DOE and radiation health in the press

["Michael C. Baker" <mcbaker@lanl.gov>]

Hello,

The Whitehouse memo listed below may be referring to the study that was in 
the press this last weekend.  The timing of the report mentioned in the 
last paragraph would seem to be right, since the press stories over the 
weekend said the report would be released in about a month.  Why is the 
national economic council doing health studies?  Some more information is 
available at the following web sites:

http://www.eh.doe.gov/benefits/docs/docs.cfm

http://home.doe.gov/news/releases99/julpr/oipdoe.htm

Mike ... mcbaker@lanl.gov




Office of the Press Secretary
_____________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release                           July 15, 1999

MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE
    THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
    THE SECRETARY OF LABOR
    THE SECRETARY OF ENERGY
    THE DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET
    ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT FOR ECONOMIC POLICY

SUBJECT:          Occupational Illness Compensation for Energy Contractor 
Personnel

Contractor personnel working for the Department of Energy (DOE) and its 
predecessor agencies helped our Nation win the Cold War but often faced 
dangerous working conditions.  A small number of them were exposed to 
beryllium, a metal used in the production of weapons, and subsequently 
contracted chronic beryllium disease (CBD), a debilitating lung disease for 
which there is no cure.  Most of those exposed worked under contract for 
the DOE and are not covered by the Federal workers' compensation 
program.  As a result, many of those with CBD have not received the 
occupational illness benefits otherwise available to regular Federal employees.

Today, I am pleased to announce that my Administration will submit draft 
legislation to the Congress that would create a new program to give DOE 
contractor employees with CBD and beryllium sensitivity the same benefits 
-- certain medical costs and lost wages -- now available to Federal 
employees.  The American people believe in fairness, and I am sure that 
they would find it fair to provide this reasonable compensation to this 
small group of people who contributed so much to their country's well-being 
and who now are suffering from this incurable disease.

Under my draft legislation, the Department of Labor would administer a 
program similar to the Federal Employee Compensation Act (FECA) program, 
which currently provides Federal workers a proportion of lost wages, 
medical costs, rehabilitation, and training.  My draft legislation also 
would compensate workers whose beryllium sensitivity forced them into 
lower-paying jobs.  As with all workers' compensation systems, the program 
will serve as an "exclusive remedy," barring individuals with work-related 
illness claims from bringing litigation against the Federal Government.

Recognizing that other toxic and radioactive materials also may contribute 
to occupational illnesses, I direct you to participate in an interagency 
review led by the National Economic Council focusing on whether there are 
other illnesses that warrant inclusion in this program and how this should 
be accomplished.  This interagency review should be completed by March 31, 
2000.

WILLIAM J. CLINTON

# # #
__________________________________

Michael C. Baker
Environmental Technology Group (E-ET)
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Mail Stop J594, Los Alamos, NM 87545

mcbaker@lanl.gov

(505) 667-7334 (phone)
(505) 665-8346 (fax)
(505) 996-3519 (pager)
__________________________________

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