Coalition for a Healthy Environment
1120 Melton Hill Drive, Clinton, Tennessee 37716
December 7, 1998
The Honorable William B. Richardson
United States Department of Energy
Forrestal Building, Room 7B-252
1000 Independence Ave., S.W.
Washington, DC 20585
VIA FACSIMILE: 202-586-4403
Dear Mr. Secretary,
Your time with us on November 30, 1998 was very much appreciated. We were
greatly disappointed to spend so little time with you, but it appears to
us that you and your staff were serious when you promised to read our
packet of materials and to have Dr. Michaels and Mr. Kiy follow up with us
before the end of the year. Because of the serious nature of many of the
affected people's illnesses and life conditions, we ask you to make this a
high priority. Some of us have been requesting help and answers for over
three years, while losing more and more of our health and our economic
security. Many of us are in the desperate stages, having lost everything we
have worked for. As you can imagine, this is devastating.
We understand that you need to develop national strategies and solutions
which address similar but diverse issues at all DOE sites. However, many of
us cannot wait for the slow bureaucratic wheels of government to grind out
a comprehensive solution. We strongly urge the following.
-
length with the sick workers and residents who are concerned about their
health.
-
around the table to create a process for developing a plan and implementation.
-
Services and the Environmental Protection Agency so that credibility and
community partnerships have a chance to develop.
Those of us who are whistleblowers are eager to meet with Mr. Bob Alvarez
and begin working on a solution for the dismal state of health and safety
management at DOE facilities. We firmly believe that if DOE and
contractor
employees were truly free to address health and safety concerns, mortality
and morbidity rates would fall throughout the DOE complex and its neighbors.
We need the following IMMEDIATELY: (1) the necessary diagnostic testing,
and (2) treatment for our illnesses. These can be accomplished with one
quick phone call to Lockheed Martin Energy Systems. They can direct the
occupational physicians to do everything to diagnose and treat us,
immediately. We cannot wait for the results their "study" or any
other
studies. The doctors' actions are very disturbing as they are making
decisions contradictory to the world's experts for our conditions. You must
realize that many of us are hanging onto life by a thread. Please address
these issues at the earliest time possible, as some of us cannot wait much
longer.
Sincerely,
Harry Williams
President
Coalition for a Healthy Environment
Janet R. Michel
Secretary
Coalition for a Healthy Environment
Attachment (with hardcopy)
cc:
Washington, DC
Washington, DC
The Honorable Cynthia Ann McKinney, United States House of Representatives,
Washington, DC