Karen worked at the Kerr-McGee Plutonium Plant,
in Cimarron, Oklahoma. While at work, she was
exposed to plutonium, and basically became saturated with the shit. A little upset with this revelation, she decided
to blow the whistle on her employers. She had
told a reporter from the New York Times that her Kerr-McGee was poisoning its workers and
acting irresponsibly in the manufacture of radioactive plutonium rods. She said she had proof, and was on her way. She never made it.
On November 13, 1974,
the snitch left the Hub Café in nearby Crescent, Oklahoma sometime between 7:15 and
7:30pm. Silkwood was driving a 1973 white
Honda Civic and travelling south on the
narrow Route 74 towards Oklahoma City.
At 8:05, the Oklahoma
State Highway Patrol was notified of a single car accident 7 miles south of Crescent, in a ditch. The Trooper who investigated the accident reported
that Silkwood's death was a result of a classic, one-car sleeping-driver accident. BUT! They
also found suspicious dents in the back of her car, leading some to speculate whether
she'd been run off the road or not, though it was never proven.
Blood tests performed
on her body showed that she had 0.35 milligrams of methaqualone (Quaalude) per 100
milliliters of blood at the time of her death. That
amount is almost twice the recommended dosage for inducing drowsiness. About 50 milligrams of
undissolved methaqualone
remained in her stomach. Oh yeah, and
radiation.
After a bazillion autopsy tests, her body was released, and she was buried in Danville Cemetery, Kilgore, Texas. With a tight lid, no doubt. She was 28.
Her estate filed a
civil suit against Kerr-McGee for alleged inadequate heath and safety program that led to
Silkwood's exposure. In 1979, the first trial
ended with the jury awarding the estate $10.5million for personal injury and punitive
damages. The Federal Court of Appeals
reversed this, and they were awarded only $5000 for personal property she lost during the
cleanup of her apartment. And they even used
Bon-Ami. In 1986, twelve years after her
death, the suit was headed for retrial when it was finally settled out of court for $1.3
million. $810,000 went to legal expenses.
The Kerr-McGee nuclear
fuel plant closed in 1975, but the company continues to thrive in Oklahoma.
I apologize for the bad pictures. I was in Oklahoma a few years back, and took what I could. If I knew then… I'd have more good photos. - Scott
