Nevada Test site workers might be compensated for illnesses

WASHINGTON - Nevada Test Site workers and their families would be compensated for radiation-related illnesses under a bill passed by the Senate.

''These workers deserve compensation for health-care costs and lost wages and to assist those families whose loved ones died as a result of their work on our nation's nuclear defense program,'' said Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., who co-sponsored the bill.

About 3,000 workers nationwide who built and tested nuclear weapons in 10 states - including at the Nevada Test Site 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas - would be compensated for radiation-related health problems, according to a Department of Energy plan.

Workers at the Nevada Test Site oversaw nuclear weapons tests from 1951 to 1992.

Doctors have discovered lung scars in some workers that might have been caused by beryllium, a metal dust, or silica from dust in the test site's underground tunnels.

''This is a matter of simple justice for people who contributed to the national defense effort of this country and made it possible to prevail in the Cold War,'' said Sen. Richard Bryan, D-Nev., who also pushed for the legislation.

The Department of Energy announced in April that it had reversed a long-standing policy of denying compensation to workers who claimed their illnesses were caused by their government jobs.

The DOE called on Congress to begin paying workers who became ill and compensating families of those who died. In certain instances, workers or survivors could be eligible for payments of up to $200,000. The compensation package could cost more than $400 million over five years.

The Senate on Thursday approved legislation that authorizes spending for the program as part of the Defense Authorization Act.

The House version of the defense spending bill does not include the same amendment, only a nonbinding resolution so it's unclear whether the workers' compensation package will become law this year.

Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., said she is optimistic the compensation language will survive a conference committee.