Wyden, Merkley applaud passage of Radiation Exposure Compensation Act

WASHINGTON (KTVZ) Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., praised Senate passage of legislation they supported that would compensate people exposed to radiation during certain nuclear testing or uranium mining who then developed medical conditions, including cancers.

The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act passed Thursday by the Senate would extend the time for eligibility under the act from 1971 to 1990 for uranium miners, millers, core drillers, and ore transporters in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and eight other states.

“This legislation reflects the need to match compensation eligibility for uranium workers in Oregon and other states with both fairness and the latest medical science,” Wyden said. “I’m gratified the Senate has passed this bill demonstrating a solid commitment to care for these workers exposed to high levels of radiation.”

“Uranium workers in Oregon and across the West deserve fair compensation for their exposure to radiation from atomic weapons testing or uranium mining,” Merkley said. “This bill protects and expands an essential federal program to aid those who developed diseases – including cancers – after this dangerous exposure in communities with improperly stored nuclear waste. These patients and workers deserve our full support, and it’s long past time the Senate passed this important bipartisan bill.”

The bill also would provide coverage to people in New Mexico who were downwind of the first nuclear bomb test and who have been left out of the program entirely. And it would expand downwind eligibility to those downwind of the New Mexico Trinity Site and the Nevada Test Site by adding eligibility to people in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Guam.