Sunday, October 10, 2004, 12:00 A.M. Pacific
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Program improved for ill nuclear workersBy Nancy Zuckerbrod
The Associated PressWASHINGTON — Congressional lawmakers have agreed to dramatically reform a compensation program for sick nuclear-weapons workers and take it out of the hands of the Energy Department, which has been criticized for taking too long to pay the workers.
The program is for tens of thousands of people nationwide who helped build Cold War-era bombs or cleaned up waste left behind. Many got sick from harsh toxins and are seeking compensation for disabling illnesses and time off the job.
House and Senate negotiators finalized a defense-authorization bill Friday that included an overhaul of the program, which was created by Congress four years ago.
The changes include moving it to the Labor Department and requiring the government — not contractors who ran the nuclear sites — to pay the bills.
Worker advocates say that's necessary because some deemed eligible for compensation were not getting paid because the contractors are long gone. In other cases, the government could not compel contractors to pay because they are privately insured.
"It guarantees a willing payer and will ensure that these claims are processed in a timely manner," said Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., who helped write the changes. "Since the program was created four years ago, not one Kentuckian has been paid the benefits they are owed."
Most of those who filed claims worked for contractors at Energy Department facilities in Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, New Mexico, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee and Washington state.
The Labor Department will rely on a national formula, rather than state workers' compensation laws, in deciding how much to pay workers for their disabilities and lost wages. The most any worker can receive is $250,000.
But the workers can apply for additional help under a separate Labor Department program if they have radiation-related cancer or diseases linked to lung-clogging beryllium and silica.
The overhauled program also helps dependent survivors of sick workers.
The program's estimated cost is about $1 billion over 10 years.
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