http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/03/23
Published on Wednesday, March 23, 2011 by In These Times
Radiation in the Homeland: Honeywell’s Guilty Plea Shows Importance of
Unions
by Mike Elk
Attention is now turned to the radiation being released in Japan
following the massive earthquake there this month. Unfortunately,
Americans don't have to look abroad to discover this kind of
frightening scenario: This month, defense contractor Honeywell pleaded
guilty to releasing radioactive material into the community of
Metropolis, Ill. The episode shows, once again, the importance of a
unionized workforce for providing for the safety of workers.
Honeywell International Inc. pleaded guilty two weeks ago in federal
court “to one felony offense for knowingly storing hazardous
radioactive waste without a permit in violation of the Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).” The waste was stored in such a
way that large quantities of radioactive KOH mud were leaching into
the water stream of the nearby Ohio River. Honeywell was fined $11.8
million by the federal government.
At the Honeywell uranium facility, air emissions from the UF6
conversion process are scrubbed with potassium hydroxide (KOH) prior
to being released into the atmosphere. As a result of this process, a
type of radioactive mud settles on the scrubbers which have to be
released. This material, called "KOH mud," was stored in drums in the
open air behind the uranium plant in Metropolis and was able to leak
into the Ohio River, which runs next to the plant.
Honeywell knew that because the pH of KOH mud generated at the
facility was greater than or equal to 12.5, it is classified as
corrosive hazardous waste. Honeywell thus illegally stored radioactive
material, and by doing so threatened the long-term health of the
nearby community.
By the time EPA special agents raided the facility in April 2009,
there were nearly 7,500 drums of illegally stored radioactive mud on
site. As a result of the crackdown, Honeywell is being forced to store
the radioactive mud in a way that is not harmful to the local
community. Workers played a key role in making sure that mud wasn’t
stored radioactively.
Over the years, workers notified Honeywell of the problem on many
occasions. At a town hall meeting in 2007, John Jacobs, a union
employee, confronted Honeywell CEO David Cote about the matter in
person. An upset David Cote quickly ended the meeting when several
workers said if something wasn't done, they would notify the company.
Workers later did play a role in blowing the whistle on the lockout.
Many in the union feel that this particular incident led to Cote’s
desire to lockout union workers and attempt to bust the union at
Honeywell.
This could explain why Cote has spent $60 million to keep the workers
locked out, when it would only cost $20 million over the course of
their contract to provide what the workers wanted. Cote might not want
to have a unionized workforce at his uranium plant that could report
potential safety violations to the authorities.
This week, as we watch events unfold in Japan and observe the 100th
anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, it’s important we
remember the role that unions have in preventing tragic accidents.
Labor must make the argument that it's in the public best interest for
workers to have the freedom, through unions, to hold employers
accountable.
© 2011 In These Times
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