

But other workers remain in limbo. Thompson's committee heard from 
some of them. 

Cancer victim Sam Ray of Lucasville, Ohio, said he worked at 
Portsmouth for decades without any protective clothing. Walburn, who 
lives in Greenup, Ky., said he does not believe he was told the truth 
about what he inhaled during a 1994 accident at Portsmouth that 
permanently damaged his lungs. 

''(Plant officials) testified in a federal deposition in 1994 that we 
were only exposed to low levels of (the toxic chemical) fluorine,'' 
he said. ``I beg to differ. ... My wife held me in her arms and 
watched my lung lining bubble out my mouth.'' 

Thompson said the illnesses suffered by workers are real and should 
be acknowledged by the government. 

``It's time for the federal government to stop automatically denying 
any responsibility and face up to the fact that it appears as though 
it (the government) made at least some people sick,'' he said. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sandy Perle					Tel:(714) 545-0100 / (800) 548-5100   				    	
Director, Technical				Extension 2306 				     	
ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Division		Fax:(714) 668-3149 	                   		    
ICN Biomedicals, Inc.				E-Mail: sandyfl@earthlink.net 				                           
ICN Plaza, 3300 Hyland Avenue  		E-Mail: sperle@icnpharm.com          	          
Costa Mesa, CA 92626                                      

Personal Website:  http://www.geocities.com/capecanaveral/1205
ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Website: http://www.dosimetry.com

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