Yesterday marked the third day of trial in a wrongful termination lawsuit brought by a former graduate student against the University’s Board of Regents.

Robert McGee, 54, is suing the regents under Michigan’s Whistleblower's Protection Act for allegedly being terminated from his graduate research student assistant position after filing allegations of safety violations against the professor he was working for.

McGee testified Tuesday morning at the Washtenaw County Circuit Court, speaking to the seven-member jury about the grievances he suffered throughout the process.

McGee alleged in detail that Assistant Prof. Michael Hartman, who works in the nuclear engineering and radiological department, violated safety codes and put him at risk of exposure to Cesium 137 — a highly radioactive isotope.

On Feb. 16, 2008, Hartman asked McGee to assist him in installing a door in Nuclear Engineering Prof. Kimberlee Kearfott’s laboratory, located adjacent to his Neutron Science lab on North Campus.

Because it was a Saturday, Hartman and McGee were the only two people in the lab. McGee agreed to help, but was concerned about entering the lab because Kearfott had previously told him that her lab had restrictive access.

Before entering Kearfott’s lab, McGee asked Hartman if the University’s Radiation Safety Services and Kearfott knew they were going in the lab. According to McGee’s testimony, Hartman replied, “RSS, what a joke” and then stated RSS and Kearfott both knew about their entrance.

The two then entered without a survey meter or dosimeter — two safety devices that detect radiation.

The men found they could not install the door as planned, but Hartman walked further into the lab toward the area with the Cesium.

Prior to the incident, McGee said Kearfott had told him that she had concerns her safety equipment did not always function properly. With this mind, McGee said he had “no confidence in her safety systems” and became nervous about venturing deeper into the lab.

His fears were further heightened when Hartman asked him if he knew whether the machine containing the Cesium was on or off. Since Hartman didn’t know if it was emitting radiation, McGee’s first instinct was to get out of the area as quickly as possible, and he immediately vacated the premises.

McGee said he knew there was a 50-50 chance he had a received a dose of radiation because the machine was either on or off.

Turning to the jury, he started to choke up as he explained how he got in his car and called his wife to inform her of what had happened. He said he was scared because radiation can cause immediate effects or produce cancer 10 years down the road.

“I was upset,” McGee said. “I was mad. I was thinking about my safety.”

He added he was disappointed by Hartman’s actions.

“I trusted him,” he said. “Just a myriad of let downs were going through my head.”

McGee went home and tried finding a 24-hour radiation service. Unable to reach anyone and desperate to figure out if he had been exposed to radiation, he called Joseph Miklos, an Occupational Safety and Environmental Health coordinator for the University.

After hearing what happened, McGee said Miklos became upset and started to raise his voice and swear.

Miklos told McGee only four people were allowed in the area of the lab he and Hartman were in, and that the two of them were not part of the four.

In response to McGee’s inquiry into whether he had been exposed to radiation, Miklos said he didn’t know if the machine was on or off and that the only people who knew were Kearfott and her students.

Yesterday, University attorney David Masson called Miklos to the stand as a witness for the defense.

Miklos testified that McGee called him on Feb. 16 and expressed concern about possible exposure to Cesium 137. He said he assured McGee that radiation exposure was impossible because the Cesium 137 source had been inactive since the previous December.