Compensation bill OK’d

Friday, Oct. 13, 2000 | 11:14 a.m.

The Senate passed compensation for former Cold War workers late Thursday, a major victory for thousands who labored to build the U.S. nuclear arsenal.

A day after the House approved compensation for former nuclear bomb builders and testers, including those at the Nevada Test Site, the Senate passed the measure on a 91-2 vote. It now goes to President Clinton for his signature.

The bill provides $275 million to compensate about 4,000 workers nationwide who were exposed to radiation, silica, which causes a lung condition similar to asbestosis, and beryllium, a heavy metal that also can cause lung diseases.

Eligible workers or their survivors will receive a lump sum payment of $150,000, and the ill workers will get medical benefits for the rest of their lives.

About 800 of the estimated 100,000 people who labored at the Test Site, 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas, from 1951 to 1992 are expected to qualify for benefits over the next five to 10 years. Another 10,000 uranium miners could also be eligible.

Other sites in Nevada whose workers are eligible include the Central Nevada Test Site, 60 miles northeast of Tonopah, Project Shoal, 30 miles southeast of Fallon, and the Tonopah Test Range.

About 600,000 people worked under a veil of secrecy to produce, test or research nuclear weapons at 54 sites in 31 states.

Sens. Bob Kerrey, D-Neb., and Russell Feingold, D-Wis., voted against the $310 billion Defense Department authorization bill, because of $60 billion over 10 years allotted to pay Medigap insurance for veterans. Seven senators did not vote.

Sens. Richard Bryan and Harry Reid, both D-Nev., praised the passage of the nuclear workers compensation package.

"From the very beginning, this has been a question of simple fairness," Bryan said. "Ultimately, we have come a long way in finally getting the federal government to admit its responsibility and provide compensation for these deserving workers."

Energy Secretary Bill Richardson admitted for the first time in April that workers had been exposed to radiation and toxic substances such as the beryllium and silicosis from dust particles. All three contaminants were present in the Test Site tunnels and at other sites.

"The Cold War has ended, but our commitment to those individuals who made our victory possible has not," Reid said, adding how hard it was to pass the bill. "That was a struggle. It was dead a few times."

Both senators expressed regret that the original Senate compensation bill failed to survive negotiations with the House Republican leadership last week. Under the initial legislation, workers or their families would have received $200,000 each with medical benefits for the surviving laborers.

The approved bill's language specifies that workers affected by silicosis would receive benefits unless the president determines within 180 days that they should not.

In return, the workers or their families cannot sue the government or its contractors.

Widow Dorothy Clayton watched as her husband, Glenn, suffered from five cancers in the brain, bladder and lungs after recovering equipment and data from Test Site tunnels where nuclear weapons exploded. He died June 5, 1999. Dorothy Clayton, with Reid's help, uncovered more than 1,300 secret documents detailing her husband's exposure.

"I'm extremely happy, I'm thrilled with the vote," Clayton said Thursday night.

"This is going to make up for the retirement fund that went to pay for the hospital and medical bills," she said.

For those workers or survivors who cannot prove exposure to radiation or the toxins, lawmakers offered them the benefit of the doubt.

The bill gives the executive branch until March 15 to adopt an alternative compensation plan. The money is expected to become available about this time next year.