Editorial: Don’t leave ex-Test Site workers out

Friday, March 3, 2000 | 9:06 a.m.

We won the Cold War in part because of the patriotic work performed by men and women at the Nevada Test Site, where nuclear weapons were detonated from 1951 to 1992. What the public did not realize, and what the federal government failed to acknowledge, was the level of danger and self-sacrifice those workers endured.

It was not until a Department of Energy hearing in North Las Vegas last week that many former Test Site employees publicly disclosed their exposure to hazardous materials that wrecked their health. As reported by the Sun's Mary Manning, they absorbed radiation, dust and asbestos as well as diesel fumes and toxic solvents. Many contracted lung disease and are dependent on oxygen tanks. Others need wheelchairs, canes or walkers.

It would be wrong to assume that individuals who tested nuclear weapons at the facility 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas should have known about the potential health risks. Many were kept in the dark about the hazardous materials they either handled or absorbed. Records that would have documented that exposure in many cases are nowhere to be found. But the fact that dozens of former Test Site workers have required hospitalization is evidence that they were not protected from unsafe levels of radiation and other contaminants.

One would think that these individuals would have been richly compensated by the federal government long ago. Sadly, this is not the case. The government's repeated failure to care for people who contracted serious ailments at top secret installations represents one of the darkest pages in our nation's history. We recognize the importance of maintaining secrecy over weapons testing to protect national security. But for the government to hide behind that secrecy, as an excuse to deny compensation to ailing workers, is inhumane.

That is why we join Nevada Democratic Sens. Harry Reid and Richard Bryan in urging Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., to amend his bill that would compensate ailing workers at DOE facilities in Paducah, Ky., and Oak Ridge, Tenn. We believe current and former Test Site employees should also be covered by that legislation. Likewise, we encourage the Clinton administration to do what it can for those Nevadans.

Compensating workers for exposure to hazardous materials in Kentucky and Tennessee but not doing the same for Nevadans cannot be justified. If Bingaman has any doubts about the claims from ailing former Test Site workers, we invite him to Southern Nevada to see for himself.