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November 15, 2002 Statement of MikeTulloh, uranium materials handler - Portsmouth PlantPortsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant Piketon, OhioI was a uranium materials handler for ten years at the Portsmouth Plant. It was in our department that we transfered and sampled UF6 into customer and government cylinders. This included 97% enriched weapons grade material. The contamination and radiation problems were so bad, that the contractor removed radiation monitoring devices that notified workers of unacceptable levels of radiation and contamination. This was testified to by Jack Crawford, Superintendant of Operations in my intentional tort trial in 1992. I was also a member of the emergency respose team on March 13, 1978 when a heated cylinder was dropped and over 22,000 lbs of material enveloped into a mushroom cloud. No surrounding residents were notified, no surrounding towns or cities were ever notified. Now we know that this material contained more than just uranium hexaflouride. I could go on and on about the atrocities I witnessed during my employment; the twelve tumors that were removed from me, the death of co-workers, and the actions of the contractors that can be only be described as criminal. When you expose workers to deadly materials on a daily basis without their knowledge, deny them benefits when they become sick, lie about working conditions, and then pass half-assed legislation that just a few workers might qualify for, then what you have in legal terms is an "intentional tort." After waiting seven years to get into court with several causes of action, that is all I had left after Judge Wray Bevens dismissed my case twice until he was ordered by the Ohio Supreme Court to hear the case. In the legal arena when you are up against defendants with no souls and an endless supply of money, there is no action quite like "class action." That is what clearly needs to happen. There has been no action taken on behalf of nuclear workers because there has been no media attention. That is the sad reality. I read most all the information posted on this site, written by intelligent people, but nothing will change until there is organization. With organization, goals are defined, strategy is decided, and a plan of action is initiated. This comes from an employee who has spent eleven years of litigation involving two cases against D.O.E. contractors and won jury decisions both cases. Let us learn from our past mistakes or we are doomed to repeat them. Mike Tulloh, Portsmouth Plant, 1975-1986 --------------------- Michael Tulloh |