NASA/MSFC Director Speaks Out on Radiation Safety

TOTKChief writes "In reference to the /. story about radiation safety at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, MSFC Center Director Art Stephenson has replied to those safety allegations outlined by The Huntsville Times. It's funny to note that the actions that Stephenson has taken are exactly those recommended by Jim Bult, who was fired for whistle blowing by the NASA contractor that he worked for. Depressing."

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[SlashGeek]

Having worked in manufacturing, I can relate to Jim Bult's cause. I have seen pregnant women operating injection molding machines, with PVC fumes smoking out of it, highly unsafe handeling, storage, and working practices around acids and other battery components, such as lithium. And yes, I can't think of anywhere that I havn't seen some sort of interlock defeated. One time I came into contact with a small drop if Thionl Chloride, and while not a dangerous amount, was shocked to see that there was no immediate supply of baking soda or similar neutralizer available in case of a more serious mishap. When I brought the issue up with the safty officer, I was told that Thionl Chloride is a "mild acid" and if something did happen just to "rince it off in the eyewash." Now, I'm not a chemist, but it is my understanding that it is NOT a "mild acid" by any means. Hell, any acid, particularly in high concentrations, should be handled with extreme care and with proper emergency training and equipment. To make it worse, it was being handled by untrained production workers who knew very little about the dangers of long term exposure, saftey procedures, and emergency procedures. This is just one example of the many blatent saftey violatons that I have come across and reported but still went ignored. To top it off, the places I have seen the worst violations are the ones who scream SAFETY!!! every five seconds, and consider you safe if you are breathing in toxic fumes as long as your safety glasses are on. The fact that I have refused to work at times because of conditions with no recourse from my employer just further cements in my mind that they knew they were wrong. But they wouldn't tell anyone else who didn't know better.

I support Jim Bult all the way, and I hope that he wins his case. This is just typical of how upper management in this country looks at nothing but numbers. Just because nobody has gotten injured yet doesn't mean that it's not just itching to happen. But they don't care, numbers don't lie. It must be safe if nobody has gotten hurt, yet. How much would it really cost to check interlocks every month? Not nearly as much as it would cost to settle a multi million dollar lawsuite with the family, I'm sure.