Cost May Kill Compensation for Ailing Nuclear Workers

A bill to compensate thousands of government nuclear workers who suffer from radiation-related diseases may fail to pass Congress this year because of disagreements over the $938-million cost, a top Department of Energy official said Tuesday.

Assistant Energy Secretary David Michaels said the bill was foundering in the House because lawmakers view the five-year proposal for ailing former nuclear workers as too costly.

Michaels also criticized a House proposal to further examine the issue before making any payments.

“The offer proposed by the House of Representatives will require additional studies and legislation before a single dollar will be paid to a single worker,” Michaels said.

“We do not think additional studies or legislation are needed,” he added.

The Clinton administration and congressional Democrats are urging Republicans to pass the legislation before Congress ends its session in October.

“That is a callous disregard for the innocent victims who suffer from radiation-related illnesses,” Sen. Richard H. Bryan, a Democrat from Nevada, told Reuters, referring to the House proposal.

A House official said lawmakers want a “common-sense” compromise.

“We want to have a program that helps these people without busting the budget,” said John Feehery, spokesman for House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.).

The Senate version of the legislation provided compensation of $200,000 per person or survivor, but the House version lacks any compensation provision, Bryan said.

About 600,000 employees worked at 16 major nuclear facilities and dozens of smaller sites around the country during World War II and the Cold War. Thousands were exposed to high levels of radiation and beryllium, and later developed diseases such as cancer and silicosis, Michaels said.