More nuclear workers to get money

Friday, Jan. 12, 2001 | 11:33 a.m.

A new proposal to expand coverage to nuclear workers, including thousands who worked at several Nevada sites, has a good chance of passing Congress this year, according to Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev.

The proposal includes workers exposed to radiation and dust at the Nevada Test Site, the proposed high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain and two other nuclear experiment sites in the state.

Improved coverage passed by Congress in October reduced the number of Nevada Test Site workers covered for silicosis. Nevada's four congressional representatives, however, managed to keep it in the bill.

Reid said he will speak to Energy Secretary-nominee Spencer Abraham and will question him during his confirmation hearing about the compensation package.

"It had bipartisan support last year," the senator said.

Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., said the latest bill improved the original, especially the silicosis aspect. "That is something I am going to fight for," he said. Gibbons also said he will talk to Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., and other GOP leaders.

Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., said the next round will be difficult, but doable. "It'll be tough. It's a cost factor," she said.

In this new plan, Energy Secretary Bill Richardson proposes broader benefits and better coverage for nuclear workers at 317 sites in 37 states, Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia and the Marshall Islands.

The new proposal would amend nuclear workers compensation passed by Congress in October.

Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, and the two experimental sites in rural Nevada were listed for the first time in the new, 42-page proposal.

"For many years, the government promoted a legacy of neglect toward those workers who helped build the strongest national security in the world," Richardson said Thursday in announcing the proposal.

From 1951 until 1992 an estimated 100,000 workers at the Test Site, 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas, helped develop nuclear warheads.

Yucca Mountain, although it has not been approved for burying 77,000 tons of highly radioactive waste 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, was included, which surprised local DOE officials who work on the project, a spokesman said. There is no radioactive contamination at the mountain.

Two nuclear experiments took place beyond the Test Site's boundaries. One, Project Shoal, occurred near Fallon, 60 miles east of Reno. The other, Project Faultless, exploded in Nye County and workers at both sites would be included in the compensation package.

Changes to the current compensation program include a choice for workers. They may receive a lump sum payment of $150,000, included in current law, or opt for compensation for lost wages under the new package.

Both the new bill and current law provide for medical expenses.

The proposed legislation also changes the way the compensation program is administered. Richardson called the proposals a way to clarify agency responsibilities for various activities and provide an appropriate review of eligibility under the program. The proposed standard relaxes a requirement for workers to produce X-rays showing advanced silicosis from dust exposure in tunnels. An appeals process for workers is also part of the new proposal.

The Health and Human Services Department will develop guidelines for the Labor Department to decide whether a cancer is likely to be related to a worker's exposure to radiation and to establish methods to estimate that exposure.

"The burden of proof is on the government, not the worker," Richardson said. "We will be open and candid this time, not like in the past."

Under the bill already approved by Congress, DOE workers who developed cancer after radiation exposure, as well as those with lung diseases from beryllium or silica, can receive government-paid medical care plus $150,000. The first checks are expected to get into workers' hands by the end of this year.

Workers can contact the DOE at a toll-free number: (877) 447-9756. They may also access the Energy Employees Occupational Initiative at eh.doe.gov/benefits.