Sick workers upset that compensation plan isn’t for all

Angie Wagner

Thursday, Nov. 2, 2000 | 9:49 a.m.

Jose Baca sat Wednesday clutching a list of 60 names of men he used to work with at the Nevada Test Site. He is the only one on the list still alive. Across the room, James McDonnell used an inhaler to get through the afternoon.

Another man struggled to talk because he only has half a tongue.

The men, their families and about 100 others came to the Clark County Library to see if legislation signed Monday by President Clinton will compensate them for illnesses caused by working in the nation's nuclear weapons complex.

"You people used us," Baca, 66, told Dr. David Michaels, assistant secretary for the Department of Energy's Office of Environment, Safety and Health.

"Now do something for all of us because we deserve it now. Not when we're dead," he said as the crowd of former workers cheered his words.

The legislation sets up a $275 million program to compensate the thousands of workers at nuclear weapons facilities exposed to dangerous levels of radiation and toxic substances. Of the 600,000 workers who helped develop the nation's nuclear weapons, 3,000 to 4,000 are expected to be eligible for benefits.

If Congress does not develop a compensation program by next July 31, those suffering from radiation-related illnesses would be entitled to lump-sum payments of $150,000 and medical care.

But the bill is confusing to some of the 100,000 workers who tested nuclear weapons at the Nevada Test Site, 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas.

An estimated 800 workers who worked in underground tunnels from 1951 to 1992 when the bombs exploded developed the lung disease silicosis, but the legislation doesn't apply to all silicosis victims.

Michaels said X-rays will be used to determine which silicosis victims will be compensated. Workers with "severe" silicosis will be compensated.

Some workers argued Wednesday that silicosis is a progressive disease and while it might not be severe now, it will be in the future.

"They're waiting for us to die," said Gene Singer, 74. "Maybe my grandkids will be able to enjoy this."

Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., organized the informational meeting, but was not able to attend because Congress is still in session. She participated by phone and told workers the bill isn't ideal.

"It isn't everything we wanted," she said. "We have got a foot in the door, a place at the table."

She said Nevada's congressional delegation will have to continue fighting for more compensation next year.

Michaels said a change in administration could "lead to delays in getting benefits out."

An advisory board appointed by the president will look at workers' medical records and determine compensation.

But some Nevada workers complained the government altered medical records when they tested them for radiation while they were still working at the test site.

"You weren't out there," Richard Pearce, 62, said to Michaels. "This is ridiculous."

Pearce has trouble breathing and his father, also a former test site worker, died of a brain tumor in 1969.

"My husband is sick," said Bertha Duncan, who came to the meeting with her 78-year-old husband, Mac. "What's wrong with the government? Everybody should get paid."