The Nation - News from Oct. 19, 1988

Ohio Gov. Richard F. Celeste said that he demanded in a letter that President Reagan shut down a government-owned uranium processing plant until something is done to stop the radioactive pollution it produces. The Energy Department admitted Friday at a congressional committee hearing in Washington that the government has known of dangerous environmental problems at the Feed Materials Production Center since it was established in 1951, Celeste said. The plant, located in Fernald about 18 miles northwest of Cincinnati, processes uranium for nuclear weapons. The letter demands that the Energy Department, which owns the plant, pay for health evaluations of plant employees and nearby residents.