Friday, July 6, 2001

Bill Donovan Staff Writer

U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) was in Gallup Thursday to bring attention to changes in federal laws that will provide millions of federal dollars to former Navajo uranium workers and their families. 

After 11 years during which the federal government has bestowed tens of millions of dollars on Navajo families, the rules have changed and these changes, which go into effect on July 31, promise to bestow millions of dollars more. 

And, Bingaman said, some of this money will go to Navajo families that have already received an award of $100,000. 

All of this centers around changes in the federal Radiation Exposure Compensation Act or RECA, as it has become known in this area. 

The law was enacted to compensate Navajos and others who have been affected by uranium mining or nuclear bomb tests from the mid-1940s to the early 1960s. 

For most of these years, more than a dozen uranium mines and mills were scattered throughout the Navajo Reservation as the Four Corners area became one of the primary suppliers of uranium to the federal government, which used the ore to build nuclear weapons. 

But, Bingaman said, the federal government failed in letting the hundreds of Navajos working in the uranium mines know about the dangers even though the government by the early 1950s knew of the danger. 

So RECA was passed to compensate the former uranium workers or their surviving widows for the lingering effects that most miners suffered from their years of working in the mines with no form of protection. Many of these miners contracted cancer and other life-threatening diseases. 

As a result of complaints by the Navajo Nation and many of the families, Congress last year passed legislation to extend the coverage and provide even more money to Navajos who qualify. 

Originally, former Navajo uranium workers or their widows were entitled to a one-time grant of $100,000 but last year's legislation increased that to $150,000 at the urging of Bingaman. 

Bingaman said Thursday that the change was made because Congress agreed to that amount as compensation to former national laboratory workers whose efforts helped the United States win the Cold War. The Navajo efforts were just as important, so everyone is now entitled to a one-time grant of $150,000. 

"This increase will certainly not take away the pain that so many uranium workers have suffered, but it was an important step for the federal government to take," he said. 

The increase will also affect those families that already have received $100,000, he said, making them eligible to receive an additional $50,000. 

He added that Navajo families who apply and qualify for the grant will get an immediate $50,000 and the additional $100,000 when the money becomes available. 

The federal program had run out of money several months ago and Navajo families who were ruled eligible for the grant were given IOUs from the government saying the money would be turned over as soon as Congress replenished the funds. 

That replenishment is now expected to occur within the next week or so, Bingaman said. A bill is now going through its last stages in Congress that will replenish the dried-up fund. 

Bingaman said the bill is part of a $6 billion Department of Defense bill that has the support of both parties and the administration. The bill provides an additional $84 million for the RECA program. 

The $84 million figure was arrived at by taking into account all of the IOUs that have been issued in recent months as well as an estimate of how many more Navajos and non-Navajos (most of whom became ill as a result of living downwind from nuclear testing sites in the 1950s and '60s) are still eligible to receive funds. 

Since no one knows for sure exactly how many more Navajo and Navajo families are eligible for compensation, Bingaman said that Congress will probably have to provide more money for the fund in future years. 

Bingaman stressed that families who feel they are eligible for compensation under the bill or who had received only $100,000 should go ahead and apply since $50,000 will be made available immediately and other funds will be made available once the program's funds are replenished.

More families eligible

Congress has also provided other changes to the legislation that will result in more Navajo families being eligible for compensation. 

For example, the government has reduced its requirements for documentation of the miner's work record to qualify for federal benefits. The grant has also been extended to mill workers and those involved in the transportation of the uranium ore. 

Also, for the first time, the federal government has agreed to reimburse former Navajo uranium miners for medical treatment but only for treatment that occurs after July 30 and only for payments that the family has made for the treatment. 

Bingaman said that in cases where the former miner and his wife had both died, the children can still apply for the grant but the way the children are treated is different under the new legislation than it was under the current law. 

"It's confusing but we are hoping to get legislation passed to correct this," Bingaman said. 

He was asked Thursday if children of former miners who may have received birth effects or health programs as a result of their father's working in the mines are also eligible for reimbursement of medical expenses. 

The answer to that is no, mainly because the effects of exposure to uranium usually take 20 to 30 years before the person becomes ill and by that time he would have had his children. 

There is no deadline for filing but Bingaman urged those who think they qualify to do so as quickly as possible since money should be available in the next few weeks.

How to apply

To apply for the grant, families must file a form which can be acquired through calling the Department of Labor toll-free at 1-866-888-3322. 

Persons should ask for the compensation form for the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program and a Privacy Act release. Specify whether you are a surviving miner, mill worker or transportation worker, or a survivor since the forms are different. For those who have access to the Internet, the forms are also available by going to www.dol.gov/