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Law Compensates Workers for Radiation Exposures

paraphrased by Melissa Lovin

A government program that gives up to $100,000 to workers exposed to radiation during Cold-War-era uranium mining and nuclear testing has been expanded under a new law that recently passed Congress and was signed into law.

Changes are to a 1990 law giving payments to miners and nuclear test downwinders, those who live in areas affected most by nuclear fallout from tests, who now have cancer or show signs of other illnesses linked to their exposure to radiation. These changes include new cancers added to an existing eligibility list for payments and broadens the categories of people who may apply. It aims to compensate those who were unknowingly exposed to radiation during the development of the U.S. nuclear weapons arsenal during World War II until 1971. Above-ground nuclear testing in New Mexico and Nevada have spread radioactive fallout over large portions of the Southwest, and uranium miners often wore no protective equipment while working.

The law expands the eligible states to North and South Dakota, Idaho, Oregon, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, and Washington state ( with the first five being added). It also adds to the list those who transported uranium and open-pit uranium miners, drops provisions giving less money to downwinders or workers who smoked, and made the entire application process easier. It allows for $20 million a year for community health centers and state health departments to screen for claims.

According to Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, who backed the measure, the Justice Department had paid $24 million for 3,302 claims under the 1990 law and denied another 3,500 claims. He says that, with the changes in the law, up to 9,600 more could get compensation with the changes. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the program will cost $750 million during the next five years.