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The below article contains information about contamination and beryllium at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation.  Click the links below to read the full article.

• Stimulus Workers Confront Legacy of Contamination at Nuclear Sites

• Chapters:

• 1: Stimulus Jobs v. Beryllium Risks
• 2: Chronic Beryllium Disease and Hanford
• 3: Apology to Beryllium Workers
• 4: Beryllium Whistleblowers at Hanford

Cold War Patriots will be attending and have a table at the Rocky Flats Public Meeting:

Wednesday May 12th, 2010

IBEW 68 Union Hall
5660 Logan Street
Denver, CO 80216

Click for Map

Meeting times are at 2:00 pm and 6:00 pm. The same information will be shared at both meetings.

At each meeting, staff from the DOL will provide a brief overview of the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program (EEOICP) and the medical screening programs.  The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the Ombudsman for the DOL will talk about their roles and responsibilities.

DOL representatives will be available to answer questions about claims and other agencies will be available for questions and resources.

We hope you can attend!

Cold War Patriots will be coming to Grand Junction on April 20^th, 2010 to attend Beacon Fest, a local active senior life show.

Click to View the Beacon Fest Ad.

Preserve your family’s mining legacy!

Cold War Patriots would like to invite you and your family to Beacon Fest on April 20th, 2010 where we will have an exhibit honoring western slope mining and uranium workers and their contributions to America’s national defense.

Bring an item for the time capsule!

A “National Day of Remembrance” time capsule and living history project will on display and will be accepting contributions. Come share a story, photograph or an item from your past.

Admission is free to this special event.

Come visit Cold War Patriots at the Beacon Fest on April 20th, 2010 from 9:00 am – 3:00 pm at the Two Rivers Convention Center located at 159 Main Street in downtown Grand Junction, CO.

Visit www.coldwarpatriots.org or call 888.903.8989 for more information.

We hope to see you there!

More Than $413 Million Paid to Portsmouth Workers

Article By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Reporter
View the original article here.

Huntington, WV (HNN) – Based on statistics supplied by the U.S. Department of Labor (Office of Worker’s Compensation Programs EEOICP ) statistics 540 individuals have received a total of over five million dollars for occupational (atomic related) illness at the now buried plant.

Once on the grounds of International Nickel, the Huntington Pilot (Reduction Pilot) Plant completed then classified work for the Department of Energy related to radioactive metals, such as uranium.

For instance, based on CDC/NIOSH (Center for Disease Control/ National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) documents, the plant supplied nickel powder that was used to make gaseous diffusion barriers for the three gaseous diffusion plants AND nickel scrap from K-25 was shipped back to the HPP to be recycled into nickel power for future shipments to the gaseous diffusion plants. The scrap nickel may have contained 4-39% enriched uranium.

The plant shut in 1962 and was deemed contaminated in full. In 1979, it was disassembled and buried in trenches at the Piketon, Ohio, gaseous diffusion plant site in a classified materials location. According to an oversight report on the Portsmouth Plant the HPP was built in 1952 and produced nickel to supports Portsmouth, Paducah and Oak Ridge. “Since the plant contained material and equipment still considered classified, a decision was made to bury the plant at Portsmouth. Investigation by an industrial hygienist identified several health and safety concerns, including asbestos and nickel carbonyl. Sampling of residual material and surfaces indicated the presence of uranium.”

The X749A classified burial site also has classified records, tube sheets, compressor blades, classified parts, metal shapes clad with either zirconium or hafnium.

According to reports, the trucks and tools and railroad cars were also buried in the trench along with the plant remains.

COMPENSATION PAYMENTS

The U.S.D.L. site stated that 1,066 claims have been filed representing 815 cases (540 unique individual workers living or deceased). Of those, 46 claims (39 cases) received compensation. This includes $4.98 million in payments and $85,000 in medical bills paid.

Rejection rates run very high for these claims. Of final decisions under Part B cancer cases, 76 claims of cancer have been denied as not work related (i.e. probability of causation less than 50%). 46 claims were rejected due to insufficient medical data. 11 claims were rejected due to survivor ineligibility. 27 claims on 20 cases resulted in $3 million in compensation.

Under Part E, 439 cases were filed of which 297 were “non-covered applications” (225 due to non-covered employment, 72 due to survivor not covered normally adult children barred by 2004 amendment). This left 142 covered applications and 121 cases. Recommended decisions pending have 29 approved and 67 denied claims. Final decisions have 25 approved and 67 denied (18 cancer not work related and 49 medical info insufficient to support claim).

Approximately $1.98 million dollars has been paid on 19 claims (and cases).

By contrast, the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant has processed 10,100 claims (7,060 cases of 4,001 unique workers). Payments and medical bill payment has been made on 3,311 claims (2,664 cases) representing $413,022,001 dollars.

Again, significant claims/cases are denied. Under Part B, 4,935 claims (3,352 cases) were filed and 174/110 were rejected for Non Covered Employment and 430/393 for Condition Not Covered.

However, Portsmouth claims/cases have a more than 50% chance for recommended for approval (2,156 approved; 1,717 denied) and 2,110 final decisions approved and 1,642 denied (cancer not work related, 919; medical info insufficient, 578; survivor not eligible, 145).

Of Portsmouth cases sent for Dose Reconstruction and Final Decision, 642 out of 871 were denied for Probability of Causation (POC) not meeting the 50% threshold.

For HPP statistics, click: http://www.dol.gov/owcp/energy/regs/compliance/statistics/WebPages/HUNTINGTON_PLT.htm

For Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion statistics, click: http://www.dol.gov/owcp/energy/regs/compliance/statistics/WebPages/PORTSMOUTH_GDP.htm

Cold War Patriots, in cooperation with the Masonic Home of Florida, would like to invite you and your family to a special meeting and exhibit honoring the contributions of Pinellas Plant workers to American’s national defense.

A “National Day of Remembrance” time capsule and living history project will be at the Masonic Home of Florida, 3201 1st Street Northeast St Petersburg, FL 33704 on Thursday February 24th, 2010. A short program will start at 6:00 pm with guest speakers. Admission is free to this special event.

The time capsule, and a special short film created for the first National Day of Remembrance will be on display. The time capsule is criss-crossing the country in 2010, collecting stories and artifacts from the nation’s uranium mining and nuclear defense era. The time capsule has traveled to many states including Washington, Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah.

If you have questions about the exhibit, or want to arrange to make a contribution of your story or artifact to the time capsule, please contact Ron Elmlinger from Cold War Patriots toll-free at 1-877-235-1511. We hope to see you there! 3201 1st Street Northeast St Petersburg, FL 33704

On October 30, 2009, current and former nuclear complex workers and uranium miners will be honored, and their contribution celebrated.  The Department of Energy, and Cold War Patriots will be working hand in hand to plan events.

Celebration details and locations to be announced shortly.   View the full announcements here.

To commemorate the National Day of Remembrance on October 30th of 2009, Cold War Patriots has begun a living history project that will document the unique stories and experiences of our members. Please consider participating in this effort by filling out a profile story. If you do not have a story to share, feel free to tell us about a friend or relative who was impacted by the Cold War or their work during that era.

View the Profiles in Strength Page.
Or
Download the PDF for the Worker Profile in Strength

Contact us with any questions.

Read the press release at Iowa Politics.com»

The Office of Health, Safety and Security (HSS) in the Department of Energy (DOE) supports and recognizes the important contribution of workers during the Cold War Era.  Aptly put, the office is “Honoring the Past and Looking to the Future.”  See the National Day of Remembrance graphic and proclamation below.

Friends and colleagues:

On May 22, the United States Senate unanimously approved S. RES. 151,
designating October 30, 2009, as a National Day of Remembrance for
nuclear weapons program workers and uranium miners, millers and
haulers. This act of Congress affords us all the opportunity to
recognize and honor the men and women who tirelessly served our country
by building and maintaining our nuclear forces during World War II
through the Cold War and continuing today.

Our workers helped bring victory in World War II and supported
the deterrent that brought us safely through the Cold War. Their
dedicated service continues to protect the United States and our allies
today.

In honor of our workforce, the Department of Energy
headquarters will commemorate this day with various activities,
focusing upon the theme “Honoring the Past and Looking to the Future.”

The Secretary and I also encourage each of the DOE sites and
laboratories within the DOE complex that support our country’s nuclear
weapons program to this mark special day with their own events.

As you make plans to host events and activities, DOE
headquarters would like to acknowledge your event and provide
assistance as necessary. Please contact Regina Cano (Regina.Cano@hq.doe.gov) or Pat Worthington (Pat.Worthington@hq.doe.gov) to share your plans and help answer your questions.

We thank all of you in advance for your efforts to celebrate this important day.

Sincerely,
Daniel Poneman
Deputy Secretary

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has posted a tribute to the National Day of Remembrance for Cold War Era workers.  Below is their tribute. Thank you NIOSH.

Honoring Quiet Sacrifice

This month, our country recognizes a group of workers who quietly made personal sacrifices to protect our country and our freedom. The U.S. Senate designated October 30, 2009, as a National Day of Remembrance for American nuclear weapons program workers and uranium miners, millers, and haulers.

These workers did not just do a job. During a time when our country was at war, and later, during the Cold War, they discreetly built a nuclear weapons program to protect and defend their families, neighbors, and fellow citizens across the country. And in doing so, some of these workers were exposed, often unknowingly, to the types of workplace risks that NIOSH now strives every day to prevent. Some of these workers sacrificed their health, and some lost their lives as a result of these exposures.

From the beginning of our involvement in this compensation program, NIOSH’s core values have been an integral part of our activities. In particular, the core values of quality of science, transparency, and accountability are at the heart of the actions, decisions, and communications in this program.

As NIOSH continues to fulfill its role under EEOICPA, we recognize the debt of gratitude owed to the workers who quietly made sacrifices to protect our country, and honor that debt with our commitment to quality of science, transparency, and accountability in our work.

We invite you to join NIOSH in honoring these workers on the National Day of Remembrance, October 30, 2009.