06.19.06

Cantwell Calls for Action on Former Hanford Workers’ Benefits Status

Committee meets, discusses Hanford in light of audit saying former workers might be eligible for compensation

WASHINGTON, DC – Monday, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) commended the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Advisory Board for its discussion of former Hanford workers at its June meeting, but said more action was needed to make sure Hanford workers get fair compensation for work-related illnesses. Cantwell has urged the NIOSH Advisory Board to review the status of former Hanford workers since the release of an audit one year ago suggesting that a possible deficiency in data on worker radiation exposure between 1944 and 1968 may lead officials to underestimate exposure levels.

“Without further action and a full examination of this situation, we could wrongly deny compensation to thousands of deserving Washingtonians,” said Cantwell. “We need to review the situation and make sure we give former Hanford employees the benefits they deserve, rather than punish them for the government’s failure to record radiation exposure accurately. I’m pleased the Review Board discussed Hanford at its meeting last week, but we still don’t know the full extent of workers’ exposure to toxins. Some of these workers have waited years for help, and I’m going to continue working to see they get the fair treatment they deserve.”

An audit prepared by S. Cohen & Associates (SC&A, Inc.) and released on June 10, 2005 reviewed the Hanford site profile—a case history of activities at the Hanford nuclear facility—and found several instances where thousands of workers may be eligible for Special Exposure Cohort (SEC) status. SEC status would make former employees automatically eligible for workers’ compensation. Without SEC status, the deficiency in radiation exposure data may make it impossible for many of these workers to get compensation for radiation-related illnesses.

The June 2005 audit found potentially significant exposures of reactor workers to unmeasured neutrons and unplanned airborne releases of radionuclides. The report also noted inconsistencies over time in recording worker radiation exposure, and insufficient measurements taken for internal exposure to recycled uranium. Insufficient or inconsistent data could make it impossible to determine the actual exposure level of former workers through dose reconstruction. Without dose reconstruction, SEC status would be former workers’ only hope of compensation for their work related injuries or illnesses.

In October, following the release of the audit, Cantwell wrote to NIOSH urging the agency’s Advisory Board to review the audit’s findings and consider granting special Cohort Status to certain former Hanford workers. In a letter to Cantwell, NIOSH committed to discussing the audit’s findings and re-evaluating the benefits status of former Hanford workers. Last week, during its meeting from June 14 to 16, the Advisory Board discussed the Hanford site profile, but the Hanford Working Group has still not selected a time to meet to discuss the discrepancies between the Hanford site Profile and the SC&A audit, and no decision has been made regarding the status of former Hanford workers. Testimony submitted by Cantwell to the Advisory Board for their annual meeting can be found here 

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