Los Alamos, N.M. – A former Los Alamos National Laboratory chemist is alleging the lab forced her to resign after she refused to keep quiet about an accident at work that damaged her lungs.
Jaime Tournear, who worked at the lab from March 15, 2005, until Jan. 17, filed a lawsuit alleging the lab retaliated against her and violated her civil rights. She seeks unspecified damages and a court order to force Los Alamos to reinstate her.
Lab spokesman Kevin Roark declined to respond to the lawsuit. Los Alamos has a long- standing policy of not commenting on pending litigation, he said.
However, the lab filed a court response denying any retaliation.
The response said Tournear was asked to resign or be fired for misconduct. Los Alamos contends she lied during an investigation into the incident.
“Neither the First Amendment nor the public policy exception to the employment at-will doctrine permits an employee to lie during an investigation into a safety accident,” the lab response said.
Tournear’s lawsuit said she was hospitalized after the accident in June and suffered permanent damage from dangerous fumes from an acid mixture.
She reported the injuries in August, and the Department of Energy investigated.
After her report, she was banished from labs where she had ongoing research, causing serious delays in finishing her projects, she said.
Tournear was given the opportunity to resign after being told Jan. 5 that Los Alamos intended to fire her.
According to the federal court lawsuit:
Tournear, told to clean chemistry glassware, had to mix nitric and hydrochloric acids for the cleaning solution. She expressed concern to a supervisor about mixing the acids because the exhaust hood in the particular laboratory didn’t work. The supervisor told her to go ahead.
Soon after the acids were mixed, Tournear and a co- worker experienced reactions. Tournear reported the inhalation of fumes to her supervisor.
The supervisor dismissed her symptoms and dissuaded her from going to Los Alamos lab’s health clinic, fearing the Lab 402 would be shut down. The supervisor did not report the incident to her superiors or medical personnel.
Tournear reportedly experienced high fever, difficulty breathing and pneumonia over the next few days and ended up in an emergency room, suffering abdominal pain, while visiting Rhode Island.
