Rockwell Radiation Exposure in ‘60s Told
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Federal energy department officials Thursday released documents showing that dozens of nuclear workers at Rockwell International in Canoga Park and its Santa Susanna field laboratory were exposed to excessive radiation levels on occasions in the 1960s.
The records reveal no over exposures in subsequent years, and a department official described the 1960s events as “minor over exposures” with “no health consequences” for the workers.
But the records, provided to The Times by the Department of Energy under the Freedom of Information Act, do not include two over exposure events that Rockwell officials have said took place in the 1970s and 1980s.
The records also do not mention the fact that, without admitting liability, Rockwell recently paid settlements in at least three workers compensation cases involving cancer deaths allegedly caused by radiation exposure.
The documents released Thursday are called “unusual occurrence reports,” which the DOE requires contractors, such as Rockwell, to file after safety or equipment problems.
Pat Coulter, a spokesman for Rockwell’s Rocketdyne Division, said the firm recognizes its “very serious responsibility” to operate safely.
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