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Television station loses bid to have material opened up

A Las Vegas television station on Monday lost a bid to unseal material connected to a lawsuit against officials filed by former workers at the U.S. Air Force operating location near Groom Lake.

U.S. District Judge Philip Pro rejected a motion by KLAS-TV, Channel 8, to unseal the transcript of and documents related to a June 20 hearing regarding the litigation.

Despite the setback, Pro granted the station's request for status as a legitimately interested party in the case for purposes of challenging his orders.

The station had also sought edited versions of the documents, saying national security could be protected without such a sweeping sealing of all material.

Pro, in his order, agreed with an idea that the military had proposed _ that edited versions of the documents be provided after the litigation had been completed.

The workers claim they suffered various injuries as a result of exposure to hazardous wastes at the base, 35 miles west of Alamo.