WORKERS ENTITLED TO PADUCAH PLANT'S SECRETS

No one may ever know all the facts about deadly nuclear contamination at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant that has been a part of the Kentucky city's landscape for decades. But in the minds of many workers and former employees of the plant, this much is for certain: There has been a deliberate and effective attempt to keep the facts secret.

The key issue for dozens of people is whether or not they have been exposed to dangerous levels of radiation. Some wonder if loved ones have died because of contamination from the plant. Others fear the contamination is far more widespread than just the confines of the plant.

Three of the plant's employees have sued, claiming they were unwittingly exposed to plutonium and other toxic substances from 1953 to 1976. That lawsuit has been placed under court seal, which means details are not available to the public.

Why?

Here's a clue: The Paducah plant is owned by the U.S. Department of Energy. The federal government is particularly noted for not wanting ordinary citizens to have access to facts whenever the government has screwed up.

Another indication that something -- or many somethings -- went wrong at the plant is the government's recent offer of $20 million in compensation to plant workers with certain radiation-related cancers.

The government would do well to do everything in its power to inform workers and others of any possible consequences of contamination at the plant. Today's juries are prone to go far beyond the limits of reasonableness and prudence when it comes to claims like these. Consider the Kansas City case this week where an obviously agitated jury awarded more than $40 million in actual damages to a woman who was severely injured at a railroad crossing and then awarded another $120 million in punitive damages against the responsible railroad.

One interesting point regarding the Paducah plant: It is the same federal government that is withholding information while, at the same time, holding congressional hearings on the matter. It is the same government that is holding hundreds of businesses responsible for billions of dollars to clean up toxic sites.

Isn't it incongruous to have the same federal government exposed in so many ways at the same time?