a¥

radioactive substances or that proper precautions should be taken, yet employees at plant
sites in many areas of this country were regularly exposed to high levels of radiation.
Scientists have learned much more about the dangers of radiation exposure since then.

This is a deplorable situation. I am gratefiul that Congress acted responsibly and passed a
law (EEOICPA) to comnencate victims and survivors, but it seems that more is needed.

It seems that some, like whose claim has been denied, are not receiving the
justice to which they are entitled. The law evidently is not clear enough or is not properly
being administered. Could it be that claims on behalf of victims who worked in smaller
plants are not getting the attention they deserve?

This claim meets all the requirements for an allowance. Any attempt to reconstruct
circumstances as they actually occurred over 50 years ago cannot be credible. 7
had while he was still an employee of Mathieson Chemical
Company. : : _

I repeat, no monitoring was done and no records were kept. Any Dose Reconstruction
Reports would clearly be done only on assumptions. No one knows the actual work
schedules, planned or unplanned events that occurred, or circumstances that would cause
individual employees to possibly react differently under identical circumstances. No one
knows the “safe” level of exposure. No one knows the risk involved to each individual
due to personal, physical, life-style, biological or other conditions which must be
considered. It seems to me that claim should not have required a dose
reconstruction report. No records were kept. I believe this claim should be covered
under the Special Exposure Cohort section of the law.

SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN TO before me the undersigned authority on this

the GF day of —IS“ZY GEL, WI0.

AA beweZ2- Cz Lat

Gerretse NO ARY PUBLIC

BIEL Cs

BARBARA B CARR

Sf) HOTARY PUBLIC. STATE OF TEXAS

8
MY COMMISSION EXPIRES: N
Y 18, 2013 NY

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s
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becee


} unknown,

~ {A study of the site in more

{ recent years did result in the dis-
, covery of the presence of low lev-
| els of radiation, but it is unknown.
} whether that radiation is at all
+ related to previous uranium pro-
+ duction, said Jerry Harris,
spokesman for the Harris County
t Pollution Control.
t “We read 14 micro roentgen of
| radiation at the plant site, which is
$ not a substantial amount, when
| we tested the area several years
ago,” Harris said. A roentgen is a
| unit of exposure to ionizing radi-
| ation, such as x-rays or gamma
} rays:
~ ¥elowing extensive research
of aver’ £50,000 pages of declassi=
fied. government docaments,
USA Today has named over 150
such sites -— facilities that
between them handled tons upon
tons of radioactive substances
often with little safety equipment
or knowledge of prpper precau-
tions. Employees were-regularly
exposed to high levels of radia-
tion, levels sometimes exceeding
current limits by hundreds of
times, the report said. And those
limits became increasingly more
stringent as scientists learned the
dangers of radiation.

In comparison to some sites in
New England and the Midwest,
some of which spent almost a
decade doing commissioned

nuclear weapons work for the
Atomic Energy Commission,
Mathieson’s uranium extraction
experiments seemed minor.

Still, it is unclear whether any
substantial research has been con-
ducted to determine whether
workers became sick or died as a
result of radiation exposure at the
plant. Most workers involved in
the nuclear production program
received no medical study.

It is also unclear whether the
community became vulnerable to
radioactive wastes which may
bave been released into the air,
water or soil.

The Texas Natural Resources

Conservation Commission retains.

mosrecol
Chemical
the city of Pasadena.

Said city spokesperson David
Benson, “The policies and rela-
tionships between plants and the
community were very different
then. Now, there’s cooperation.
Then, everything that occurred
within a plant's fenceline, stayed
within the fenceline.”

Health and environmental
problems were hidden from
everyone during the government-
sponsored programs, including
those who handled potentially
deadly materials every day,
according to the USA Today
report.

Texas’

Ninth District

You Are Welcome At The Lord’s Tableli

Join us this Sunday for worship and
communion!

First Christian Church
(Disciples of Christ)
902 S. Wafer
{corner of Wafer and Harris)
(743) 477-1244

Sunday School:
Worship: 10:50 A.M.

9:46 P.M.

Congressman Nick Lampson is
among those demanding the gov-
ernment answer those and other
decades-old unearthed queries.

In a recent letter penned to
National Secretary of Energy Bill
Richardson, Lampson urged
immediate investigation of the
Pasadena site, and 149 other sites
nationwide, including one in
‘Texas City, two in the Dallas-Fort
Worth area, and the Medina facil-
ity near San Antonio, a major
nuclear operations support facili-

“Tt is-appalling that the federal.

government matiaged? 10 TOU,

about these nuctenr “weapon:

respond to the recent revelations.
‘The people who worked there and
the people who lived there now
are some of the forgotten heroes
of the Cold War, and deserve
immediate attention by the feder-
al government.”

Lampson’s letter, as well as
legislative hearings he is in the
process of procuring, according
to Communications Director
Khristyn Brimmeier, call for sev-
eral major steps from the federal
government.

Immediate public disclosure of
remaining information is first on
the list. The information, said
Lampson, could include investi-
gations of past operations that
may help determine human expo-
sure and contamination levels.
Further investigation to determine
the possibility of current environ-
mental contamination is also
important, he said.

Additionally, Lampson calls
for identification of all workers
involved in facility operations at
the time of possible exposure.
Those former employers should
receive appropriate testing and
treatment, Lampson said.

‘Word on whether hearings will
proceed should be available by
the end of the week, Brimmeier
said.

@y« Anabuac - Alligator Capital of Texas

27


Nuclear

Continued from Page 15A.

volved in a secret federal project
to produce weapons-grade ura-
nium to help America win the
nuclear arms race.

Local health officials say the
sites pose no health threat today.

But that may not be the case
for those who worked at the now
defunct plants or lived near them
in the 1950s. A m review
of 100,000 pages of government
records shows that hundreds of
federal and private labs and
plants around the country may
have exposed thousands of work-
ers and dozens of communities to
potential health risks,

Last week, House Republican
leaders scrapped an aid package
to compensate ill or deceased —
public and private — workers ex-
posed to hazardous materials
during the nuclear weapons
buildup. The Senate approved the
plan, and has returned to compro-

‘ise talks with House leaders.

During a Houston briefing last
week, U,S. Department of Energy
officials acknowledged that the
government has no idea how
many may have come in contact
with radioactive byproducts, or
how and where the companies
disposed of the waste.

‘Two plants each produced at
least 50 pounds of uranium for the
Atomic Energy Commission —
the Pasadena plant from 1951 to
1952, and the Texas City Chemi-
cals plant between 1952 to 1956.
‘The facilities were part of a pilot
project to extract uranium from

“ the phosphate ore used to manu-
facture fertilizer.

The commission was dissolved
in 1974, and its duties given to the
Energy Department and the
Nuclear ry Commission.
In 1977, the government surveyed
the Pasadena and Texas City
sites for radiation contamination.

The Texas City plant was closed
in the 1970s, and later demol-
ished. The survey found above
normal levels of radiation in the
soils, but no conclusive link to the
nuclear fuel ing. The land
is now owned by BP Amoco,

*hich sued the former owner for
aot disclosing the radioactivity of

—=

the site, a BP official said.

A “small amount” of radioactive
material was found under a sink
drain at the Pasadena site, and
removed about 20 years ago. The
property is now owned by Agrifos.
Fertilizer, which is looking into
tearing the unused building
down, a company official said.

Lewis, who was 13 when ber fa-
ther died, now believes that his
death may be related to the radio-
active materials present in the lab
where he and his colleagues
wort

Harold Sheffield was found
face-down and unconscious on
the sidewalk near the building at
4 p.m. He may have been on his
way home.

In a published report from the
time, the plant manager said that
“he knew of no chemical agents
or reactions in the laboratory
where Mr. Sheffield worked
which might have caused his
death.”

A local lawman was curious
enough about the sudden death
that he ordered an autopsy of the
body. The cause of death was
listed as a heart attack.

But family members have al-
ways had questions, especially
since important men in suits —
government officials and com-
Pany representatives —- came
calling.

A few days after Harold Shef-
field died, three men came to the
Bearle Street house. Lewis re-
members them going back to her.
parents’ bedroom, where Myrtle
Sheffield was lying down.

Looking back on what hap-
pened and knowing what she
knows now, she believes they
were trying to find out if Ker fa-

ther had told her mother anything”

about his work.

Officials from Paper Allied-
Industrial Chemical and Energy
Workers International Union Lo-
cal 4-0449 in Texas City say some
of their retired members, and the
family of deceased members,
have started calling them since
learning about the review of
records. Workers say that they
were kept in the dark about the
danger of the materials and ongo-
ing, low-level exposure to radia-
tion. °

W.E. “Sonny” Sanders, PACE
secretary and treasurer, said that

renee

Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2000

945-2355. The Energy De-
partment help line, which is
also collecting the names of
workers, is 877-447-9756.

Houston Chronicle tok 19h
Former Mathieson
PACE Local Chemical Corp. site
The PACE Local in Pasa- ~
dena can be reached at 409- *

‘t don’t want to imply
that anyone killed my
father. | just want to
understand. | want
them to explain to me
in detail what
happened — that’s all
| want.’

Chice Lewis

more family members than survi-
vors are calling in to ask about
exposure, illnesses, birth defects
and compensation. People are
very concerned, he added.

Union officials in Pasadena
were unavailable for comment.

Lewis, now 60, wonders what
her father did, or didn’t, know.
She doesn’t believe that he would
knowingly wear clothes home
that were contaminated and then
hug his wife and children.

“There were always so many
lingering questions,” she said.
“From day one, we have felt like
this was a cover-up. When those
men came to our house it was just
strange.” .

Sitting at the dining room table
of her Pasadena home, she looks
at faded sepia-tone photographs
of ber father with her daughter,
Kathy Longmore.

One picture shows a serious,
matinee-idol handsome young
man cirea 1930s. Another shows
the family surrounding the tinsel-
covered Christmas tree; Harold

- Sheffield is the last one on the

Tight, a middle-aged man with
once smooth cheeks now scored
by character lines. The last pic-
ture was taken the Christmas be-
fore his death.

Longmore said that she
wouldn't know about the plant’s
Cold War activities if the informa-

Former Texas City
|| Shemicals site

Chronic

tion concerning it hadn’t been n
cently declassified. She hope
that workers who were sworn {
secrecy will now come forward

“Maybe we'll start getting a
swers,” Longmore said. “It’s <
starting to make some sense.”

‘The local unions involved in th
plants are collecting informatic
on what bappened and ho
people may have been affecte
According to federal studies, <
least 22 different types of cance:
are attributed to radiation co)
tamination. :

Lewis said she isn’t intereste
in pointing fingers, but she want
answers to the questions that sh
and her sisters had about their &
ther’s death.

Among her childhood famik
Lewis is the last survivor. He
mother died of cancer, and he
sister, Mary Donghi, recently ha
a fatal heart attack. Her siste
Peggy Dollar, also recently die
of a brain tumor.

“T don’t want to imply that an:
one killed my father,” she sait
sitting a few feet away from th
piano he loved to play. “I just war
to understand. I want them to e:
plain to me in detail what hay
pened — that’s all I want.”



HOW DAD DIED

j= | Ben
A pee

These two photographs show Harold Sheffield, who per article about the ordering of an autopsy on Sheffield
died in 1953 atthe age of 47. Also picturedis anewspa- to determine the cause of death. _

Pasadena woman just wants some straight answers

By JANETTE RODRIGUES é << a x ‘ if 3 a
Houston Chronicle Re ha, c

Harold Sheffield read the newspa-
per, then sat down to have breakfast
with his wife, Myrtle, and their three
daughters in their Pasadena home.
He wasn’t worried about being late for
work at the local fertilizer plant, be-
cause it was less than a mile from the
house on Bearle Street.

One of the girls, Mary, dropped him
off at the gate of the Mathieson
Chemical Corp. off Texas 225 where .
he was a laboratory technician. With
“his lunchbox in hand, he joined the
stream of men assigned to the Satur-
day rotation on Sept. 5, 1953.

It was the last time anyone in his
family saw him alive.

“They called us late that afternoon
and told us they were rushing him to

. Three weeks ago, Lewis learned
that the plant where her father had
worked for two years — specifically
etee wherahe Pon reece Chloe Lewis stands near the plant site in Pasadena on Texas 225 where

her father, Harold Sheffield, worked before he died. Lewis believes his
See NUCLEAR on Page 198. death may have been caused by radiation poisoning related to his job,

John Everett / Chronicle

ae


ipelines or reactors,” Pierce said.
en the experiments were fin-
. the lab was dismantled and
irfmoved, and the area was used
ito the 70’s as an engineering lab
Mathieson and  Olin-
fathieson,” he said.

. Pierce, however, said he bas
never seen any information per-

7
5

Commun

CLEAR from page 1A

taining to the experiments or their
results. .

“We understand it was involy-
ing the extraction of uranium
oxide, which is not a major radia-
tion source. It’s something that
can be recovered from phosphor-
ic acid,” he said.

No work. involving uranium
has taken place at the site since
‘1953, Pierce said, and since the
70’s, the old lab building has been
closed down and boarded up —
under consideration for demoli-
tion,

“As far as we're concemed,
it’s just an idle area of the plant,
and it’s nothing _alaririing.

However, anytime radiation is
involved, we understand that
there is going to be concern. If we
decide to tear the building down,
we would most likely take tests to
make sure there’s nothing that
needs to be disposed of in a spe-
cific manner before going ahead,”
he said.

The plant site was part of a
federal survey that checked for
residual contamination in 1977,
when radioactive substances were
located in a sink drain and sup-
posedly removed to a safe loca-
tion, according to USA Today
studies. Whether that clean-up
was followed up on, however, is

2a?


Page 40

NEW EVIDENCE

EXHIBIT B

AFFIDAVIT OF . . INTERNATIONAL REPRESENTATIVE OF
OIL, CHEMICAL AND ATOMIC WORKERS INTERNATIONAL UNION -
POSSIBLE EXPOSURE INCIDENT - SUDDEN MYSTERIOUS DEATH IN 1953 OF
MR. HAROLD SHEFFIELD, A LAB EMPLOYEE. tells of his experience
with the Mathieson Chemical Comnanv in the early 1950s. (See Attachment | to this
Exhibit.) This is new evidence worked to organize the Mathieson Chemical
Plant for OCAWIU in the early 1950s, and was acquainted with many of the employees.
He did not know that uranium had been placed in the plant. also gives
information about a sudden, unexplained death in 1953 of an
employee who worked in the Lab at Mathieson at that time. This incident is mentioned
in an article in the Houston Chronicle, dated October 3, 2000 (See Attachment 2 to this
Exhibit.) Some of us believe that radiation exposure at the Mathieson Plant site was
connected to the mysterious death of Company officials and Government
officials visited widow at her home shortly after his death. At that time,
employees were not aware of the uranium in the plant. We do not know if this was a
“radiation incident” o* ot died later of and one of the

daughters died of We have been told that the few employees who knew
about the presence of uranium in the plant were sworn to secrecy. A copy of this
newspaper article was given to the Hearing Representative on September 1, 2004, as well
as a letter dated August 27, 2004 from former Congressmen Chris Bell and Nick
Lampson to The Secretary of Labor but I have not been told that these were considered.

Attachments:
(1) Affidavit c .
(2) Article “How Dad Died” (Houston Chronicle dated October 3, 2000)
(3) Article “Cold War in Pasadena” (Pasadena Citizen dated September 13, 2000)
(4) Letter dated August 27, 2004 from former Congressmen Chris Bell and Nick
Lampson to The Secretary of Labor


ee 27-2904

19:29am From-HON CHRIS BELL

August 27, 2004
Page 2

Upen reviewing the background information. it is clear that the percentage of causation
was based not on direct evidence, but merzly guesswork. In fact, it is my understanding
chat no site visit to Pasadena was conducted. The only documentation cited for her case
was the Technical Information Bulletin used in general for "various atomic weapons
employers.” In other words, no direct archival evidence of radiation exposure from
Mathieson Chemical was analyzed. Relying on merely general information could
completely miss specific exposute issues at Mathieson such as any history of breaking
safety procedures, specialized operations, work with non-normal substances, major

spiilages, exposure to clean up crew's and any abnormal occurrences that could Iead to
different human exposure paths.

I, therefore, ask that you review the claim b and that the appropriate

archival records, site visits, witness interviews and other information sources be
employed.

Sincerely,
Chris Bell Weep Copia —
Member of Congress

Member of Congress
CBSA


Aug-27~-2004 '10:2Ban From-KON CHRIS BELL 7137877905, T-546 «F001 F663

COMM TEE GN
FINANCIAL SERMICES

Conaneapionat Port Securiny Cauzus
SotHa

20 Coreen dows: OH
Ws nGTOR,
202) 325-7506

Senvoe Weer

1713} 383-8806

Chris Bell mse toese geval
Congress of the United States
Bouse of Representatiors
25th Wistrict, Eexas
August 27, 2014

The Honorable Elaine L. Chao
Secxetary of Labor

U.S. Department Of Labor
200 Constitution, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20210

Dear Secretary Chao:

Jam writing te request a review and reconsideration of a compensation claim by

For the past several years, | have been working with constituents in southeast Texas
regarding claims under the federal Energy Employees Occupational finess
Compensation Program. In my perspective, the Program has experienced many
challenges. Not only are many of the claims based on work performed decades ago, but a
large number of the facilities in question have been closed for many years, as well, In
fact, a jarge number of former nuclear weapons production and research sites were
virtually forgotten by the federal government until just five years ago, including two in
southeast Texas. However, considering the patriotic duties performed by these Cold War
era workers, it is important that the federal government do everything possibie to ensure
an effective compensation program.

(NIOSH Tracking Number applied for survivor
compensation tJue to ker husbend's death from cancer. He worked at the Mathieson
Chemical facility of Pasadena, Texas during the time of that site's nuclear weanons work,
Her application for compensation has met almost all of requirements ar
has proven very diligent in fulfilling the agency's many requests for information and
documents. However, the Program has denied ber compensation claim due to one
questionabie decision.

According to the Program's rules, compensation is provided when the cancer is at least as
likely as not to be related to the employment at nuclear weapons facility. This translates
into a 50% or greater probability of causation: It is my understanding that the claim wes
denied based on the likelihood being oniy 32.3%.

THIS STATIONERY PRINTED CN PAPER MADE O° RECYCLED FIBERS


TTIZEN

Wednesday, ea toed 13, 2000

-www.thepasadenacitizen.com

reeting evokes mixed emotions from residents

speak before council at the
", meeting regarding the up-com-
ing Volunteer Fire Department
Appreciation banquet. Scott
praised the mayor and council
for supporting the effort to initi-
ate a scholarship fund for the
firefigbters and their families
four years ago and said, “We've
funded over $40,000 in scholar-
ships so far, This year, we need
about $14,000 for the 17 recipi-
ents of the funding.” Scott went
on to say that the volunteer fire-

lelping out

daughter Olivia while reitirigon herbed i
is to have oxygen 24-hours a day and

ere Sst Lacie

fighters are prevented from tak-
img a second job to bring in
more income for the families
because of their commitment to
the fire depactment and the citi-
zens of Pasadena.

“College costs money and.

we want to do all we can to.give
something back to these men
and: women,” he said. The
Tnayor commended Scott and
EJ. Richey. who began the
scholarship. fund and thanked

“them publicly for their efforts.

Charles Evans was next on’
the list and, coincidentally,
spoke of the VFD banquet’ as
well. As a Brookwood resident
who is “attempting to find solv-
tions, rather than place blame”
in the current fire response issue

Evans spoke in favor of the

VFD banquet saying, “After
speaking last week 1 became
aware of the appreciation dinner
to be held on September 21... 1
believe that to be a worthy

cause, and set about to interest *

Cold War
in Pasadena?

By HALLEY CORNELL |
Cttizen staff

A frenzied 1940’s and 50’s

_Cold War race to stockpile a

national nuclear’ arsenal was
fueled by workers at private
companies - secretly commis;
sioned by the U.S. government-
— including a Pasadena plant —
according to recent findings by
researchers working for USA
Today. .

The Mathieson Chemical
Corporation reportedly extracted
up to 50 pounds of uranium from

phosphate. production, .byptad.

“ Jackson Rd. *

as many of my friends aud :
neighbors as possible in this -
noble venture.”

Evans told the council he is
expecting “two tables of -:
Brookwood residents” to be in --
attendance at the dinner to sup: |
port the firefighters. He
received the mayor’s apprecia- -°
tion for his spirit of cooperation
and volunteerism. ~

The dinner will be held at the -
Pasadena Convention Center oi "-

. ‘See COUNCIL, page 84

*

x

Local plant now on site being checked:

ucts for government use het

_ 1950 and ‘51, possibly withodt

the knowledge of its employ:
The site, after changing hands
several times over the last half
century, is now home to Agrifas 7
Fertilizer, L.P., near SH 225 on

Agrifos Plant Manager steve e .
Pierce said to his knowledge:
only a bencb scale lab existed’ a
the site between 1951 and ‘53. + -

“Bench lab means all the -
work was done in beakers and. -
glassware. There was nothing -~

that we know of involving
See NUCLEAR, page 84



If you are familiar with the time, effort, and personal interaction required to

understand that this can be quite a challenge. was the type of person who got
along well with people. He was outgoing, he respected people, and he enjoyed meeting
people and talking to them. He knew everybody in the plant. He knew every area of the
plant and was frequently in each area, especially during

. L 7 . His
employment began in where his work assignments could take him to any
part of the plant. He could be assigned to any location in the plant where a job requiring
some type of needed to be done. He later

became ar

Mathieson was not a huge Chemical plant. Some employees were brothers or brothers-
in-law. Many were friends or relatives who worked together inside the plant and played
together and attended each other’s family functions outside the plant. He was a young,
pleasant, energetic person and the type of person you would expect with a nickname like
He understood people. Many grievances were settled before they became real

problems. I knew him to be a hard worker, a person who liked people, and a good’

interested in helping others and working to have a better life for his family and
friends. I saw often and kept in touch with him until he died in 1994. He died
without ever knowing about the uranium in the plant and why he had a deceased

Many other members of that

Mathieson group have died after being diagnosed with cancer.

probably knew as much as any other employee about the layout of the plant site,
the condition and use of the buildings, the condition of the equipment, the way different
individuals worked, and plant politics. He DID NOT KNOW about the presence of
uranium in the plant. I DID NOT KNOW about it and no other Union official knew
about it. Employees did not know about it. I have heard that the few people who knew
about it were sworn to secrecy.

As I said earlier, this uranium was placed in the plant without the knowledge or consent
of the employees. Workers were put in harms way due to this radiation exposure. They
were given no protective equipment or protective clothing. No monitoring was done. No
warning signs were posted. No safety precautions were taken. No one expected to be
near radioactive materials or hazardous byproducts. NO RECORDS WERE KEPT. This
was a secret. Bear in mind that this was over 50 years ago. This was long before
computers and cell phones. At that time, little was known about the dangers of


Why would it be so important to threaten and swear people to secrecy if the material in

question was harmless as we are expected to believe? Another interesting thing in the

article is that wife died and one of his daughters died due to a
Could these deaths also be connected to radiation exposure?

Answers to these questior® *>""!4 h-«-- » direct bearing on events which resulted in the
deaths of al No records are known to exist which pertain to
anything that happened at that plant site at that time, yet we do have records of later
actual events which cannot be denied. Facts point to the conclusion that conditions and
circumstances related to radiation exposure from employment in the plant are related to
these deaths. death was clearly an unmonitored and unrecorded event.
The evidence indicates that this should be identified as an exposure incident.

The U.S. Department of Energy officials (also according to the above mentioned article)
acknowledged that the Government has no idea how many may have come in contact
with radioactive byproducts or how and where the companies disposed of the waste.
The plant produced at Jeast 50 pounds of uranium for the Atomic Energy Commission,
and was listed as a “covered facility” in the Energy Employees Occupational Illness
Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA) which was passed in 2000

According to another article (See Attachment 2) in the Houston Chronicle, dated
September 13, 2000, a spokesperson now says that a bench lab existed at the Mathieson
site, indicating that the work was done in beakers and glasswear. To some, 50 pounds of
uranium may not seem like much, but how many of us would be comfortable and feel
safe knowing that we were in the vicinity of any amount of uranium. I keep thinking of
Madame Currie and her daughter who are believed to have died of radiation exposure.
The experts say there is no “safe” level of radiation exposure. Also, according to the
article, “The Texas National Resources Conservation Commission retains no records on
the Mathieson Chemical Corporation nor does the City of Pasadena”, said city
spokesperson David Benson. “The policies and relationships between plants and the
community were very different then. Now, there’s cooperation. Then everything that
occurred within a plant’s fenceline stayed within the fenceline.”.” Health and
environmental! problems were hidden from everyone during the government sponsored
programs, including those who handled potentially deadly materials everyday, according
toa USA Today report at that time.

One of my jobs in 1952 was to organize the workers at Mathieson Chemical Company in
Pasadena, Texas for the Union. The Mathieson group became members of OCAWIU,
Local 4-367 and their first contract was negotiated and signed in 1953.

better known a: was a great help in organizing the group. He became
and later, he wa: for several
years. He and

could always be depended on to He also became

QR


Al

September _ 9 % 2010

My name i In 1950 I was of the Oil, Chemical and
Atomic Workers International Union, Local 4-367 located in Pasadena, Texas, and from
1951-1957 I was of this OCAWIU, Local 4-367. From 1962-1985 I was an

International Representative of Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers International Union,
and located in Pasadena, Texas. During the period of 1957-1962 I worked on organizing
several different groups of Union workers and on short term projects for OCAWIU in
other parts of the country. OCAWIU later, due to a merger with Paper Allied Industrial
Chemical and Energy Workers International Union, became a part of PACE
International Union.

Uranium was placed in the Mathieson Chemical Company plant in Pasadena, Texas from
1951-1953 (over 50 years ago) without the knowledge or consent of the employees. I
learned about this from a survivor of one of the victims of this unconscionable act. I was
told about this by who had filed a claim for compensation. Her

had been an employee of Mathieson Chemical Company.
According to material from the Department of Labor, the Company has verified his term
of employment from 1949 to 1979

I am forwarding an article in a newspaper (The Houston Chronicle. dated October 3,
which tells the story of the sudden death in 1953 of who was

at that time an employee of Mathieson Chemical Company. (See Attachment 1)

was 47 years old and had worked in the Lab. According to the article

was found face-down and unconscious on the sidewalk near the building (Lab)
at 4 p.m.”.” He was rushed to the hospital but died before he got there. He had left
home that morning, after eating breakfast wit and had gone
to his job in the Lab at Mathieson Chemical Company as he usually did. That was the
last time his family saw him alive. The article states that “Family members have always
had questions, especially since important men in suits — government officials and
company representatives came calling.”. His also according to the article
“now believes that his death may be related to the radiation materials present in the lab
where he and his colleagues worked.”

Several things in this article are very interesting. Many of those who now know about
the presence of uranium in the plant feel that a connection exists between
job and his death. The way he died, the place he died, the unusual visits by unknown
government officials and company representatives to the family home, and the secrecy,
(now acknowledged and undisputed) about the presence of the uranium in the Lab lend
credibility to the suspicions. Did get careless and get a high level dose of
radiation exposure? Did he know of the danger of the chemicals he was handling? Was
his death due to an accident or miscalculation? Was he one of the few who had been
sworn to secrecy? Were the government officials and company representatives visiting
to see what she knew about her husband’s job and to prevent any
information she might have from being a threat to their terrible, disgusting secret? Why
were these people allowed to keep this dangerous event a secret for almost fifty years?