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New Health Concerns About Bannister Federal Complex

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kcur/local-kcur-881923.mp3

Kansas City, Mo. – The Honeywell Plant has produced parts for nuclear weapons at the Bannister Federal Complex in South Kansas City for about 60 years. Plans to construct a $650 million new plant near the Richards Gebaur Air Force Base are awaiting final approval of a tax abatement from the Kansas City, Missouri's city council. The 10-building complex not only houses the plant, which produces non-nuclear components for weapons, but also the General Services Administration and the Department of Energy.

Some opponents of the project say some of the health problems developed by workers at or near the plant have never addressed. The government has been compensating workers from the weapons side of the building for some time. But there are new claims that federal employees who worked the non-production side of the building may have also been exposed to toxins and are suffering health problems.

NBC Action News investigative reporter Russ Ptacek has created a list of current and former workers, as well as contractors and family members who believe they have illnesses that can be linked to toxins. KCUR's Susan B. Wilson talked to him about his research.

Click here for the report from NBC Action News.

This story was produced for KC Currents. To listen on your own schedule, subscribe to the KC Currents Podcast.

A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Susan admits that her “first love” was radio, being an avid listener since childhood. However, she spent much of her career in mental health, healthcare administration, and sports psychology (Susan holds a PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania and an MBA from the Bloch School of Business at UMKC.) In the meantime, Wilson satisfied her journalistic cravings by doing public speaking, providing “expert” interviews for local television, and being a guest commentator/contributor to KPRS’s morning drive time show and the teen talk show “Generation Rap.”
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