Many employees at this uranium plant in Paducah, Kentucky, fear they may have been exposed to high levels of radiation VIDEO CNN's Pierre Thomas reports the danger may have been known long before anything was done Windows Media 28K 80K

Doctor wrote of 'problem' in 1960

September 21, 1999
Web posted at: 10:17 p.m. EDT (0217 GMT)

In this story: 'An excuse for hazard pay' Apologies, compensation and lawsuit RELATED STORIES, SITES

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. government may have known for three decades about potentially dangerous radiation levels at the federally owned uranium processing plant in Paducah, Kentucky -- but failed to warn employees, according to documents obtained by CNN.

That raises troubling questions for employees like Jim Key, who has worked at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant for 25 years. The facility uses gaseous diffusion to enrich uranium for use as fuel in nuclear reactors.

"These workers dedicated their lives for the national security of our nation and were unknowingly and possibly intentionally exposed to hazards," Key said.

More about the documents may be revealed during a House Commerce subcommittee that is to hold hearings Wednesday about working conditions at the plant during the Cold War years.

The documents which CNN obtained showed that a government physician was concerned about Paducah employee exposure to highly radioactive materials back on March 11, 1960.

The doctor wrote, "It appears that Paducah has a ... problem, but we don't have the data to tell them how serious it is."

He recommended that 300 workers be tested, but according to government sources, the tests were never done.

The 1960 letter may explain why: money.

The doctor wrote that plant officials were reluctant to "proceed to intensive studies because of the union's use of this as an excuse for hazard pay."

These revelations have both current and past workers fearing for their health, and they're voicing concerns to federal officials.

"For years, we worked out there, and the foremen there and the company told us there was nothing there to hurt us, and we would rake powders out with our bare hands, with no respirator," said one man.

"I would work in those contaminated areas, and I would take my work clothes home, and they would be washed with my wife and children's clothes," said another concerned man.

The U.S. Department of Energy owns the plant and is overseeing a costly environmental cleanup of the site. The agency is investigating why workers were unwittingly exposed to plutonium and other highly toxic and radioactive substances and whether contractors who ran the plant covered it up.

A subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Energy and National Resources, during a field hearing in Paducah on Monday, heard tales of radioactive salt on lunch tables, truckloads of uranium shavings being buried as they ignited and burned, and contaminated barrels tossed into ponds.

The Clinton administration is proposing a compensation package for employees who may have been exposed.

"We seem to have forgotten our workers. We seem to have forgotten to tell them that they may have been contaminated with plutonium -- that was wrong," said Energy Secretary Bill Richardson.

But apologies may not be enough to calm the concerns of workers who fear they may have been exposed to radioactive materials -- perhaps even more dangerous than they ever knew. Some have filed a class-action lawsuit against the contractors who ran the plant.

The U.S. Department of Energy owns the plant and is overseeing a costly environmental cleanup of the site. The agency is investigating why workers were unwittingly exposed to plutonium and other highly toxic and radioactive substances and whether contractors who ran the plant covered it up.

Justice Correspondent Pierre Thomas and The Associated Press contributed to this report.