Silkwood Page #5

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from the "New York Times". ..

get the company up against

the wall on negotiations.

But you'd have to have

documentation.

I don't know about putting

names in the newspaper.

Names aren't the point.

The point is

that if you're right...

they could kill off

two million people.

There's a moral imperative

involved here.

Think about it. Talk to Paul.

You look like a standup girl.

I'll be right there.

I've never seen

so many bands in my life.

All right,

we're going to go over...

your statements

for the AEC meeting.

And later, you and I

will go through yours.

There was 23 people there,

including us.

Of course, I couldn't

take any pictures...

while the meeting was going on.

Just imagine

all these old geezers...

sitting there,

pitchers of water...

and they all looked so bored.

It's like they had

heard it all before.

I think the union's

really going to help us now.

That doesn't

belong in here at all.

That's one of them slides

you can buy.

Oh, hell. May, did you

put them in this order?

I didn't touch them, Quincy.

There's the Lincoln Memorial,

of course.

That's where we stayed.

I couldn't get it

all in the picture.

You could get dinner

in your room if you wanted...

but we didn't.

I had one of the waiters

take this one.

Who's that guy?

That's Paul Stone.

He works for the union.

This is on the way

to the airport.

And that's the White House.

I wanted to take a picture

of Ol' Gerry Ford...

cooking his English muffin,

but they wouldn't let us in.

How many people know about

you going to Washington?

Only the people in that room.

Quincy and Morgan

know about your spying?

No.

People are going

to lose jobs, Karen.

Some of them ought to.

There's a moral imperative here.

You going to put

some big story in the papers?

In the "New York Times."

In the "New York Times."

Guess that about ties

the package up with a bow.

What's the matter with him?

Some guy in Washington

I should have told him about.

- Is that all?

- No.

What you doing?

Thinking.

Thinking. Drinking.

I was just thinking...

if you'd ever quit

and come away with me.

Well, I can't quit now.

That's what I was thinking.

It's cold out here.

Come on inside.

I quit.

You what?

This afternoon. Gave my notice.

- You quit?

- That's what I said.

This afternoon?

Why didn't you tell me?

I don't know.

I just didn't tell you.

why'd you quit?

I just don't give a sh*t.

You don't give a sh*t

if everybody in the plant...

is being poisoned?

Don't give me a problem

I can't solve.

Did you take

the waylon Jennings tapes?

I left them for you.

They're yours.

You can take them.

You can keep them, Karen.

Take it easy, Dolly.

Drew, come on. Stay.

Sweetheart, it's like

you're two people.

I'm in love with one of them...

but the other one's...

Just a general pain in the ass.

I loved it, baby.

What are you doing in there?

What are you doing in my desk?

If I tell you, you'll promise

not to tell anybody?

I keep my pills in there,

in that drawer...

because I have an allergy...

and they don't let you bring

medication into the plant...

so I hid them in there.

I don't believe you.

I think you should take

a person's word for something.

These don't look like

antihistamines to me.

Winston,

you know what these are?

These are little

tiny time capsules. ..

like the ones you see on TV.

They clear up

your nasal passages...

for up to 12 hours straight.

- Excuse me.

- God bless you.

In the coal mines years ago...

they used to put canaries

in the tunnels.

If the canaries dropped dead...

they knew there was a gas leak.

But it's a brand-new industry...

so you're the canaries.

The trouble is, you're not going

to drop dead right away.

It might take ten years.

Twenty. We don't know.

Here's what we know...

Plutonium causes cancer.

Anybody tells you

we don't know...

how much plutonium

causes cancer, they're lying.

What we don't know...

is how little plutonium

causes cancer.

The government says.. .

that the maximum

permissible body burden.. .

for your lifetime

is 40 nanocuries.

Let me tell you

how much that is.

That is a tiny dot

on a piece of paper.

we say that's too much.

We say that it takes

less than that to kill you.

We don't say

it's twice too much...

or three times too much.

We think that that is

115,000 times too much.

A pollen-sized

grain of plutonium.. .

injected in mice causes cancer.

When you inhale it,

and it lodges in your lungs...

you're married to cancer.

We've been through

all the training literature.. .

Kerr McGee hands out

to new employees...

and there's nothing

about cancer.

Did management give you

any literature about cancer?

Then you get contaminated,

and they tell you...

you've had an acceptable level

of contamination.

I say there's no such thing.

There must be some questions.

Is there any way to get

the plutonium out of you...

if it's inside your lungs?

You can take the lung out,

but that's a little extreme.

You want to get

something to eat?

Very nice meeting you.

Have a good night.

That was great.

The union is really in solid.

we don't have to worry about...

How come why didn't we hear

any of this before?

And we didn't see

any of you guys...

until they decided

to vote the union out or not?

If you're so worried about us...

where the hell were you

in the beginning?

What we're saying

is you need someone...

looking out for

your health and safety.

The company says

they're taking care of you.

Do you believe that?

- Yeah. I believe that.

- You do?

You're the only guy

in that room that still does.

Let me tell you something else.

Doesn't matter if you work

on plutonium or dog food...

because

they won't give you a thing.

There's nowhere left to go.

You start causing problems...

and Kerr McGee shuts

that plant down, then what?

You're up in Washington, D.C.

We're down here out of work.

Your cancer is a maybe.

That's all it is.

- He's just scared.

- Yeah.

The meeting was really good.

Yeah, look...

I got an early plane, Karen.

Meaning what?

I don't think this is smart,

us getting involved.

We already got involved.

Hi. This is Paul Stone.

I'm out right now...

but if you leave

a message after the beep...

I'll get back to you.

Hi, this is Karen.

I just wanted to let you know...

that we won

the union election 80 to 61...

and I'm real happy.

It's real hard

to keep calling you...

from a pay phone

if you're never there...

so that's why

I'm calling you from here.

I have some things that...

I really need

to talk to you about...

and I just wish

that I could talk to you.

Been under a lot

of pressure here, boy.

It's great

we won and everything.. .

but just.. .

Been under really

a lot of pressure, and...

I don't know. I feel like I'm...

All alone.

Guess you didn't hear

that last part.

Come on!

Do you want coffee?

I went to make popcorn

last night.. .

and there's no Wesson oil.

So, go get some.

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