By the Herald editorial staff
We're not nuclear scientists or radiation experts, but we're willing to accept the recommendation from those who are -- especially after years of study.
Congress should approve the special exposure cohort for Hanford workers currently being recommended by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
A special cohort would make automatic $150,000 in compensation and extend medical coverage to potentially hundreds of sick Hanford workers who were employed for at least 250 days from Oct. 1, 1943, through June 30, 1972.
In the case of deceased workers, surviving family may be eligible for the payment.
The money would cover certain types of cancers that have been linked to radiation exposure. Until now, Hanford workers have faced a tough standard of having to provide a record of their exposure, not just have the cancer.
Unfortunately, record keeping from the early days at Hanford isn't all that reliable. (This is why the cleanup operation is always finding little surprises buried here and there.)
This artificial hurdle has led to three times as many claims being denied as those that have been approved.
By acknowledging probable exposure levels for special cohorts, many of those claims that have been previously denied or stalled could be approved.
The burden of proof for Cold War workers who have contracted cancer has been applied unevenly. Special exposure cohorts have been formed at other nuclear sites with inadequate records, and an advisory committee of the federal government voted unanimously last week to form one here.
This recommendation has been years in the making. There's no need to make sick Hanford workers or their families wait any longer.
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Compensating ill nuclear workers topic of meetings
Compensating ill nuclear workers topic of meetings
Meetings related to a program to compensate ill nuclear workers are planned Tuesday through Thursday in Richland.
The Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health will be discussing matters related to the compensation of workers who developed cancer after exposure to radiation.
Meetings start each day at 8:15 a.m. at the Courtyard by Marriott, 480 Columbia Point. Thursday's meeting will last only a half day.
DOE taking further asbestos protection steps
DOE taking further asbestos protection steps
Steps are being taken to increase protection of Hanford workers from asbestos after many workers raised questions about their safety in central Hanford, according to the Department of Energy.
On Thursday, top Hanford and union officials sent a message to all Hanford employees describing additional actions to make sure workers are not exposed to asbestos.
At issue are asbestos-containing materials from facilities that have not yet been demolished as part of the environmental cleanup at Hanford and asbestos-containing materials that might remain after buildings have been demolished to ground level.
Suit says FDA monitored staffers' private email
Suit says FDA monitored staffers' private email
Current and former Food and Drug Administration officials say in a lawsuit that the agency secretly monitored their private email after they raised concerns that approved medical devices might risk public safety.
Tri-City area colleges help laid off Hanford workers
Tri-City area colleges help laid off Hanford workers
Tri-City college campuses are offering help for workers who were laid off at Hanford.
Columbia Basin College in Pasco ramped up its worker retraining program with special orientations for former Hanford employees. And Washington State University Tri-Cities is creating a new program to turn workers from the site into teachers.
The changes come in response to announcements that about 2,000 Hanford workers have lost their jobs this spring and another 1,000 could be cut next year.
Atomic Man still has lessons to teach after 35 years
Atomic Man still has lessons to teach after 35 years
Thirty-five years after Hanford's "Atomic Man" was sprayed with americium in the nuclear reservation's worst radioactive accident, the case still has lessons for workers at the Department of Energy's nuclear complex.
What went wrong and the successful response to the accident were discussed at a symposium Tuesday as part of a DOE national conference on safety that drew 1,200 people to Kennewick.
Harold McCluskey, 64, was one of two chemical operators working to restart operations to reclaim americium from waste at an annex of Hanford's Plutonium Finishing Plant on the night shift Aug. 29, 1976. Work had stopped for five months because of a worker strike.
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