February 21, 2005
The Denver Post

Rocky Flats workers deserve federal help


Red tape is slowing aid to former employees of the nuclear weapons facility
who suffer from illnesses linked to hazardous materials that they handled.

For decades, workers at the Rocky Flats nuclear bomb factory near Boulder
handled some of the most dangerous elements on Earth, such as plutonium.
Many of the employees now suffer from cancers and other illnesses that may
be linked to hazardous materials they were exposed to on the job. They
should be compensated, but the U.S. government has a cumbersome system for
determining if medical payments are warranted.

The United Steelworkers of America wants federal officials to relax the
paperwork required for sick Rocky Flats workers to get help. Existing rules
require workers to detail when and how they may were exposed to radiation
and other hazards, and show a causal link with their current illnesses. But
records that could prove the claims have been lost.

Two members of Colorado's congressional delegation, Democrat Mark Udall of
the 2nd District and Republican Bob Beauprez of the 7th, are co-sponsoring
a bill to create an exemption for Rocky Flats workers. Employees at four
other nuclear defense facilities already have been granted such waivers.
Yet the legislative process is long and uncertain, and Rocky Flats workers
need help now.

But the administrative process could move quickly if managers wanted it so.
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) should
grant the United Steelworkers Local 8031's petition and send it to Health
and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt for approval.

Uncle Sam has a horrible record of compensating injured Cold War workers.
In 2000, Congress gave the U.S. Department of Energy $95 million to pay
claims from injured nuclear defense workers, but after four years, DOE had
paid just 31 of 25,000 claims. Last year, Congress moved the program to the
Labor Department, which has acted on the claims more quickly than DOE did.

Still, Labor officials rely on their counterparts at Health and Human
Services on medical issues. Sadly, HHS rules make little sense when applied
to Rocky Flats.

Rocky Flats workers have filed more than 2,100 claims with the Labor
Department, but only 219 have been paid to date. That's too few. The NIOSH
should grant the petition, Leavitt should OK it and Labor should write the
checks.