If You Don't Remember Karen Silkwood, You Should. Your Life May Depend Upon It.

Mark Karlin, Editor of BuzzFlash at Truthout

If you don't remember Karen Silkwood, you should if you value your life and the lives of your loved ones.

Silkwood disclosed the numerous dangers lurking at the nuclear power plant in Oklahoma where she worked. In fact, Silkwood - a member of the Oil, Chemical & Atomic Workers Union, it should be noted - cited so many potential dangers to staff at the Kerr-McGee facility, that she was asked to testify before the Atomic Energy Commission in 1974.

Later that year, Silkwood was found to be contaminated with 400 times the legal limit for plutonium. Silkwood contended that she had been exposed to the plutonium as retaliation for her whistleblowing.

Having arranged to turn over papers that would have allegedly showed the culpability of Kerr-McGee for multiple risks at the nuclear plant, she was killed when her car ran off the road while she was en route to meet a New York Times reporter. No documents were found in her car and the circumstances of the accident indicated that Silkwood may have been rammed from behind.

In a civil trial, Kerr-McGee made the rather difficult-to-believe claim that Silkwood intentionally poisoned herself with plutonium. Subsequently, 44 pounds of plutonium were found missing from the plant.

Eventually, Kerr-McGee entered into a settlement with Silkwood's family for just over $1 million.

If you don't remember Karen Silkwood, you should.

She exposed the dark side of the nuclear power industry, and likely died for doing so.

Will we end up in the same grave if our government continues to holding up the nuclear industry to be flawless, almost divinely empowered to prevent accidents?

The nuclear industry is a business that is out to make profits. We've already witnessed what Wall Street did by operating that way. Are we prepared to continue to run that risk with nuclear radiation?

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