steven
August 1st, 2010, 01:51 AM
WASHINGTON — Bethlehem Steel workers and their surviving family members Tuesday approached final victory in their long fight for federal compensation for exposure to nuclear materials during work on Cold War-era projects a half-century ago.
The Centers for Disease Control announced that Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius had approved a panel’s recommendation that the Bethlehem workers from Lackawanna be included in a “special exposure cohort” that allows them to file for federal compensation.
Sebelius’ decision will take effect on Aug. 14 unless Congress acts to stop it — a move that no lawmakers are known to be considering.
So in effect, Sebelius’ move means that Bethlehem workers and their survivors will be able to apply for federal payments of up to $150,000.
“It’s a final step in a long fight that these people have waged,” said Rep. Brian Higgins, D-Buffalo. “And it’s a very good thing. The federal government is going to live up to its responsibility here.”
Led by Bethlehem retiree Ed Walker, who died of bladder cancer two years ago, the workers and their families fought for a decade to get the federal government to compensate them for the unknown dangers they faced at their jobs.
From the 1940s to the ’60s, employees at Bethlehem and other Buffalo area plants worked on federal contracts to process uranium and other radioactive materials for the Manhattan project and other government purposes.
Many employees later became sick with cancer and other illnesses that could be related to nuclear exposure. But the government refused to compensate them for their suffering, saying records proving the nuclear connection to their illnesses were either inadequate or nonexistent.
But in May, a panel advising the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recommended that the Bethlehem employees be made eligible for compensation. And Sebelius agreed with the panel’s action in a written declaration last week.
http://www.buffalonews.com/city/communities/lackawanna/article78768.ece
The Centers for Disease Control announced that Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius had approved a panel’s recommendation that the Bethlehem workers from Lackawanna be included in a “special exposure cohort” that allows them to file for federal compensation.
Sebelius’ decision will take effect on Aug. 14 unless Congress acts to stop it — a move that no lawmakers are known to be considering.
So in effect, Sebelius’ move means that Bethlehem workers and their survivors will be able to apply for federal payments of up to $150,000.
“It’s a final step in a long fight that these people have waged,” said Rep. Brian Higgins, D-Buffalo. “And it’s a very good thing. The federal government is going to live up to its responsibility here.”
Led by Bethlehem retiree Ed Walker, who died of bladder cancer two years ago, the workers and their families fought for a decade to get the federal government to compensate them for the unknown dangers they faced at their jobs.
From the 1940s to the ’60s, employees at Bethlehem and other Buffalo area plants worked on federal contracts to process uranium and other radioactive materials for the Manhattan project and other government purposes.
Many employees later became sick with cancer and other illnesses that could be related to nuclear exposure. But the government refused to compensate them for their suffering, saying records proving the nuclear connection to their illnesses were either inadequate or nonexistent.
But in May, a panel advising the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) recommended that the Bethlehem employees be made eligible for compensation. And Sebelius agreed with the panel’s action in a written declaration last week.
http://www.buffalonews.com/city/communities/lackawanna/article78768.ece