Cancer Runs Amuck at NASA’s Glenn Research Center
Recently approximately 40 out of 100 employees have been diagnosed with
cancer within the NASA Glenn Research Center building in Cleveland, Ohio,
also referred to as the NASA John H. Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field
as of March 1, 1999. The majority of NASA employees feel the cancer arose
because of working in the developmental engineering building, according to
a report by News Channel 5.
Various forms of cancer have been found in the employees in the past three
to four years, according to a union that represents many scientists and
NASA employees. “What we’ve seen in the way of cancer here has just been
astronomical on this third floor alone and we’re just a little scared,”
said Dennis Pehotsky, of the Lewis Engineers and Scientists Association.
Not in the least bit surprising, NASA has denied the charges spoken by the
union and certain employees, saying their employee survey has shown the
cancer rates are within the normal range. But the union officials have
said the employees working for NASA are not being honest due to reprisal
if they speak the truth, and are demanding more specific testing done for
carcinogens than what NASA has done in the past.
NASA’s Glenn Research Center is located along Lake Erie, specializing in
spaceflight systems, propulsion, power, communications, microgravity
science and human research. Well known for its advances in aviation and
space exploration, research and technology, it began its scientific work
in 1942 but was not incorporated into NASA until later on as a laboratory
for aircraft engine research.
Another division of the Glenn Research center is the Plum Brook field
station which is about 6,400-acres near Sandusky, Ohio. It is considered
the world’s only facility that is capable of testing full-scale
upper-stage launch vehicles and rocket engines, considered hazardous
within the confines of the main campus. The Spacecraft Propulsion
Facility at Plum Brook Station has the world’s largest space environment
simulation chamber, with cryogenic test facilities and a hypersonic wind
tunnel.
As of 2006, NASA Glenn Research Center announced that it had secured
management of the Crew Exploration Vehicle’s service module. This new
position generated millions of dollars at the center in addition to
offering hundreds of new jobs, as the Glenn Research Center control their
own management and budgeting for the project. What is good about this is
the shift in priority for the center from aeronautic research to space
exploration, which aligns itself closer to NASA’s new mission, making the
publicity for the 40% to 50% of cancer out of 100 employees in one
building a very negative thing right now.
This entry was posted on Monday, April 7th, 2008 at 6:44 pm and is filed under Public Relations, Space Agency News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
