1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,960 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:13,760 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hello and welcome to This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:14,160 --> 00:00:17,040 Speaker 1: a show that pays tribute to people of the past 4 00:00:17,320 --> 00:00:22,360 Speaker 1: by telling their stories. Today I'm Gabe Lousier, and today 5 00:00:22,680 --> 00:00:25,480 Speaker 1: we're looking at the time when a labor union activist 6 00:00:25,640 --> 00:00:29,480 Speaker 1: at a nuclear facility lost her life in a car accident. 7 00:00:30,400 --> 00:00:34,560 Speaker 1: But was it really an accident or was it an assassination? 8 00:00:42,720 --> 00:00:49,960 Speaker 1: The day was November seventy four. Nuclear whistleblower Karen Silkwood 9 00:00:50,280 --> 00:00:54,400 Speaker 1: was killed in a one car crash under mysterious circumstances. 10 00:00:55,520 --> 00:00:57,840 Speaker 1: The twenty eight year old had worked as a chemical 11 00:00:57,920 --> 00:01:01,800 Speaker 1: technician at the Kerr McGee plu utonium fuel's production plan 12 00:01:02,160 --> 00:01:05,600 Speaker 1: in Crescent, Oklahoma. She was also a member of the 13 00:01:05,640 --> 00:01:09,320 Speaker 1: Oil Chemical and Atomic Workers Union, or the o c 14 00:01:09,560 --> 00:01:15,000 Speaker 1: a W. Silkwood had been openly critical of Kermaghee's safety measures, 15 00:01:15,319 --> 00:01:17,600 Speaker 1: and in the months leading up to her death, she 16 00:01:17,680 --> 00:01:20,640 Speaker 1: had been gathering evidence for the union to back up 17 00:01:20,640 --> 00:01:24,520 Speaker 1: her claims that the plant was unsafe. After leaving a 18 00:01:24,640 --> 00:01:29,080 Speaker 1: union meeting on the evening of November, Silkwood was on 19 00:01:29,080 --> 00:01:31,600 Speaker 1: her way to meet with a New York Times reporter 20 00:01:32,120 --> 00:01:36,760 Speaker 1: allegedly to handover incriminating documents that proved her company had 21 00:01:36,800 --> 00:01:40,480 Speaker 1: been negligent. She never made it to the meeting, and 22 00:01:40,520 --> 00:01:44,760 Speaker 1: the unexplained circumstances of her death led many to speculate 23 00:01:45,040 --> 00:01:51,000 Speaker 1: there had been foul play. Karen Silkwood was born in Longview, Texas, 24 00:01:51,080 --> 00:01:58,680 Speaker 1: on February ninety six. She grew up in nearby Niederland, Texas, 25 00:01:58,760 --> 00:02:02,520 Speaker 1: and after graduating school, she went to study medical technology 26 00:02:02,800 --> 00:02:08,320 Speaker 1: at Lamar State College in Beaumont. In seventy two, Silkwood 27 00:02:08,320 --> 00:02:11,079 Speaker 1: moved to Oklahoma City, where she got a job at 28 00:02:11,120 --> 00:02:15,680 Speaker 1: Kerr McGhee as a technician and the metallography lab. She 29 00:02:15,800 --> 00:02:20,799 Speaker 1: worked at the company's Simarron fuel fabrication site near Crescent, Oklahoma. 30 00:02:21,480 --> 00:02:24,840 Speaker 1: It was her lab's job to create plutonium fuel rods 31 00:02:24,919 --> 00:02:29,080 Speaker 1: for the Atomic Energy Commission the a e C. On 32 00:02:29,120 --> 00:02:33,000 Speaker 1: a typical day, Silkwood would inspect the plutonium pellets that 33 00:02:33,080 --> 00:02:36,160 Speaker 1: were used to make the fuel rods. She ensured the 34 00:02:36,360 --> 00:02:39,680 Speaker 1: radioactive pellets or the correct size, and that they didn't 35 00:02:39,720 --> 00:02:44,160 Speaker 1: have any chips or cracks that might release radiation. After 36 00:02:44,240 --> 00:02:47,840 Speaker 1: about three months on the job, Silkwood went on strike 37 00:02:47,919 --> 00:02:51,120 Speaker 1: with her fellow workers to demand better health than safety 38 00:02:51,160 --> 00:02:55,600 Speaker 1: programs and a wage increase. The strike went on for 39 00:02:55,919 --> 00:02:59,320 Speaker 1: nine to ten weeks, but Kerr McGhee refused to meet 40 00:02:59,360 --> 00:03:03,440 Speaker 1: the union's man's In the end, the workers returned to 41 00:03:03,480 --> 00:03:07,320 Speaker 1: their jobs with no higher wages and no improvements to 42 00:03:07,400 --> 00:03:12,320 Speaker 1: health and safety protocols or training. Two years later, in 43 00:03:12,360 --> 00:03:16,560 Speaker 1: the spring of nineteen seventy four, kerr McGhee ramped up 44 00:03:16,639 --> 00:03:20,800 Speaker 1: production and required employees at the metallography lab to work 45 00:03:20,880 --> 00:03:26,000 Speaker 1: twelve hour shifts, seven days a week. The strain of 46 00:03:26,040 --> 00:03:30,200 Speaker 1: this frenzied pace took its toll on the workforce, leading 47 00:03:30,240 --> 00:03:35,760 Speaker 1: to an increase in spills and contaminations. Employees began quitting 48 00:03:35,920 --> 00:03:40,280 Speaker 1: at an alarming rate, so the company hired increasingly untrained 49 00:03:40,320 --> 00:03:45,320 Speaker 1: workers to prevent any pause in production. In early August, 50 00:03:45,760 --> 00:03:48,720 Speaker 1: Silkwood became the first woman to be elected to the 51 00:03:48,760 --> 00:03:53,360 Speaker 1: Employee Bargaining Committee at Kerr McGhee. Working with the other 52 00:03:53,440 --> 00:03:57,360 Speaker 1: two committee members, Silkwood was tasked with documenting the many 53 00:03:57,440 --> 00:04:01,480 Speaker 1: health and safety concerns at their nuclear facility. At the 54 00:04:01,560 --> 00:04:04,880 Speaker 1: end of September, the committee would present its findings at 55 00:04:04,880 --> 00:04:09,240 Speaker 1: a meeting with the Atomic Energy Commission. Silkwood spent about 56 00:04:09,360 --> 00:04:15,000 Speaker 1: six weeks interviewing workers and combing through reports of contamination incidents. 57 00:04:15,280 --> 00:04:19,320 Speaker 1: By the time of their testimony on September, the committee 58 00:04:19,360 --> 00:04:24,280 Speaker 1: had found thirty nine different examples of company negligence, including 59 00:04:24,320 --> 00:04:30,000 Speaker 1: improper training, improper facilities, and failure to monitor worker exposure 60 00:04:30,200 --> 00:04:35,200 Speaker 1: to radiation. After reviewing each example, the a e C 61 00:04:35,800 --> 00:04:39,520 Speaker 1: concluded that twenty out of the thirty nine incidents were 62 00:04:39,640 --> 00:04:45,440 Speaker 1: quote at least partially substantiated, if not entirely. The Commission 63 00:04:45,520 --> 00:04:50,800 Speaker 1: agreed to investigate these incidents, but sadly, Karen Silkwood didn't 64 00:04:50,800 --> 00:04:56,160 Speaker 1: live to see it happen. In October four, she decided 65 00:04:56,360 --> 00:04:58,799 Speaker 1: not to wait for the a e C to save 66 00:04:58,880 --> 00:05:02,799 Speaker 1: the day. She started collecting hard evidence of the plant's 67 00:05:02,800 --> 00:05:07,560 Speaker 1: contamination issues. She was viewed as a troublemaker by management 68 00:05:07,839 --> 00:05:10,599 Speaker 1: and even some other union members, worried that she was 69 00:05:10,680 --> 00:05:15,360 Speaker 1: making too many waves too quickly, but Silkwood couldn't be swayed. 70 00:05:15,880 --> 00:05:18,719 Speaker 1: She started making plans to share her findings with the 71 00:05:18,760 --> 00:05:22,960 Speaker 1: press in mid November. On the evening of November five, 72 00:05:23,320 --> 00:05:27,600 Speaker 1: Silkwood was polishing plutonium pellets during her twelve hour shift 73 00:05:28,000 --> 00:05:31,920 Speaker 1: when an alarm went off on her gloves. The device 74 00:05:32,240 --> 00:05:35,560 Speaker 1: was an alpha detector that monitored her gloves to make 75 00:05:35,600 --> 00:05:40,320 Speaker 1: sure she wasn't being exposed to radioactive materials. According to 76 00:05:40,360 --> 00:05:46,200 Speaker 1: the device, Silkwood's whole right arm was covered in plutonium. 77 00:05:46,240 --> 00:05:50,480 Speaker 1: In a strange twist, additional tests showed that only the 78 00:05:50,600 --> 00:05:55,400 Speaker 1: inside of her gloves were contaminated. The outside, which were 79 00:05:55,440 --> 00:05:57,920 Speaker 1: the parts that had been in contact with the pellets, 80 00:05:58,400 --> 00:06:03,440 Speaker 1: came back clean. Strangers still was that Silkwood's urine and 81 00:06:03,680 --> 00:06:07,240 Speaker 1: feces were found to be radioactive, and so was the 82 00:06:07,279 --> 00:06:10,719 Speaker 1: apartment she shared with a co worker. It's still a 83 00:06:10,800 --> 00:06:15,440 Speaker 1: mystery how or why all this alpha activity wound up 84 00:06:15,440 --> 00:06:19,520 Speaker 1: in her system and her home. After her death, KERR 85 00:06:19,600 --> 00:06:24,400 Speaker 1: McGhee would suggest that maybe Silkwood had purposely contaminated herself 86 00:06:24,680 --> 00:06:28,839 Speaker 1: by ingesting plutonium as a way to embarrass the company. 87 00:06:29,240 --> 00:06:31,800 Speaker 1: I'll leave it to listeners to decide if that's really 88 00:06:31,839 --> 00:06:36,839 Speaker 1: the most likely explanation. A week after the incident, Silkwood 89 00:06:36,920 --> 00:06:40,720 Speaker 1: was cleared to return to work. After her evening shift 90 00:06:40,760 --> 00:06:44,080 Speaker 1: on November thirteenth, she attended a union meeting at the 91 00:06:44,160 --> 00:06:48,440 Speaker 1: Hub Cafe in Crescent. From there, she began driving to 92 00:06:48,480 --> 00:06:52,440 Speaker 1: Oklahoma City, where she had arranged to meet with David Burnham, 93 00:06:52,480 --> 00:06:55,839 Speaker 1: a reporter for The New York Times. According to him, 94 00:06:56,120 --> 00:06:59,600 Speaker 1: Silkwood was finally going to share the documentation she'd been 95 00:06:59,600 --> 00:07:04,400 Speaker 1: gathering since the September meeting with the A e. C. However, 96 00:07:04,880 --> 00:07:10,000 Speaker 1: while driving along Highway seventy four, Silkwood somehow crashed into 97 00:07:10,040 --> 00:07:14,160 Speaker 1: a concrete culvert, a tunnel like structure that provides cross 98 00:07:14,240 --> 00:07:18,720 Speaker 1: drainage under roadways. Police were called to the scene, but 99 00:07:18,840 --> 00:07:22,920 Speaker 1: Silkwood was dead by the time they arrived. According to 100 00:07:22,920 --> 00:07:26,400 Speaker 1: the autopsy, there was a large dose of quaaludes in 101 00:07:26,440 --> 00:07:29,880 Speaker 1: her system, which would suggest she may have fallen asleep 102 00:07:29,920 --> 00:07:35,440 Speaker 1: at the wheel. However, the accident investigator noted some puzzling 103 00:07:35,480 --> 00:07:40,120 Speaker 1: irregularities at the scene. For starters, there were skid marks 104 00:07:40,160 --> 00:07:43,560 Speaker 1: on the road and a suspicious fresh dent on the 105 00:07:43,640 --> 00:07:48,720 Speaker 1: rear bumper of Silkwood's car. These details indicated that a 106 00:07:48,880 --> 00:07:53,679 Speaker 1: second car may have forced Silkwood off the road. Another 107 00:07:53,800 --> 00:07:58,320 Speaker 1: curious detail was that State trooper Rick Fagan claimed he 108 00:07:58,360 --> 00:08:01,720 Speaker 1: had collected scattered papers at the scene and put them 109 00:08:01,720 --> 00:08:06,280 Speaker 1: back in Silkwood's car. However, by the time her boyfriend 110 00:08:06,360 --> 00:08:09,920 Speaker 1: arrived later that evening, the documents were nowhere to be 111 00:08:10,000 --> 00:08:15,520 Speaker 1: found and were never seen again. Rumors swirled that Silkwood 112 00:08:15,560 --> 00:08:18,680 Speaker 1: had been murdered as a way to silence Kerr McGhee's 113 00:08:18,760 --> 00:08:22,440 Speaker 1: most passionate whistleblower and to send a message to any 114 00:08:22,480 --> 00:08:26,840 Speaker 1: others in waiting. Her story became the subject of countless 115 00:08:26,880 --> 00:08:30,520 Speaker 1: books and articles, as well as a ninety three movie 116 00:08:30,640 --> 00:08:34,800 Speaker 1: starring Meryl Streep as Silkwood. The ending of that film 117 00:08:34,960 --> 00:08:38,480 Speaker 1: heavily implies that she was driven off the road by 118 00:08:38,480 --> 00:08:42,400 Speaker 1: a car behind her. Still, there's no proof that the 119 00:08:42,440 --> 00:08:46,720 Speaker 1: company was responsible for Silkwood's death. In light of this, 120 00:08:47,000 --> 00:08:51,760 Speaker 1: her family filed a civil suit. Instead. They sought eleven 121 00:08:51,800 --> 00:08:55,480 Speaker 1: and a half million dollars in damages, claiming that Kerr 122 00:08:55,559 --> 00:09:00,119 Speaker 1: McGhee's negligence had led the silkwood's contamination in early November. 123 00:09:00,800 --> 00:09:03,600 Speaker 1: This was when the company claimed that Silkwood had eaten 124 00:09:03,679 --> 00:09:07,480 Speaker 1: plutonium to make them look bad. In the end, the 125 00:09:07,600 --> 00:09:11,520 Speaker 1: suit was settled twelve years later for one point three 126 00:09:11,600 --> 00:09:16,480 Speaker 1: million dollars. As for Kerr McGhee, it was forced to 127 00:09:16,520 --> 00:09:20,280 Speaker 1: close its nuclear plant barely a year after Silkwood's death. 128 00:09:21,200 --> 00:09:24,400 Speaker 1: The A E. C S Better Late than Never investigation 129 00:09:24,720 --> 00:09:28,679 Speaker 1: had turned up numerous health and safety violations. Just as 130 00:09:28,679 --> 00:09:33,679 Speaker 1: Silkwood had reported, KERR McGhee spent the next three decades 131 00:09:33,800 --> 00:09:37,720 Speaker 1: cleaning up the contamination it had caused in Crescent City. 132 00:09:38,120 --> 00:09:42,800 Speaker 1: As of one, the ground water under the old plutonium 133 00:09:42,840 --> 00:09:49,000 Speaker 1: plant is still contaminated. Investigations are ongoing to determine just 134 00:09:49,160 --> 00:09:55,079 Speaker 1: how far those contaminants may have traveled. I'm Gabe Lousier 135 00:09:55,360 --> 00:09:58,680 Speaker 1: and hopefully you now know a little more about history 136 00:09:58,800 --> 00:10:02,360 Speaker 1: today than you did yesterday. If you want to keep 137 00:10:02,440 --> 00:10:05,640 Speaker 1: up with the show, you can follow us on Twitter, Facebook, 138 00:10:05,679 --> 00:10:10,079 Speaker 1: and Instagram at t d i HC Show, and if 139 00:10:10,080 --> 00:10:12,960 Speaker 1: you have any comments or suggestions, you can always send 140 00:10:12,960 --> 00:10:16,120 Speaker 1: them my way at this Day at i heart media 141 00:10:16,280 --> 00:10:19,880 Speaker 1: dot com. Thanks to Chandler Mays for producing the show, 142 00:10:20,280 --> 00:10:22,679 Speaker 1: and thank you for listening. I'll see you back here 143 00:10:22,720 --> 00:10:33,120 Speaker 1: again tomorrow for another day in History Class. For more 144 00:10:33,120 --> 00:10:35,680 Speaker 1: podcasts from I Heeart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, 145 00:10:35,720 --> 00:10:38,320 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.