Karen Silkwood

Karen Silkwood was murdered this day in 1974. No doubt about it. Cold. Blooded. Murder.

Karen was a whistle blower at the Kerr-McGee energy production plant in Oklahoma. She had joined the Union shortly after employment at the plant and was immediately involved in a strike there. After that was resolved, she was assigned to investigate health and safety issues. She testified to the Atomic Energy Commission about numerous health and safely violations at the plant. Hardcore stuff. The stuff that makes employers squirm and consider murder. Improper production, handling and storage of nuclear fuel rods, falsified inspection records, health and safety violations including employees faulty respiratory masks, productions speed-ups that increased employee safety hazards, you-name-it.

She was put through hell before being killed, as persons unknown to this day contaminated her and her house with radiation, leading to several "scrub showers" at the plant. Naked and hosed down like a prison inmate and scrubbed with brushes like wire to rid her skin of contamination. It was horrendous. For 2 or 3 days whenever she tested at the plant she came up positive for plutonium contamination. Sometimes these levels tested over 400 times the legal limit. You know someone did that to her. It's not like she poked her hand into some nuclear fuel rods for fun and then drove home with it.

Then the real horror began. Karen was scheduled to meet with a NY Times journalist to go public with the story. On her drive there, she was forcefully run off the road and killed. All of the documents she had for the reporter were missing when her car and body were eventually found.

Her death prompted a federal investigation which led to the Kerr-McGee plant closing in 1975. The grounds were still being decontaminated over 25 years later!

Her estate sued on behalf of her 3 children and it had to go before the Supreme Court before a victory was won. But it was won.

The movie, Silkwood, with Meryl Streep as Karen Silkwood adequately expresses the shock, horror and utter humiliation of her contamination. It is a great film and won Streep one of her Best Actress Oscars.

We will always remember Karen Silkwood for her brave efforts to fight "The Man" and trying to protect herself and her fellow workers from cost-cutting corporate scumbags who kill to protect profit.