ML20140C943
| ML20140C943 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 01/30/1986 |
| From: | Grimsley D NRC OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATION (ADM) |
| To: | Stilp G ESSENTIAL INFORMATION |
| References | |
| FOIA-86-27 NUDOCS 8603250534 | |
| Download: ML20140C943 (3) | |
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Price 15e Ottewa, Illinois Phone 433 0000 134 tis Year - 97th D*7 Wednesday. April 26,1978
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y Women workers blan 2e radiation for ailments
. B' JIM RIDtNCS company. After numerous complaints, a man more likely te caused by ra'dium over the' years l[dM, I EMC,Ny]*AQ' 7 r%. r-2 U
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Staff writer from the New York office came to Ottawa and than tritium.
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j.D h Is history repeating itself in the case d radium talked to the women, telling them they had Luminous Processa does not plan to fight the f
p)'b M pal % gin Ottawa?
nothir'gtoeorry about,theyadded.. -
suspension order.The company has made plans r
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,y 5 It's been more than e0 yean since national Several of the women later sent an anonymous to open a new plant in iluntsville, Ala., instead.
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headlines told the stories of more than a dozen letter to OSl!A tOccupadonal Safety llealth Ad.
The Ottawa employees, however, were never in-Q'
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I g.;I25Q 7 women who died of radium potsoning caused by-mimstrauen). OS.A came in, Imt au they or.
formed of this decision. The day after the NRC
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working at Radium Dial Co. La Ottawa Now The
- dered was an eye bath for the women. at wasn't.
shut down Luminc=, the company told the t-v
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Daily Times has learned that more than a dozen
- until the NRC came in that safety regulations women that "due to technical d.ff>culties, do not g.
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report to work until nest Wednesday." When the I'
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_g other women werktrig at Luminous Processes, a became stricter, several women said..-
successor company to Radium Dial, have laiminous Processes used to take its wasta women caUed in Wednesday, they said they were as F MN Y 'jj IJ U" # c_.
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developed tumcrs and many more reportedly material to the city dump for burning, a practice ',
told to go to the unemployment office to file for l.g 7
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have d ed prematurely of cancer.
stopped by the EPA (Envircnmental Protection relief. Meanwhile, the employees read in the y
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Many of the women blame expcsure at. - Agency) a few years agot Since then, wasta newspaper that Luminous was closed for high immh cus Processes for the tumors, and one. '. material has been carefuuy packaged, sealed radiation fevels.
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woman - Mary 1. Corrigan - said she is plan-
' and transported to the nuclear waste dumping Since then, management has left the city and q3 y
I the women are trying to negotiate for vacation ning a lawsuit against the cornpany to conect site at Sheffield.
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and sev them.,erance pay they say the company owes g
damages. Mrs. Corrigan, whe worked at The women wore smocks so their clothes Ig*I$, 2,, d
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- Luminous for M years,is now in an area hospital wou dn't get contaminated But the smacks were suffering from cancer and a recent stroke, sent to be cleaned only once a week, they say, Two weeks after the Ottawa plant closed, y
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Imrunous Processes, at Jeffenon and Clinton and w ere " pretty dirty and conta'ninated" when' Luminous tried to move machinery and equip-ad ' 'h qd
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i ment frorn the Ottawa plant to its Ceargia plant.
7 q hg)d'ri streets in Dttawa, has been closed lsince sent out. Shoes aho picked up eentaminapon,3. ye NRC intervened and ordered the company to Ie h p.C.S[g eM'g,3.Tcq.m m.
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t?.1 %j Pebruary when the Nuclear Regulatory Corn.
For the last three months, the plant made the u
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mission (NRC) suspended the firm's' license emp'oyees scrub their shoes before leaving at put the equipment back, saying it was too hlghly G,%
charging unsafe radiation levels and faDure to, nighL This.was' good, sald one woman but what contaminated tobe transported.
M frorn the plant also had excessive racation to their homent too h'gh to allow public use of the building now. It E jj.p[ p@p clean contaminated areas. Shipping containers of aD the years of tracking the contamination in.
Strasma said contamination levels inside are y.
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'hg i h. x,.$^ g Q M gl% 3 levels,the NRC said.
Rags used to clea n up contamination were kept either has to be decontaminated or demolished, 1 M y,9 7
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Lummaus Processes had a license to use in an open barrel in the plant, several women Luminous may contract the services of Atcor
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tritium, a ra6pactive form of hydrogen used in said.
Co. of New York, a ra&ation decuntamination d
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i consulting f 6rm, to clean up the buildmg. Robert paint for luminous clock dials. The irspection
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g ~47 that closed the plant was the third time in the seven have had surgery for breast cancer, one tsvesque, radiation protecdon officer of Atcor,
% G.U.T past 1% years the NRC found unsafe radiation has a bl3od disease and a few have tume '
said Luminous signed a letter of intent with his
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company for services, but must first negotiate
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elsewhere. Did exposure to radiuni and tritium 4
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with the 111]nois Dept of Public llealth.
k!1 (9 m GM $ F*
,.. ',M. J The Dany Umes ta:ked to a dozen women who cause these aOments?
q 8.**g'.p.g,{"9,*M 7 # L * $. f.s,... \\"'C.j were employed at the ptant, none of whorn wan-
"In our minds, we feelit did," said one womas.
Tables, machinery and equipment would have c
4. p & er*Mi.f.s w.I, c"N ma, N MRQ ted their names used since they are stin - *But our doctors do not want to take a chance t to te csposed of, tevesque sa:d, and washdowDs
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- ith detergents also would be part of the decon-negotiating fos vacation and sewrance pay they
. and come out and say it." In the 1910's, Ottawa
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doctors also &acounted radium poisoning in i tamination process. SurfacMtupping removal ef ep.'j
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precautions were tax at the plant 1he last super-med:calevidence proved otherwise.
t accessary where radiation was still found, and M..
- %* %.7:y'.h visor Ot the plant ** slapped the tritium around "Any form of radiation can cause c'ancer,"
l Portionsof thebuildingmayhavetoberemoved, l[N Mke?M, A;.d W.,. ' Aww f yp!11 LsC.g
%f like cake frostmg.*'said one womans She said said Jan Strasma of the NRC Oticago office.
be added.
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" Tritium is a radioactive form of hydrogen.
The rubble would have to be specla!!y handled j..
2 about production and not the workers' health.
Properly handled, it should not be a hazard to a tnd removed to a nuclear damping site, he sali Both the supervisor and manager have since left employees."
3 Levesque estimated it would take at least u Radiation tracesfound eeeka to decontaminate the budding.
for the company's plantin Georgia.
Strasma a&!ad that tritium is hazardaus if When the company changed from radium to inhaled or ingested, but just being exposed to it Did lack of safe handling of radium a nd tritium CNI Defense Direciar PhD Bauey teh a geiger counter sad found "la-ause the numerous turnors now reported by e'. gal!!caallevels" ef radtatica eutaldelamlaous Processes is Ottawa Bat tritturn a few years ago, the women said they should not be hazardous. The company took e
were told tntium was hartr.less. But they said weekly urine samples from the women to g Vmale employees? h!any of them think so,in-said be was "sarprised there was that mach outalde the buEdlag " PeEsans dudir.g htrs. Comgan.
have reported the janitor has washed dews the steps and outsIde of the they became scared of the sme11 Ln the ptant.The monitor tritium levels, which showed e
women claimed tritium gas began to cause "measurshle but not hazardous levels," he said.
"We reatired it was dangerous,"she said,"but balldlag severat tirees since the ptsat elesed la Februa'I, IDally Times re were never told the w hole fa ets of it."
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% marks on their skin, and they complained to the Strasma said be thought any auments m!ght i
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PRELIMINARY NOTIFICATION Date: September 18,-1980
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PRELIMINARY NOTIFICATION OF EVENT OR UNUSUAL OCCURENCE--PNO-III-80-177 Page 1 of 2 This preliminary notification constitutes EARLY notice of events of POSSIBLE safety or public interest significance.
The inforination presented is as initially received without verification or evaluation and is basically all that is kn'own by IE staff as of this date.
Facility: Luminous Processes, Inc.
Ottawa, Illinois License No. 12-03231-03
SUBJECT:
ILLIN0IS ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE OBTAINS TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER On September 17, 1980, the Circuit Court of LaSalle County, Illinois issued a temporary restraining order to Luminous Processes Inc.
Luminous Processes i
Inc. is an NRC licensee who was authorized to use luminous paint containing tritium since 1973 and who used paint containing radium-226 for about four decades prior to that date.
The order requires Luminous Processes to board up windows and doors within 72 hours8.333333e-4 days <br />0.02 hours <br />1.190476e-4 weeks <br />2.7396e-5 months <br /> and post the building as a hazard.
It also enjoins Luminous Processes f rom removing anything from the building
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without the prior approval of the State Health Department.
A hearing is scheduled for October 22,* 1980 to request a permanent inj unction to force Luminous Processes to comply with an Illinois Health Department abatement order to decontaminate the building.
At that time the state will seek to have Luminous Processes post a $70,000 bond.
The NRC issued an order to suspend the license for tritium in February 1978 as a result of uncontrolled contamination. The licensee has closed but has not decontaminated the facility. After repeated meetings with the licensee, Region III on August 20, 1980, proposed the issuance of an order to require decontamination. An evaluation of the radiation hazard in this facility by Region III indicates radium-226 to be a much greater hazard than tritium.
The. Attorney General's action has already appeared in the local and regional p ress.
Region III plans no press release but will answer questions from the press.
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PRELIMINARY NOTIFICATION 2-W
,l pp. L 1!*:t;* i t;DTIFICAT10'.
9 P;;0-Ill-ES 177 Page 2 of 2 Region III (Chicago) received initial notification of this event.in a telephone call f rom the State of Illinois Health Department on September 18, 1980 at about 12:00 noon.
This information is current as of 2:00 p.m.
(CITT).
0
.) q Contact : C. $. Papbriello, RIII, 384-2611; W. L. Fisher, RIII, 384-2618.
Distribution:
Transmitted H St.
^
Chairman Ahearne Commissioner Hendrie S. J. Chilk..SECY Comissioner Gilinsky Comissioner Bradford C. C. Kamerer, CA Comissioner Kennedy ACRS (For Distribution)
Transmitted:
MNBB P. Bldg.
IE:X005 (IE:HQ Dist.)
W. J. Dircks EDO H. R. Denton, NRR C. Michelson, AEOD R. H. Vollmer NRR Landow (6 min /page)
J. J. Fouchard, PA R. J. Mattson, NRR J. J. Cumings, OIA N. M. Haller, MPA D. F. Ross, NRR
- c. W. Kerr, osp D. Eisenhut NRR MAIL H. K. Shapar ELD
- 5. H. Hanauer R. Minogue, SD IE:X005 Willste Bldg.
Document Mgt. Br. (For PDR/LPD J. G. Davis, NMSS Regional Offices T. E. Murley, P.ES PRELIMINARY NOTIFICATION
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w s.. te, m vOrdered boarded up:as a radiation,hazhrd, y.;..e. Luminous Processe.s plant v-mey p..
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.Mtty.'. Gen. Tyrone Fahn' r sued Lumi-e
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%.,., - ym us.ProcessesiTuesday as a radiation
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F' hazard.' The next. day a Ciremt tourt car rmm, p n swa y p "5fving, dead,;in, the 17J)s7and *1930s:,OpAWAllll. - They were called the(hpost 5U 2 t,;. ' Women who pamted lummous watch di-PE,, temp'orary restraining order was issued 7
i als with radioactive paint and d' ied hor-Mfainst ' removilig:'anything lfrom the rible'and lingering deaths of r'adium po'-
plant'tditil it is decontaminated. Another hoarmg was set for Oct. 22.
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Chicago fears there might be another Schott'of Ottawa, who worked at I,umi-
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p Q r nous Processes for 31 years She says:
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' The mayor, James Thomas, says it is 33 Y
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' afe to assume that about 40 Ot tawa C#*'"," #
s women have du<1 as n result of radmm i
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jpoisoning while working for Luminous
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Mrs Schott. who alen has undergor.e
, Processes, Inc., or for the same cotnpa ny under an earh,er name, Radium Ihal surgery for removal of tumors in her feet...startal working for Immnous One of her coworkers,, Mrs lee
, y Processes in 1946 and retirmi m 17n Ifougas, als) of Ottawa, notes that the' p
ppd say 4Cwould be a ' fairly safe
.bmause of poor health. Like other wom-factory buildmg is being boarded up to Number over the years," said the may- ' en in the plant, Mrs. Schott sat at a re-km> chddren from playinge thre, as g
or. ' "It's about time somebody took volving table and squeezed a radioactive repodedly they have bmn doing for sev:
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some action."
ligmd from a sponge onto a sukscrmn eral years.
that imprinted watch facts with lumi x
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hlTTIE COMPANY was housed in a two-l' '
e rusus numerals. In another roorn, other "They don't want children,or animals story brick building at the corner of
'j women used brushes to paint clock in there, but some of us worked there, f,
iClinton and Jefferson streds in doun-
'l town Ottawa, only a block from Main han<ts with the iridesemt coatmg I"r 30 years," und Mrs. Ilougas "N; pie look at you like you're going to die Street. It has been vacant and virtually ~
Mrs. Schott beheves hw illnases can any mmute wher they hear you worked
' abandoned since 1978 when the U S. Nu be trace! to handlmg radioactive mate-there. ' Mrs. Ilougas also has suffered clear Regulatory Commis.sion ordered it rials with her bare hands. a common from tumors closed for radiation safety violations.
practice then Protective clothing and 3
r Tk women earnal about $125 a week.
Ottawa residents shun the buddin/
- 8 "'" M"I and the mayor compiams that's not gooy Ilut Mrs Schott agrees that conditions frr business in the town known for its "I DID TIIE dials," she says. "When in the plant were far better in the '40s
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sand deposzts and glass manufacturmg.
we stnited working there, we d kin 't imd 'Stis than coryhtions in the 1920s, g
,., The rnayor {g was glad when Illinois realize at wa.1 dangerous. They never when it was common practice among A,
told us." She names 20 women cowork women watch dial painters to swirl radi- <
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.8 is residents..Ttjese unprotected, women work,.. >.:, ~ m.wn m. xing with radium were photographed nearly 30 years ago.
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um-coated bruses between their lips to largely unregulated gtmtilithe formation,,. PETER FERRActJTI, an Ottawa law.
form a fine point, - 'jt f. f,. J-of'. the IAthmic"Engrgy Co*mmissioniin' ' yer who filed workers' compensation es/r es for a dozen former Luminou(
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Il946..Later, the',NRClassumed that'su.
. Yell 4 WING aIPS; from De Tri-thority:.It license Lummous Proc' esses Processes woi kers, including Mrst I
bune's.referen'ce' files show that in 1937/ to bse tritiur6%(less 'dani,erous
. schott and Mrs. Ifougas, said he intends
( l of radioacti ity@than radhin',in 1973.'i j' I i
Radium Dial; Co:'was, blamed.for the t
WWWf rsures caused illnesses. It could be an.
(W 4*W cesses :was finedj3,200 [important series of cases in the national )
deaths of 9 women' and for radium poi-soning that was killindanother 15 wom-in im _for,r5diationl contamination ein. controversy over the consequenem of l l en. They were called," Ottawa's doomed the plant and poor rddiation protection. low-level radiation exposures.
l wwnen'; and("the living dead."
for workersN. Its beense.to operate' was '..
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"A lot of things considered safe' at ond 3
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in'an old high school building from 1920 tions went'uncorrectedy, 4'4-S W h^
said Ferracuti, naming the insecticide e
A s$esman for Inws W"M ~ )
until 19:G when the deaths were a sister company;of Radium Chefnicals -.DDT as an example. "That's the point!
- ocesses, disclosed:Trhe', company gmoved to its Levels of radiation 'once thought safy
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present; location that year and changed
' are not."
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sa om n its name to Luminous Processes.
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t Luminous Processes becomes the'see?,
From 1920 to 1973, the company used untilnext week.4 4
. ' M./.D a ond radioactive factory known to exis} l radium 226, a naturally radioactive ele-
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i Health 7a INDIS Deparinient of Public AN in' Illinois. De Kerr-McGee factory in ment found in the earth, to create the g
glow on watch dials and navigation in-ry building discovered (inside the facto-West Chicago also is contaminated witti ' t,
diation surve struments. When inhaled or swallowed, adiation levels radioactive materials left over from deev p ades of manufacturing, and the governy Y' l 12.8 tiines higherY occupational radium kxiges in the booep. It i a k e s' health liinits. It alr4,, d radiation out-merd is still seeking ways to dispose oh 1,600 years for half tidradiation in radi-um 226 to die off, so that once it gets side the, building, in public areas,'that the building safely.
VJ H into the' human body, it' is a hfetime is 3.5 tim 6s to 17.5 tirnes' higher than
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Public health hmits.
FRANK GRENARD, an environmental I
Says M'aury Neuweg, chief of the nii. speci list for the Illinois attorney gener(
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-a al, said the Luminous Processes case is DR. ANDREW STEIINEY of Argonne nois Division of Radiation Protection:
ducting studies of workers exposed to "nere's nobody working in the build-er situation where someone caused a
- l. l National Laboratory, who has been con-important twcause "it represents anoth-radiation, says Radium Dial workers ing, and there is no hazard to people hazardous condition to exist, and 4
f suffered "a large number of bone and walking past the building. nere are attempted to walk away from it. It's out head cancers" because "during the '20s, some hot spots on the outside, but it's feeling that if somebody creates a haz-people didn't have an appreciation of the not an immediate health tmzard."
ard. they should clean it up."
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Neuweg would not speculate on health Grenard = aid that the state will move l ;;
hazards." Stehney has examined Lumi-nous Processes workers, but says "we don't have enough information to pick eyects Luminous h oenses workers to forte Luminms Processes to deam-j ruight haye suffered, but said working taminate the building or to tear it down
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up trends',,
with radioactive materials with bare.and dispose of the cuantaminated rubbl9 i
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., safely.
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y thr'n OFFICIAIS F U$1i e ta a
f fice will go to court inext' week'.fo' enforce;'a state'b'rtler.
against Luminous Ihesses,,Inc. In Ottawa, to 'cleanh-.
oufiradioactive contamin'ation fan"Qp M
ing d j Q 2.-7. 3/
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. %e: Illinois Department uclear Safety; order Lhhinous ProcessesJon Julyi30 to decantaminafe~tiidfrj?
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'fjQg-buiWnc by Oct: 1.
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'IEisTstlIl co$timi5ed, said Susan 'Sekuler, an~assis.v,..$
tant attorney. general.,Lumicous Processes had' hired;[g 'y Chdm-Nuclear Co., specialists in radioactive contat;11w nation,'to do the work. Sekuler said'shekas thld,that]Y
")j fwaiting
. Chem-Nucicar remained on site for.two weeks,Xmino j',
forTeqippment that7was to be supplied;by: 1 Professes.
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$. '4jf y'g!$@f[gk Th"eTe,quipment:did not ar' rive, andi(Ch'empuc!carZ
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't charged, Luminous Processes for $26 000 in. time *spegt 3 on the site, she said. Oem-Nuclear said they h'ad notM 4'.O 5
been paid," she added. '..g, STATE AND FEDEftAL officials'will appear,In,Ot.y b.
tawii Circuit Court next Wednesday in thd;"c'as'e.I'A:?
court;. injunction was issued last month ordering? thel'.'
twMtory building boarded up. 4 N.#jfY 4:
Since the late 1930s, Luminous Proces%ses has'b(salY' 2,
radioactive materials to manufacture watch dials'that 5
glowed in the dark. ns company originally has knowri' r b
'as,'the. RadiumTDiallCo$and op'erated 'at'anothera ;
location in. Ottawa 'from 1930 until 1937,' when the
. company was. blamed,for,the radium poisonifig. deaths;:
- f'.'
. L-of nine woman. M' ' ;t.Ot'ta[a','whoMkk' ko./i,uiiliT Women now li nous Processes in the 1950s through the 1970s, say their):
health was impaired'b 1 factory building. ~ Nd".y 1 ax, savety canditbns.in th "d#
j 2
3 it :.,'... - o.
y
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j ESSENTIAL INFORMATION P.O. BOX 19405 RASHINGTON, D.C.
20036 202-387-8034 ATTN: GENE STILP J
i FREEDOM OF INFORMAi10N
)
ACT REQUEST l
FozA 9H 7 Clu 'd H F r%
2 FOIA 0FFICER i
NUCLEAR REGULATORY CO.TIISSION 1717 H ST., N.W.
WASHINGTON, D.C.
20555 i
Dear Freedom of Information Officer:
Pursuant to the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552, j
I am requesting copies of all reports, studies, draft papers, memorandum, letters,
j agency records, notes, data compilations, computers printouts, architectural plans, computer printouts, bibliographics, etc. you have regarding radium dial workers, the Ottawa, Illinois radium dial painting plant, health of the workers, health of the populations involved, other locations where radium instrument painting was prac-ticed or is currently practiced, both nuclear and non-nuclear waste from all rad-ium facilities, companies involved in' radium production and usage 'in the past and those companies currently involved in radium processes as of January 9, 1986.
I I am prepared to pay reasonabic sear'ch and duplication fees in connection with :..;.
this request. The FOIA, however, provides for the waiver of such fees where disclos-ure is considered as "primarily benefiting the general public." 5 U.S.C. 552 (a)(4) 4 (A). I am a journalist and a researcher working with Essential Information,- Inc and Intend to use the information I am requesting as the basis for a series or articles on the information involved. The information will meaningful contribute to the pub-lic's understanding of the radium situation. We are a non-profit organization.
You are welcome to communicate with me by telephone regarding this request. For any documents or portions of documents to which I am denied access, please provide an index itemizing and describing the documents withheld. The law requires a detailed i
justification of your grounds for claiming each exemption, explaining why each exemp-j tion is relevant' to the document or portion of the document withheld. Vaughn v. Rosen 1
(I), 484 F.2d 820 (D.C. Cir. 1973), cert. Denied, 415 U.S. 977 (1974).
}
I am looking forward to receiving your written response within ten working days l
as required by law.
R ' ope'c t f ully,
=
une Stilp I