Deseret News
Monday, October 10, 1994

LAWMAKERS WANT DETAILS ON MELTDOWNS

Report on Dugway tests has Shepherd and Hatch demanding full disclosure.
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By Lee Davidson, Washington Correspondent

News that the government conducted what amounted to eight meltdowns of small nuclear reactors in Utah in 1959 has two of Utah's members of Congress demanding more information.

Rep. Karen Shepherd, D-Utah, and Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, say they plan to ask government leaders for more disclosure about all testing at Dugway Proving Ground and to assess the dangers of the meltdown experiments.

The Deseret News on Sunday disclosed the tests, where the Air Force and Atomic Energy Commission burned portions of nuclear reactor fuel in high-temperature furnaces at Dugway Proving Ground in eight separate experiments.

The resulting radiation clouds were tracked by sensors placed up to 20 miles downwind, and were last seen traveling toward the old US-40 highway, which is now I-80. Scientists are divided about how much danger they created - but most say it was likely small but that more radiation was used than needed.

Also, the tests were conducted for research on a proposed nuclear-powered airplane, which the military had already figured would be too heavy to ever fly because of the amount of lead shielding needed. TV networks and newspapers picked up the story nationally on Monday.

"The level of willingness to subject citizens of the state to radiation strikes me as utterly, extraordinarily arrogant," Shepherd said.

"I intend to meet with (Energy Secretary) Hazel O'Leary and talk about it," Shepherd said. O'Leary has led a government effort to be more open about past radiation experiments.

Shepherd earlier this year requested all documents about Dugway radiation testing after the Deseret News also disclosed dozens of bomb and other munitions tests at Dugway that spread radioactive particles in the desert.

"I'd like to know why documents about these (meltdown) tests were not among the documents that were given to me," after her earlier request, Shepherd said. "The Army gave me a big pile of documents but never did say whether that was all it had."

She added that with the newest disclosure, she questions whether "the Department of Defense can be trusted to notify the state about such experiments."

Hatch - who helped lead efforts to obtain compensation for downwind cancer victims of atomic bomb testing - said, "I have long been concerned with the way the people of Utah have been exposed to excessive levels of radiation without their consent and then ignored by their government."

He added, "I hope that any documents relating to these tests will be found and made available for review."

Hatch said, "Congress needs to know what happened and who was injured so that it can respond appropriately. I am committed to help ensure that the right questions are asked and that the answers are forthcoming."

Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, also earlier this year asked the Defense Department for full disclosure of radiation, chemical and germ weapons testing at Dugway.