The Nation : Ohio Nuclear Weapons Plant Shut Down

In another blow to the nation’s reeling nuclear weapons program, the operator of a key uranium processing plant in Ohio has shut down the production lines because he said he could not bring it into compliance with safety and environmental regulations while the plant was running. Bruce Boswell, president of Westinghouse Materials Co. of Ohio, said that he ordered production halted at the Feed Materials Production Center in Fernald, outside Cincinnati, because “the site needed a significant emotional event” to jolt the work force into changing its attitude about safety and environmental rules. As he spoke, another of the so-called “Tiger Teams” of inspectors created by Energy Secretary James D. Watkins was descending on Fernald. Fernald has been one of the most troublesome of the 18 major production and storage sites targeted for inspection. The Energy Department has agreed to pay $73 million to 14,000 residents who claim they were harmed by escaping contamination at the plant.