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Correction: Because of a reporting error, this story on cases filed against the federal government by former workers at the classified Nevada base known as Groom Lake incorrectly stated the reaction of 9th Circuit Court of Appeals judges to arguments made by the workers' attorney, Jonathan Turley. Only Judge Pamela Rymer criticized Turley's comments before the three-judge panel.
    The panel was hearing Turley's appeal of U.S. District Judge Philip Pro's rulings in one of two suits filed by the former workers and the government's appeal of orders Pro issued in the workers' other suit. The workers allege the government harmed their health and violated federal environmental laws by burning hazardous chemical wastes at the base near Groom Lake.

Lawyer hopes to take Area 51 dangers public

      SAN FRANCISCO -- Appeals judges ridiculed arguments Wednesday by a lawyer who urged them to disregard national security concerns and allow him to sue the government for harm suffered by workers at the classified Area 51 base in Nevada.
      Judge Pamela Rymer of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at one point even scolded Washington, D.C., attorney Jonathan Turley for making exaggerated arguments.
      "You have a serious problem here, Mr. Turley," she said. "I am trying to get you to explain to me in English."
      Justice Department lawyers smiled at each other at times during Turley's presentation. They did not use all their allotted time for oral arguments at the hour-long appeal hearing.
      Turley wants the court to overturn a summary judgment made by U.S. District Judge Philip Pro of Las Vegas in March 1996.
      He threw out the lawsuit Turley brought for former workers at the classified Air Force installation, commonly known as Area 51, on grounds it presented a risk to national security. The base is in Lincoln County, about 90 miles north of Las Vegas.
      Turley alleges the government violated federal environmental laws by its open burning of hazardous chemical wastes at the base.
      "If American people knew what is stored at Area 51, they would be outraged," he said after the hearing. "It has nothing to do with national security."
      In an interview on the courthouse steps, Turley said President Clinton is the first president in American history to cover a crime by making a national security declaration to block a trial.
      "There is no question President Clinton is responsible," he said. "President Clinton was given a formal briefing (on the burning at the base)."
      Under a presidential determination, which must be made annually, Clinton has decreed that evidence related to workers' deaths or injuries is a top-secret matter of national security and cannot be disclosed.
      Turley expects that Rymer and two other judges will not make an actual decision on whether to reopen the lawsuit for two to three months.
      Robert Klarquist, a Justice Department lawyer, would make no comments after the hearing. He also refused to acknowledge the base's existence.
      Instead, he said the government has an "operating facility" at the dry Groom Lake bed.
      He said this facility may "overlap" with Area 51, which is listed on old Department of Energy maps for the Nevada Test Site.
      Such comments induced Turley to flatly accuse the federal government of lying.
      "I don't know why this court needs to accommodate executive interest," he added.
      The Air Force is believed to have developed the stealth and other aircraft at the base. Jets from McCarran International Airport ferry workers to the site daily.
      UFO enthusiasts and Hollywood filmmakers also repeatedly have suggested the government experiments with aliens and alien aircraft at the facility.
      Rymer even referred to the alien hype when she said, "It may be Area 51 for 'Independence Day,' " a top-grossing movie, but that may not be the base's actual name.
      Turley told the judges their decision will have national ramifications and affect how future cases dealing with national security are handled.
      "I may lose, but I have to be given a chance," he said.
      Rymer said Turley should not make arguments about the "cosmic significance" of the case.
      "There is no need for us to make law for all time for all cases," she said.
      Instead, the panel should examine Pro's findings and decide whether he made a proper ruling, she said.
      In his courthouse step interview, Turley described how the late Robert Frost, former husband of one of his clients, developed a chemical reaction to a Area 51 burning that left bloody fish-scale substances all over his body.
      "My clients don't want a dime," he said. "This is about government accountability."
      He also represents the widow of Walter S. Kasza, another Groom Lake worker who he says died from reaction to toxic chemicals burned at the base. Kasza was 73 when he died, while Frost was 57.
      Turley said trucks from California arrived twice weekly at Area 51. He said they carried paints, solvents and chemical coatings used on the stealth aircraft.
      The contents were placed in 55-gallon drums, taken to pits and burned while smoke filtered throughout the operating facility, he said.
      "To admit Area 51 had waste would put it in the same category as a Jiffy Lube," he said, referring to a chain of automobile servicing outlets.
      He is handling the case for the widows of Frost and Kasza and about 25 other workers at no charge.
      Turley is director of the Environmental Law Advocacy Center at George Washington University.
      Because of donations from singer Barbra Streisand, he said he can take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court if he loses the appeal.
      Contacted in Washington, U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., said there should be some way to assist workers who suffer injuries at secret facilities.
      "Just because you work in a secret facility does not mean you lose all rights," he said.
      But workers now face 10-year prison sentences for divulging information about such facilities.