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‘I’m just so tired of going to funerals’
Barrels of nuclear waste and other sludge was once buried at Pinellas Plant
Editor’s note: This is the second segment of a two-part series.
By THOMAS MICHALSKI
Article published on Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2008 |
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![[Image]](/content_images/021908_pco-01.jpg) |
| Photo by THOMAS MICHALSKI |
| Nuclear workers at a recent meeting for this series included, from left, Marilyn Bossard, Donna Hand, Ann Gleason, president; Robert Bossard, a former plant supervisor; and Dudley Tichenor, who once operated the plant’s incinerator. |
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PINELLAS COUNTY – Robert D. Bossard of Seminole remembers watching workers digging up 55 gallon drums of nuclear waste and other sludge from the grounds of Pinellas Plant on Bryan Dairy Road in Largo and transporting them off the property.
Bossard alleges that the workers who removed hazardous waste from the plant virtually all have since died of cancers and other diseases reportedly caused by contaminants. Bossard himself was exposed to beryllium, a toxic metal that he says will eventually cause serious disorders.
The U.S. Department of Energy, once known as the Atomic Energy Commission, moved an undetermined amount of contaminated material to a facility known as U.S. Pollution Control Inc. in Tooele County, Utah.
The Department of Energy described the materials as “hazardous sludge” that contained and other materials. Other contaminated items were buried at a South Carolina nuclear waste site.
The Department of Energy in a “fact sheet” called “Groundwater Remediation at the Wastewater Neutralization Areas at the Young-Rainey Center” said in an undated report that “parts of the site are contaminated with organic solvents and metals used during the manufacture of neutron generators and other devices.”
The report states that four “units” or areas of the old Pinellas Plant property “have contamination in shallow groundwater at levels in excess of protective standards.”
Stacey Swank of Pinellas County Economic Development, which now owns the property, referred questions to the Web sites of the Department of Energy’s Office of Legacy Management and Florida’s Department of Environmental Protection.
On the old Pinellas Plant property were several ponds, at least one of which was used as a break area by employees. Former employees said that at one point the pond was fenced off due to contamination. Water fountains at the plant, too, were placed off limits and bottled water was distributed, according to Ann Gleason, president of the Florida Nuclear Workers.
Gleason of Seminole, worked for 18 years at the plant as a quality control specialist. That job took her to all sections and today she suffers from beryllium sensitivity and heavy metal toxicity, she said.
“I would be all over that plant because of the nature of my job,” Gleason said.
The Pinellas Plant was a highly classified facility. A tower once used by security officers still stands on the property. A former security officer who currently is a Pinellas County municipal police officer said training exercises to prevent enemy infiltration of the plant had employees “crawling on the contaminated ground like soldiers.”
Pinellas Plant in its heyday was one of seven Florida locations designated as high security areas. Bossard worked there for 34 years and feels that the government is not doing enough for workers and their survivors.
“I’m tired of going to funerals,” Bossard said. “People who worked for me years ago are dying or are dead.”
In the 1950s and even later, scientific knowledge regarding nuclear waste and other forms of contamination was limited. So were environmental laws that in those days were in their infancy. Workers were issued clothing such as coveralls and white lab coats, cotton gloves and hats as protection from radiation and chemical poisoning.
Some airborne toxins, employees said, had the fine consistency of talcum powder. Not only were workers subjected to it, but so were their families and pets because the powder was brought home on clothing and shoes.
NIOSH or the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health cited one claim in a report that said plant welders went 27 days without protection after Geiger counters detected a leak.
“There’s no telling how many wives and children were subjected to pollutants brought home on clothing,” a former security officer said.
“Two of my dogs suffered with thyroid problems and so do I. That has to tell you something,” she said.
By 2001, a report said, the Department of Energy recognized that ex-nuclear workers at 292 plants across the United States were developing diseases linked to their former jobs. The department said employees were exposed to radiation, toxins and chemicals, among other things. Congress approved the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act or EEOICPA. The idea was to pay workers up to $150,000 plus medical benefits if they could prove that their illnesses were job-related.
With the passage of EEOICPA the next step was to contact former nuclear employees. Some employee and other records from the plant were reportedly lost or misplaced. Many former employees have died since the plant’s closure. About 160 were transferred to the Los Alamos National Laboratories in New Mexico.
Employees worked in top secret jobs and rarely, if ever, discussed their work with family members.
The Department of Energy said a 20-acre “environmental restoration program” was conducted in the northeast corner of the property. Another 4.5 acres near the northwest corner also was targeted for clean-up. The Department of Energy said in a report that “both areas have groundwater contamination caused by the previous storage and disposal of drummed waste and construction debris that contained solvents and volatile organic compounds.”
It is not known if the grounds of the former Pinellas Plant site still contain contaminants. Some former employees expressed concern that a new generation of workers now working on the site might fall victim to contamination that may still be in the soil.
With employee medical and other records lost or misplaced, Bossard said the EEOICPA contacted former Pinellas Plant workers as best they could. Advertisements were placed in local newspapers in an effort to collect names. In one case a mailing list of former employees who belonged to a company social club produced some identities.
Gleason of the Nuclear Workers of Florida said only about 15 percent of about 1,300 workers received compensation. People, she said, are forced to resubmit applications numerous times. She feels that government red tape is suffocating the incentive to fight on for compensation and medical relief.
The U.S. Department of Labor said 1,375 applications for benefits have been filed by former Pinellas Plant employees. Only about 88 have received compensation totaling $11.6 million. Another $173,039 was distributed for medical costs.
The Department of Energy only determines eligibility for dose reconstruction – a prerequisite to a decision by the Department of Labor for compensation. The problem is that survivors are mostly unaware of what went on at the secret Pinellas Plant. They are unable to provide certain information that is required by the government to get compensation and medical help.
So what happens next?
Many applications for benefits have been rejected because victims or their survivors do not have enough data to support their complaints. U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-New York, wants an investigation of the compensation program. He alleges that the Bush Administration is trying to limit payouts to stricken employees.
Gleason, meanwhile, said people are fed up with government foot dragging. She said workers are looking at the possibility of filing a class action suit in Federal court.
Further information about applying for benefits are available by calling 1-800-356-4674 or visit www.cdc.gov/niosh/ocas.
The Florida Nuclear Workers can be reached at 727-392-1835 or you can write Ann Gleason at 7712 85th Lane, Seminole, FL 33777.
“The people are just frustrated from being given a run-around,” Gleason said. “We need help and we need it now.”
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Article published on Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2008
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