Boeing workers irradiated at Nev. base

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Boeing workers irradiated at Nev. base

 

Okay...I'd be pissed!

 

http://www.dailystar.com/dailystar/news/26831.php

 

 

Boeing workers irradiated at Nev. base

 

 

 

 

 

 

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THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

 

FALLON, Nev. - At least two Boeing Co. workers were exposed to potentially harmful doses of radiation at the Fallon Naval Air Station, company officials confirmed. The two men were exposed over the last three months while working around an X-ray machine used to check for metal fatigue on Navy fighter jets. Boeing is contracted to maintain the jets at the base 60 miles east of Reno. The incident has prompted officials to stop X-raying aircraft at the base. The machine is owned and maintained by the Navy but operated by the civilian employees. Boeing spokesman Paul Guse said four employees were exposed to radiation but only two received high enough doses to cause symptoms. The two men have been examined at a California hospital and allowed to return to work, but the full health effects of the exposure are not yet known, he said. According to a recent memo sent to Boeing's nearly 200 employees at the base, a preliminary Navy investigation revealed the X-ray machine was staying on when it appeared to be turned off. Base and company officials are still trying to determine what happened and the exact amount of radiation each man received. "We are working closely with the Navy in investigating this incident, as well as providing the necessary health care for those employees involved," Guse told the Lahontan Valley News and Fallon Eagle Standard newspaper. The problem was detected May 26, when the second employee received a high dose. Employees working near the X-ray machines are required to wear devices called dosimeters that check radiation to prevent overexposure. Dosimeters sent to a private lab in March showed high levels of exposure, but results didn't make it back to the Navy until after the second incident more than two months later, base spokesman Zip Upham said. Base and company officials said they did not know how long it would take to complete the investigation. "Based on the final results of (the) investigation, Boeing will take the necessary action to ensure the safety of our employees," Guse said.

"I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do. What I can do, I should do. And what I should do, by the grace of God, I will do." - Edward Everett Hale"Knowledge makes a man unfit to be a slave." -Frederick Douglass