Karen Silkwood (February 19, 1946 – November 13, 1974) was an American labor union activist and chemical technician at the Kerr-McGee plant near Crescent, Oklahoma, United States. [[Media:Italic text]]{| style=float:right; |- | |- | |} is the 50th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 317th day of the year (318th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. ... A union (labor union in American English; trade union, sometimes trades union, in British English; either labour union or trade union in Canadian English) is a legal entity consisting of employees or workers having a common interest, such as all the assembly workers for one employer, or all the workers... Activism, in a general sense, can be described as intentional action to bring about social or political change. ... The Kerr-McGee Corporation (NYSE: KMG) is an energy company involved in the exploration and production of oil and gas resources, as well as the manufacture of titanium dioxide (TiO2) pigment. ... Crescent is a city located in Logan County, Oklahoma. ...

Silkwood's job was making plutonium pellets for nuclear reactor fuel rods, and she died under mysterious circumstances after investigating claims of irregularities and wrongdoing at the Kerr-McGee plant. General Name, Symbol, Number plutonium, Pu, 94 Chemical series actinides Group, Period, Block n/a, 7, f Appearance silvery white Standard atomic weight (244) g·mol−1 Electron configuration [Rn] 5f6 7s2 Electrons per shell 2, 8, 18, 32, 24, 8, 2 Physical properties Phase solid Density (near r. ... Core of a small nuclear reactor used for research. ...

Union activities

After being hired at Kerr-McGee, Silkwood joined the Oil, Chemical & Atomic Workers Union local and took part in a strike at the plant. After the strike ended, she was elected to the union's bargaining committee and assigned to investigate health and safety issues. She discovered what she believed to be numerous violations of health regulations, including exposure of workers to contamination, faulty respiratory equipment and improper storage of samples. She also believed the lack of sufficient shower facilities could increase the risk of employee contamination. The Oil, Chemical & Atomic Workers Union (OCAW) is a trade union in the United States. ...

In the summer of 1974, Silkwood testified to the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) about these issues, alleging that safety standards had slipped because of a production speedup which resulted in employees being given tasks for which they were poorly trained. She also alleged that Kerr-McGee employees handled the fuel rods improperly and that the company falsified inspection records. Year 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. ... Shield of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. ...

On November 5, 1974, Silkwood performed a routine self-check and found almost 40 times the legal limit for plutonium contamination. She was decontaminated at the plant and sent home with a testing kit to collect urine and feces for further analysis. Oddly, though there was plutonium on the exterior surfaces (the ones she touched) of the gloves she had been using, the gloves did not have any holes. This suggests the contamination did not come from inside the glovebox, but from some other source. is the 309th day of the year (310th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. ... A common form of glovebox. ...

The next morning, as she headed to a union negotiation meeting, she again tested positive for plutonium. This was surprising because she had only performed paperwork duties that morning. She was given a more aggressive decontamination.

The following day, November 7, 1974, as she entered the plant, she was found to be dangerously contaminated - even expelling contaminated air from her lungs. A health physics team accompanied her back to her home and found plutonium traces on several surfaces — especially in the bathroom and the refrigerator. The house was later stripped and decontaminated. Silkwood, her partner and housemate were sent to Los Alamos National Laboratory for in-depth testing to determine the extent of the contamination in their bodies. is the 311th day of the year (312th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Los Alamos National Laboratory, aerial view from 1995. ...

Debate has centered over how Silkwood became contaminated over this 3-day period. Silkwood herself asserted that she was the victim of a malicious campaign, and that the testing jars she had been given were laced with plutonium. The contamination in the bathroom would have occurred when she spilled her urine sample on the morning of November 7. It would also concur with the fact that samples she took at home had extremely high levels of contamination, whilst samples taken in 'fresh' jars at the plant and Los Alamos showed much lower contamination[1].

Kerr-McGee's management asserted that she had contaminated herself in order to paint the company in a negative light. According to Richard Raske's book The Killing of Karen Silkwood, security at the plant was so extremely lax that workers could easily smuggle out finished plutonium pellets. Indeed, on one occasion a worker gave his son a pellet to take to a show and tell session at school. Silkwood had previously been noted for inquiring as to the health effects of eating a pellet (an understandably unusual request). Furthermore, upon decontaminating her home, Kerr-McGee employees found several pieces of lab equipment, such as beakers and test tubes. Show and tell is the process of showing an audience something and telling them about it and usually done in a classroom. ...

Nonetheless, Richard Raske's book also asserts that the precise type of plutonium found in her body (soluble) came from a production area to which Silkwood had not had access for 4 months. The pellets had since been stored in the vault of the facility.

Going public

Silkwood said she had assembled a stack of documentation for her claims. She now decided to go public with this evidence, and made contact with a New York Times journalist prepared to print the story. On November 13, 1974 she left a union meeting at the Hub Cafe in Crescent. Another attendee of that meeting later testified that she did have a binder and a packet of documents at the cafe.[2] Silkwood got into her car and headed alone for Oklahoma City, about 30 miles away, to meet with New York Times reporter David Burnham and Steve Wodka, an official of her union's national office. She never arrived. i en cataluña aparecer el curepo mutilado The New York Times is an internationally known daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed in the United States and many other nations worldwide. ... is the 317th day of the year (318th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. ... Downtown Oklahoma City The State Capitol of Oklahoma From The South Motto: Nickname: Capital of the New Century Founded 1889 Incorporated County Oklahoma County Cleveland County Canadian County Borough {{{borough}}} Parrish {{{parrish}}} Mayor Mick Cornett Area  - Total  - Water 1,608. ...

Silkwood's death

Later that evening, Silkwood's body was found in her car, which had run off the road and struck a culvert. The car contained no documents. She was pronounced dead at the scene from a "classic, one-car sleeping-driver accident". The trooper at the scene remembers that he found one or two tablets of the sedative methaqualone in the car, and he remembers finding marijuana. The police report indicated that she fell asleep at the wheel. The coroner found 0.35 milligrams of methaqualone (Quaalude) per 100 milliliters of blood at the time of her death - an amount almost twice the recommended dosage for inducing drowsiness.[3] There was no firm evidence of foul play, and no glass or other debris was found, ruling out the hit-and-run theory. A culvert is a flowing body of water which passes underneath a road, railway, or embankment, or the part thereof that does so. ... A sedative is a substance that depresses the central nervous system (CNS), resulting in calmness, relaxation, reduction of anxiety, sleepiness, and slowed breathing, as well as slurred speech, staggering gait, poor judgment, and slow, uncertain reflexes. ... Methaqualone tablets and capsules. ... Cannabis, also known as marijuana[1] or ganja,[2] is a psychoactive product of the plant Cannabis sativa L. subsp. ... The term Quaalude is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as: A proprietary name for methaqualone; also, a tablet of this. More recently, however, the word has come to mean: a gently soothing interlude, possibly with mildly narcotic effects. ... Hit and run is the act of hitting an object with a vehicle and leaving the location of the incident. ...

Nevertheless, some still suspect Silkwood was murdered to silence her allegations about her workplace. Such speculation about foul play has never been substantiated. But some independent investigators at the time inferred that her vehicle had been hit from behind and forced off the road. The steering wheel was bent in a manner that showed she was prepared for the shock of the accident. The only way she would know to prepare is if she were awake and alert.

Silkwood's organs were analyzed as part of the Los Alamos Tissue Analysis Program by request of the Atomic Energy Commission and the State Medical Examiner. Much of the radiation was in her lungs. This suggests the plutonium was inhaled. When her tissues were further examined, the second highest deposits were found in her gastrointestinal organs.

Public suspicions led to a federal investigation into plant security and safety, and a National Public Radio report about 44 to 66 pounds of misplaced plutonium. Silkwood's story emphasized the hazards of nuclear energy and raised questions about corporate accountability and responsibility. Kerr-McGee closed its nuclear fuel plants in 1975. The grounds of the Cimarron plant were still being decontaminated 25 years later. NPR redirects here. ... This article concerns the energy stored in the nuclei of atoms; for the use of nuclear fission as a power source, see Nuclear power. ...

Estate of Karen Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee

Her father and children filed a lawsuit against Kerr-McGee on the behalf of Ms. Silkwood's estate. The trial was held in 1979. Gerry Spence was the chief attorney for the estate and William Paul was the chief attorney for Kerr-McGee. The estate presented evidence that the autopsy proved Ms. Silkwood was contaminated with plutonium. To prove the contamination was sustained at the plant, evidence was given by a series of witnesses who were former employees of the facility. Also: 1979 by Smashing Pumpkins. ... Gerry Spence (b. ...

The main witness for the defense was Dr. George Voelz, a top-level scientist at Los Alamos. Dr. Voelz stated that he believed the contamination was within legal standards. Mr. Spence ultimately probed enough to get Dr. Voelz to admit he was unsure of the level of contamination needed to cause cancer. The defense later proposed that Ms. Silkwood was a troublemaker who may have poisoned herself. Following the summation arguments, Judge Frank Theis told the jury of the longest civil trial in Oklahoma history, "If you find that the damage to the person or property of Karen Silkwood resulted from the operation of this plant, Kerr-McGee is liable." Official language(s) None Capital Oklahoma City Largest city Oklahoma City Largest metro area Oklahoma City metro area Area  Ranked 20th  - Total 69,898 sq mi (181,196 km²)  - Width 230 miles (370 km)  - Length 298 miles (480 km)  - % water 1. ...

The jury rendered its verdict of US $505,000 in damages and US $10,000,000 in punitive damages. On appeal, the judgment was reduced to US $5,000. In 1984, the U.S. Supreme Court restored the original verdict. See Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee Corp., 464 U.S. 283 (1984).[4] The suit was headed for retrial when Kerr-McGee settled out of court for $1.38 million, admitting no liability. Punitive damages are damages awarded to a successful plaintiff in a civil action, over and above the amount of compensatory damages, to: punish the conduct of the civil defendant; deter the civil defendant from committing the invidious act again; and deter others from doing the same thing. ... In law, an appeal is a process for making a formal challenge to an official decision. ... Federal courts Supreme Court Circuit Courts of Appeal District Courts Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures (List) State Courts Local Government Other countries Atlas  US Government Portal      The Supreme Court of the United States (sometimes colloquially referred to by the...

Trivia

Gil Scott-Heron's 1977 song "We Almost Lost Detroit" makes mention of Silkwood: What would Karen Silkwood say / If she was still alive? / That when it comes to people's safety / Money wins out every time. Photo of Gil Scott-Heron. ... Also: 1977 (album) by Ash. ...

The 1983 film Silkwood is an account of Silkwood's life and the story. Meryl Streep played the title role. // February 11 - The Rolling Stones concert film Lets Spend the Night Together opens in New York North Americas Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi Tootsie Trading Places, starring Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy WarGames, starring Matthew Broderick and Ally Sheedy Superman III Flashdance Staying Alive Octopussy Mr. ... Silkwood is a 1983, Oscar-nominated film which dramatizes the story of Karen Silkwood, who died under suspicious circumstances while investigating alleged wrongdoing at the Kerr-McGee plutonium plant where she worked. ... Mary Louise Streep, mostly known as Meryl Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an Academy Award-winning American actress who has worked in theatre, television, and film. ...

In 1984,Wendy O. Williams (of the Plasmatics), recorded a song named "Opus in Cm7" for her solo album "WOW" which had the following lyrics: "Where did you go Karen Silkwood? What was the price on your head?/ Why do our heroes all vanish? Why are our heroes all dead?/ In the dark of night I hear the vultures scream. And I just can't seem to wake up from the dream./ How many armies must yet perish? How many young people die?/ Why are we breathing dioxin while it rains acid rain from the sky?" The song is an obvious tribute to the late Karen Silkwood. Wendy O. Williams W.O.W. album, produced by Gene Simmons in 1984. ... The Plasmatics were an American punk band, formed by Yale graduate and radical anti-artist Rod Swenson, around the late Wendy O. Williams. ...

In 1986, over 300 women claiming to be Karen Silkwood were arrested and released without charge after entering Pine Gap. Pine Gap is just west of Alice Springs, near the geographic center of Australia. ...

In the 1995 film Home for the Holidays, Robert Downey Jr. referenced Silkwood when telling Anne Bancroft to clean up. "Do a Silkwood shower for us...". Holly Hunter (born March 20, 1958) is an American actress. ...

In the 2007 series finale of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Danny referenced Silkwood when asking about sterilization so that he could speak with Jordan and have her sign guardianship papers for her daughter. Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip is an Emmy Award winner and Golden Globe Award nominated American television Comedy-drama series created and written by Aaron Sorkin. ...

In an episode of Seinfeld, The Shower Head, Kramer and Newman attempt to buy a powerful shower head and ask for one like Silkwood. The Shower Head is an episode of NBC sitcom Seinfeld. ... Cosmo Kramer is a fictional character on the American television sitcom Seinfeld (1989–1998), played by Michael Richards. ... Newman is a recurring character on the television show Seinfeld, played by Wayne Knight from 1991 until the shows finale in 1998. ...

External links

• Karen Silkwood Remembered
• The Karen Silkwood Story (PBS account based on the Los Alamos report)
• The Karen Silkwood Story: What We Know at Los Alamos
  (first published in Los Alamos Science, Volume XXIII, 23 Nov 1995)
• The Karen Silkwood Story: An Unexpected Twist At The End...
• Was Karen Silkwood Murdered?
• Karen Silkwood -- Campaigner (two similar BBC sources) [5] and [6]