Pentagon gives Middleton workers more info

The Pentagon has issued a report giving those who worked at a southeast Iowa munitions plant a clear signal that they can talk to their doctors about some aspects of their work. Military officials have given workers at the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant in Middleton the go-ahead to talk with their doctors about the chemicals they handled, but the workers are still barred from talking about what they made. The plant has long been suspected to have been a nuclear weapons facility and workers were required to sign secrecy oaths. The Pentagon will send a letter to the more than 38-thousand people who have worked or are working at the plant, explaining what they can and cannot talk about. Senator Tom Harkin says the military needs to go further to tear down more of what he calls the “wall of secrecy” that has kept the workers from finding out about the health risks they may have been exposed to, and getting the health care they need.