Wednesday, October 31, 2012

"Uranium Juice" beverage establishments israel nuclear workers

Israeli forces carry nuclear as 
part of their experiments.
TEL AVIV (Reuters) - Workers at a nuclear reactor facility in Dimona forced to volunteer to drink uranium in 1998 as part of a trial, according to a lawsuit that was sent four months ago in Beer Sheva Labor Tribunal by a former worker in the facility them.

The experiment was carried out without the written permission of the worker, or to warn them of the risks of side effects atapun, as required by the Declaration of Helsinki on human experimentation.


The Israel Atomic Energy Commission or Nuclear Energy Commission of Israel said in a statement that the Dimona nuclear facility "put the safety and health of workers in the highest priority."


Statement of the Commission adds that the amount of uranium taken by the staff in the experiment as much (100 micrograms) is less than the amount taken from the Beer Sheva drink from their taps.


Workers who sends lawsuit, Julius Malick, recently retired after he said that he was threatened by a former director of the facility, Yitzhak Gurevich, and the director of HRD, Gary Amal, that if he did not retire he would be fired.


Dimona facility Malick demands for compensation of 1.8 million NIS. According to the suit, Malick "was asked by his superiors to take part of an experiment on five workers. In an experimental framework, Malick and other workers drank uranium. Experiment was conducted without medical supervision and without any explanation of the health risks given to participants. Malick, who fear their survival and their future in the department, agreed to participate. "


Malick who worked at the Dimona reactor for 15 years before retiring in 2008, received a bachelor's degree and master's degree in Chemistry at Bar-Ilan University. He had another glass, in the industrial machinery and management, from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Be'er Sheva.


The lawsuit also noted that when workers do not receive the results of these experiments, an article about it appeared in the scientific journal Health Physics. According to the suit, the articles written by several researchers led by Drs. Zeev Karpas and Avi Lorber, director of the laboratory chemical analysis Dimona facilities, including the name of the subject without their permission.


Workers were given wine or grape juice containing uranium to drink and then asked for their urine samples, which will be analyzed to determine how the uranium removed from the body through urine. Researchers say it should not be dangerous, says Malick told his lawyer, Alexander Spinrad. "Lorber and Karpas said that even they are taking part in the experiment, although to this day it is unclear to me whether they actually do so. Afterwards my colleagues who I tell that I drank it said that I was stupid and they will not agree to do it under any circumstances, "said Malick told his lawyer.
Malick, who is a chemist, also said that some time after the experiment, Lorber told him that it was a personal project with Karpas. "It is of course very silly, as stated in the article, there are other colleagues, whose names appear under their names and written as employees of the Dimona facility," said Malick.

Malick also said that he had complained that no records were kept and Karpas "joked with me and said I caused a storm in the kettle." The suit also claimed that his boss never participating in the experiment recorded in medical records.


The suit describes a work accident in August 1998, in which Malick had burns on his hands as a result of contact with a small amount of uranium and other materials. Mallick said that he received poor treatment and he accidentally discovered material about them that has not been identified in the medical report. Malick told his lawyer that he believes this kind of treatment sistemati, dis and demands have been oblivious to it.


This claim also states that Malick in an internal memo to the department at the Dimona reactor, warned that workers who had been exposed to radioactive material in the crash did not receive the appropriate treatment. In his position at the Dimona reactor was in laboratory chemical analysis, where the work is, among other things was to evaluate possible damage to workers who are exposed to hazardous materials.


In the early years, Malick superiors praised his work. However, Malick claimed that he was then labeled as a maker of mischief and when he tried to increase the level of safety and health in the plant. He was then transferred to another position where his ability can not be used for good, writes charges, and finally, he resigned under threat of dismissal. After he resigned, Malick said he was forced to sign an agreement that mendiskriminasinya of the pensiuner of the facility.


Malick declined to be interviewed for this article because thinking of harassment by his former employer through security officer and head of the security department at the Ministry of Defense, which is responsible for the security of information and the reactor. However, he confirmed to Haaretz that he has sent a lawsuit.


Source:  Reuters


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