Editorial: Cold War legacy’s blemish

Friday, April 14, 2000 | 9:50 a.m.

It certainly was welcomed when the Clinton administration said in November that it was considering a compensation package for some workers in the nation's nuclear weapons program who had been exposed to radiation and other job-related illnesses. The announcement reversed the federal government's decades-long hostility to the workers' claims.

Under the proposal unveiled in November, eligible workers would receive a one-time, $100,000 lump-sum payment. But it was limited, only providing compensation for a select group of workers at the Department of Energy's Paducah, Ky., plant and the department's site in Oak Ridge, Tenn. A subsequent eight-month review of the plan, by the White House's National Economic Council, has produced a much better proposal. The number of plants covered and the benefits offered have grown considerably.

Now nuclear weapons facilities in 10 states will be covered, including the Nevada Test Site. It is estimated that more than 3,000 workers, who were exposed to radiation and other hazardous chemicals, could be helped. In addition, the new proposal gives those workers who are eligible more flexibility. They either can take the $100,000 lump sum originally offered or they can seek another plan, which would guarantee payment for medical bills, lost wages and even job retraining. This latter option for many workers could be more attractive, especially since the medical bills alone could exceed the $100,000 limit.

The illnesses borne by these workers have been devastating. As the Sun's Mary Manning noted in a story Wednesday on this breakthrough, since the 1960s government medical testing indicated higher incidences of cancers, including thyroid tumors and leukemia, at most of the major nuclear weapons facilities. Also, a slight increase in leukemia was found after the 1950s above-ground atomic explosions at the Nevada Test Site.

The administration's five-year, $520 million plan, though, needs approval from Congress before it becomes a reality. The administration has done the right thing. Now Congress should follow through and finally acknowledge the federal government's responsibility to these workers. The government can't come close to righting this wrong, but at the very least it can offer financial compensation and medical care for those workers who already have suffered so much.