Testimony of Karen Renee' Dyer Massey

I am writing to plead with you to do what is right.  For many years now, I have been watching my mother come closer and closer to death.  My mom used to be an active person who was able to go outside and play with her children. She used to be able to have fun, take trips, laugh and just live a normal life.  She was a hard worker who dedicated herself to her job as well as her family. Then, ever so slowly, her energy declined. She began to forget things; simple things such as the fact her children needed to be picked up from school. She became confused, tired and sick. Her body suddenly became ravaged with illnesses and rashes for no reason. She also became depressed.  My mother, a young, beautiful, loyal and energetic person, was dying for no apparent reason.

Searching for answers, my mother, and others suffering the same symptoms as her, began to undergo extensive testing.  She visited doctor after doctor, doing only what you and I would do to learn why we were sick. Finally, some answers were given. My mother and her coworkers were told they had such high levels of chemicals and metals in them, their bodies couldn't function.  But how could this be?  According to the bosses of all these loyal, hard working people, none of the chemicals or metals in their bodies existed anywhere near the plants in which they worked!  So they were told that they were all making it up.  All of these symptoms they "claimed" to have must be in their minds. The doctors they had gone to said they were all lying; the workers were all wrong.  Later, the plants in Oak Ridge sent these workers to doctors appointed to "diagnose" these problems. Some were told it was all in their mind while others were told the contamination came from the Bull Run Steam Plant. I found it odd that the plants claimed none of these workers were legitimately ill, but on the other hand, the contamination must have come from the steam plant??!! I know that the plants didn't want to accept responsibility for their part in my mothers sickness, but did they ever stop to think about how unethical the things they do are?  I know the government made a mistake, and they know they made a mistake. Why won't they just admit it? Don't all adults tell their children that mistakes can be fixed, and that it'll be okay as long as they don't lie about their wrong-doings? How are these bosses at the plants looking themselves in the mirror or looking their children in the face?

How can you go home at night and enjoy your family when you know you are taking dozens and dozens of parents away from their children? DO YOU NOT CARE????????????  I feel very blessed by God to even have had my mother at my graduation. I now have a three month old daughter, and I want her to be able to know her Nana. I want my mother, who is only 40 years old, to be able to play with my daughter in the years to come. Is that too much to ask? Don't you enjoy playing with your children and grandchildren? Would you sit back and let someone take that from you? You might lose some money by admitting what you have done, and you might lose some credibility, but won't you gain some peace of mind? Besides, it's easier to build back peoples trust in you once you have admitted your wrong doings. People know what has been done, and by denying it, you cause everyone to lose faith in the government. Do you want people to scorn you for something you can so easily fix?  I know it is your responsibility to protect the government and it's funds, but wasn't it the responsibility of the people my mom worked for to protect her and her life? She worked hard for these people, and I think it was her right to know what she was working with. She wasn't allowed to make an informed decision about the work she did.  She knew of certain dangers, but not all of them. That was not fair. Isn't our government about fairness and justice? Did my mom not deserve to make a choice based on ALL the facts, not just part? I know most people would not have chosen to work for DOE, if given all the facts. I know DOE would have been short?handed, but was having enough employees worth taking their lives? Is that moral or ethical? Would you want someone to allow you to work in an environment that would take your health, happiness and life away without your knowledge? I sincerely do not believe that you would. If you deserve the right to know what you are working with BEFORE you work

with it, don't all the employees of DOE? The people who volunteer to serve in the military are given the facts and make an informed decision. Do the people who work for the government in these plants not deserve the same opportunity to decide based on the facts?

As if it wasn't bad enough that DOE exposed my mother and her coworkers to these dangerous chemicals in their workplace, there are tons of innocent people getting sick every day just because of where they live. The people who live in Oak Ridge go about their daily lives not knowing they are exposed every day to something that can seriously hurt them, if not eventually kill them. Why are these innocent people paying for the after-effects of the wars fought in the past? Why should these employees of the government and these innocent civilians become casualties of wars that have long been over? Is this right or fair? Do these people not, at the very least, deserve the opportunity to decide where to live based on ALL the facts?  If you ever found out the place you lived in exposed

your family to harmful contaminates, would you not be furious beyond means? There are many children in Oak Ridge who have become ill, and I think almost every person who was born in or has lived in Oak Ridge has some type of illness or problem resulting from the contaminates. Is all this part of the wars of the past? Are we to all be "casualties of war"? I have lost two children and had a highly difficult pregnancy with my daughter, and I believe this is due to the exposure I received while I lived in Oak Ridge. And I am obviously not alone. Are you aware of the children suffering every day in Oak Ridge? Do you care? Are you human enough to want them to get well? Do you realize their parents will have to pay tons of money for the rest of their lives to try to get their children well? Is this right, since the parents did nothing but choose to live in a place they viewed as safe? Is it right that my mother and others like her are not well enough to work? Is it right that they all have doctor bills they can't even begin to pay? Is it right that these bills will only continue to grow, and it is not their faults? If we can pay for drug treatment programs for people who voluntarily destroyed their bodies, can the government not pay for treatment for these employees who worked so hard for them and got sick by means beyond their knowledge? And can't they do the same for the innocent children and adults in Oak Ridge who never knew what was in the water they drank or the air they breathed?  The Toxic Waste Incinerator continues to burn hazardous, radioactive waste without the provision of monitors to make sure they aren’t releasing these contaminates into the air around Oak Ridge and the surrounding communities.  Nobody knows what is coming out of those stacks when they burn these elements!!

If you choose not to allow my mother, her coworkers, and the innocent civilians of Oak Ridge some type of compensation, I would like to know why. I would like for you to look into the eyes of my child and tell her how her Nana got sick and what will eventually kill her. I would like for you to explain to her how the government can pay those who got ill from choosing to smoke, but won't help her Nana with her medical expenses and living expenses, since she can't work. Explain to her that you think it is okay to smoke and destroy your lungs, because the government will make sure you are compensated for the damages. But she shouldn't work somewhere and be loyal, because the she could get sick and nobody will help her!!!! I want you to take a trip to the hospitals of Oak Ridge and look at all the people ill with contamination. I want you to tell them they have no right to choose where to live based on where they will be healthy. I want you to explain to the world that to live in the United States of America, where you can be free, you must give up your right to know how dangerous your workplace or home can be if you work for the government or live near one of their nuclear facilities. Then go home and explain to your children and grandchildren what you have done. Explain to them that you have destroyed their future by telling the world it's okay to expose unknowing people to harmful contaminates. Tell them that they could possibly become victims of their own government and the selfish actions thereof.

Please, do what is right and take care of these people.  They deserve medical treatments of their choices to be paid for by the government for the rest of their lives.  They deserve to be compensated financially for the loss of wages they have incurred over the past five years and will continue to incur into the future as long as they are unable to work due to their illnesses resulting from the work they did at the DOE Oak Ridge Facilities. Thank you for your caring consideration of my mother's and others cases and the well?being of the innocent people involved.

Sincerely,

Karen Renee' Dyer Massey

615?874?4180

529 B Raleigh Drive

Hermitage TN 37076