By Jacque Day
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkms/local-wkms-927021.mp3
Paducah, Ky. – About a hundred people turned out to WKCTC's Emerging Technology Center Wednesday to hear the results of the first definitive study about mortality patterns among Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant workers. The audience included former plant workers, spouses and concerned citizens seeking answers about the long-term effects of exposure to radiation and toxic metals. Jacque Day attended the session, and brings us this report.
Cathy Graham was one of the more vocal participants in the first open-forum discussion about the landmark Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant mortality study. "And I was lied to. I walked in that plant and I was told, You could eat this stuff. And I bet three fourths of the people here were told the same thing." The Paducah resident worked at the plant for five years. Her husband worked there 34. "I might not get cancer. But my husband's got diabetes. Did that bring that on earlier? These are questions. Why are we not covered?"
The room buzzed with a palpable tension as University of Louisville's Dr. David Tollerud presented the findings of the study, published in July in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. "It's important to note that this was a mortality study. That the information we have was death certificates. This was not a study of illness that did not result in death. So we're unable to answer some of those kinds of questions that I know are weighing on peoples' minds."
Graham left the meeting before it was done. "I'm not saying they didn't do a good job, with what they had. But to me, you can't use a death certificate."
In brief, the researchers evaluated death certificates of 6,820 people who worked at the plant from 1952 to 2003. The study determined that PGDP workers had a lower death rate than the overall U.S. population, but slightly elevated numbers of deaths from Leukemia and Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma.
One by one, the questions came. Did they look at pesticides, Agent Orange? Why only death certificates? What criteria went into choosing the sample group?
"It's been commented to me by numerous individuals that there were certainly many more people who worked at the plant than these 6,820 individuals. We did not include independent contractors. We did not include short-term employees simply because those records were not available."
Gary Vander Boegh is vice president of Commonwealth Environmental Services. He questions the validity of the documentation used in the study. "And the union members in this room realize that contractors are a significant number of the fatalities and injuries and illnesses at that Paducah plant. You're only as good as the information that you might pick up."
Vander Boegh is a former plant employee and self-professed Department of Energy whistleblower who now helps sick workers adjudicate their claims. He pointed out the confusion people face trying to deal with multiple agencies with names compressed into acronyms: the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, or NIOSH, not to mention Health and Human Services, and the departments of Labor and Energy. "Do not give up your claim because somebody in DOE says your records aren't there. This man right here proves that wrong; his claim was denied because they couldn't prove that he worked at DOE."
The gentleman he's referring to is Richard Shepherd.
"I'm very concerned, not with you as an individual or your study group that did this, but with the data you were fed, whether you were hand-fed what they wanted you to be hand-fed. When I requested my data, they were telling me I only worked at the plant from 1968 through '86. I worked 36 years at that plant."
Dr. Tollerud points out, the purpose of the study is to help better understand if work hazards at the plant may have affected workers' health. And because as a researcher, he can't address claims questions, a NIOSH representative was on hand. Data reliability was a concern, but at the heart of the public's reaction was a more basic worry: for life, and well-being. As Cathy Graham said before she left the building, she doesn't want to have to worry every time she goes to the doctor. By general consensus the people seem to be saying, this study is just the tip of the iceberg. They think more digging needs to be done. And it is. Dr. Tollerud says research on the Paducah plant is continuing. Dr. Rick Hornung of the University of Cincinnati is conducting a more detailed analysis of radiation exposures from the plant. Those results are expected later this year.
Contact Jacque Day at jacquee.day@murraystate.edu.