Karen Silkwood death truly will always be clouded by mystery as it’s so bizarre and tragic.
A young scientist and activist who was on her way to talk to a journalist about the unlawful practices in a nuclear plant conveniently died in a car crash and when she died the bombshell truth she had to unload died with her too.
I’m happy more questions are being raised by her 1974 death till this day as to me it screams a potential cover up.
Karen was working prior to her death at the Kerr-McGee Cimarron Fuel Fabrication Site in Crescent, Oklahoma.
Her job was making plutonium pellets. She even had the accolade of being the first woman ever elected to the union’s negotiating team at Kerr-McGee. After testifying to the Atomic Energy Commission about her safety concerns, she was found to have plutonium contamination in her body and her home.
Then quicker than a flash on a way to meet the journalist she died in a ‘accident’.
Despite her family getting a out of court settlement the company still was able to avoid responsibility for Karen’s exposure.
To me which is a insult.
This case brings me back to a leafletting company that printed my political candidate cards in London.
The workers were exposed to the raw ink and had no face mask or hand gloves and their body reeked of chemicals.
My mum told them when she followed me why were they operating their company like that the workers said the boss doesn’t think its necessary to have protection and it would cost too much money to give every worker protective gear.
How sad is that they didn’t know their rights.
What i find interesting most of nuclear plant ink warehouses are full of foreign workers is that the reason there isn’t stricter guidelines to protect them in the workplace, as they are deemed not important by law, as years ago in American most of African American and other immigrant workers were accepted for these dangerous jobs and they didn’t complain,as they weren’t going to bite the hand that feeds them they were grateful for the work in a time of racism and didn’t care that they were essentially exploited.
And where are the union and external observers to check these methods.
And what i found out that most people working in nuclear plants or live near one end up with some form of cancer.
Take for example the actor Michael Landon he filmed for nine years, the classic tv series ‘Little House on the Prairie’ just 15 miles away from the Santa Susana Nuclear Laboratory and he ended up dying of pancreatic cancer.
There’s no direct evidence to say that’s what caused his death, but there is a high link of exposure of radiation to thyroid and blood cancer.
What I will say companies of these kind should all have a set of standard guidelines every employee has to obey.
It just sad to see Karen Silkwood’s death was in vain as these shoddy practices are still happening in this 21st century.
Ps watch the film ‘Silkwood’ its based on this case.