Bob Sands

That with 50 years of technological advances since Karen died, Steve could now tell us, without a doubt, what happened in the moments leading up to the crash.

That with 50 years of technological advances since Karen died, Steve could now tell us, without a doubt, what happened in the moments leading up to the crash.

We wanted that closure for them, for everyone.

We wanted that closure for them, for everyone.

But Steve's presentation brought up some feelings for Christy. She wanted to remind us about some of the fundamental questions in this story that continue to matter, and how our attempts to try and get definitive answers about Karen's fatal car crash might actually not be the way forward as we think about where we want to go next in our own investigation.

But Steve's presentation brought up some feelings for Christy. She wanted to remind us about some of the fundamental questions in this story that continue to matter, and how our attempts to try and get definitive answers about Karen's fatal car crash might actually not be the way forward as we think about where we want to go next in our own investigation.

We ask her to record part of the message she sent us.

We ask her to record part of the message she sent us.

She wanted safe working conditions, and she tried to do something about that.

She wanted safe working conditions, and she tried to do something about that.

Well, in the end, the Kerr-McGee plutonium plant did shut down. It wasn't long after Karen died, actually. The company couldn't reach a deal for a new contract to keep manufacturing its fuel rods. So on November 13, 1975, on the first anniversary of Karen's death, Kerr-McGee announced it was closing the plant. And by the end of that year, most of the workers were laid off.

Well, in the end, the Kerr-McGee plutonium plant did shut down. It wasn't long after Karen died, actually. The company couldn't reach a deal for a new contract to keep manufacturing its fuel rods. So on November 13, 1975, on the first anniversary of Karen's death, Kerr-McGee announced it was closing the plant. And by the end of that year, most of the workers were laid off.

Karen probably wouldn't have wanted her friends and co-workers to lose their jobs. But I've come to see the closure of the Kermagee plant as some kind of vindication for her. That in the end, maybe she got what she wanted, even if it wouldn't have been how she wanted it. She wanted a safe plant, and she wanted the rest of us to know about the hazards that alarmed her.

Karen probably wouldn't have wanted her friends and co-workers to lose their jobs. But I've come to see the closure of the Kermagee plant as some kind of vindication for her. That in the end, maybe she got what she wanted, even if it wouldn't have been how she wanted it. She wanted a safe plant, and she wanted the rest of us to know about the hazards that alarmed her.

Well, consider that a mission accomplished.

Well, consider that a mission accomplished.

I think it's fair to say Karen's story, the publicity around her contamination, death, and the civil trial were all part of that. There was also the partial meltdown of a big nuclear reactor in Pennsylvania, Three Mile Island, in 1979. It was a huge story that really frightened a lot of people.

I think it's fair to say Karen's story, the publicity around her contamination, death, and the civil trial were all part of that. There was also the partial meltdown of a big nuclear reactor in Pennsylvania, Three Mile Island, in 1979. It was a huge story that really frightened a lot of people.

Altogether, the late 70s was a time when the risks and potential health issues of nuclear power started to feel real to the American public, visible, tangible in ways they hadn't before.

Altogether, the late 70s was a time when the risks and potential health issues of nuclear power started to feel real to the American public, visible, tangible in ways they hadn't before.