The former technician says that her monitor dida very thorough job, "but I know there were a lotof other places where people just came in andleft."

The radiation labs are also regularly inspectedby non-Harvard authorities. The NRC is supposed todo secret, on-site visits every year, andinspectors' visits have resulted in lab closures.

But most of the time, employees say, Harvardsupervisors find out about the NRC visits inadvance and clean up the labs. "Everybody alwayslaughs that when the NRC inspects, they see adifferent lab," says the former employee.

When a worker is injured on the job or exposedto radiation or other hazards, Harvard has aresponsibility to pay damages.

"We look into whether the accident iswork-related or not" to see whether Harvard has topay compensation, says Vivian Ribeshi, a Harvardofficial involved in workers' compensation. "Ifit's determined that the injury is work-related,any costs that are incurred are paid by us."

Critics say that it is exceedingly difficult toprove that Harvard is at fault and that theUniversity has the financial resources towithstand a lengthy court proceeding, whileindividual employees do not.

"It's very difficult to prove beyond any kindof doubt that you were injured on the job,"Rheault said. When employees seeking compensationare faced with the potential of a drawn-out andexpensive court case, rather than continue withtheir suit, "they drop it.