Nov. 07, 2005 - 15:08 MST

IT'LL GO AWAY

The mountains eventually erode away into mere molehills, and superhighways make the molehills into anthills. Seems to be the way our government works in many instances. An article in the Rocky Mountain News this morning touches once again on a lack of care about those who labored for our "Cold War Effort." Once again by Ann Imse of that paper.

In full :

FLATS WORKERS FRUSTRATED

Program to aid sick workers going faster, but still seems slow

"Last year, angry U.S. senators ripped into the Department of Energy for spending $95 million on paperwork to aid only 31 of the tens of thousands of sick nuclear weapons workers."

"The program to help workers damaged by radiation and toxic chemicals on the job was subsequently transferred to the Department of Labor. There, processing is significantly faster -- but still interminably slow to the workers who are dying."

"What's going on here is wrong," said Laura Schulz, a former Rocky Flats engineer who has kidney cancer and neurological disorders she attributes to her work at the former nuclear weapons plant."

"She was recently was told that her exposure to contaminants wasn't considered enough to cause her illnesses and therefore she is ineligible for compensation.""

"The Department of Labor will hold public meetings about the former DOE program today and tomorrow in Arvada, so applicants can find out whats going on."

"Since taking over the DOE program a year ago, the Labor Department has paid 1,827 workers, or about 5 percent of 35,694 applicants nationwide."

"But that processing is about speed up, said Roberta Mosier, deputy director of the division for energy employees compensation."

"Labor now has adequate staff trained and hopes to finish 75 percent of the applications submitted to the former DOE program within the next eleven months, she said."

"In 2000, Congress approved a two-part program to pay up to $250,000 compensation to nuclear weapons workers who risked their lives for the nation during the Cold War from exposure to radiation and toxic chemicals."

Officials expected a few thousand applications. Instead, 50,000 applied to one program at the Labor Department and 35,000 to the other at DOE. Many applied to both."

"The part run by Labor was simpler and more successful. This far it has paid compensation to 301 workers from Rocky Flats, the now-demolished atom bomb plant 16 miles northwest of downtown Denver. That amounts to 13 percent of workers paid."

Meanwhile, 45 percent of applicants have been denied and the rest are awaiting accounting of their individual exposure to radiation and chemicals on the job."

"The former Energy Department program, meant to substitute for workers comp claims, has paid 71 former Rocky Flats workers, or 3 percent of applicants. The rest are now awaiting a decision from the Labor Department."

"Only a few people have had their applications to the former DOE program formally denied by Labor, Mosier said."

"Still officials can expect to hear from many unhappy workers this week. Some are furious over a rule that made it harder to qualify for aid than stated in the law. Mosier said the rule has not been finalized."

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Even in our country it seems that those who have been damaged in any form, by things such as war, (veteran's affairs) or by industrial ailments caused by work in factories such as atom bomb or chemical/gas factories have been pretty well left in the lurch. Somewhere lurking in the shadows are those who doubt that any person, be it vet or civilian has ever been affected to the extent that they should receive a cent in recompense. The lurkers seem to have ways of delaying things to the utmost - as those affected die or ail more.

So to the politician's eye, the longer the delay the less our government will have to spend on those in need. I guess that way more funds can be diverted to building bridges in Alaska where a working ferry has been doing the job quite well.

It appears to me that it is not just physical ailments that our government is dropping the ball with a damp thud. Indian affairs for instance, how many decades have our countrymen whose ancestors greeted us when we arrived here been trying to get the money promised them by our government ?

Current events ? How about FEMA, the federal government as a whole and the state biggies of the areas affected by Katrina ? And still there is no actual coordination or use of same systems or equipment to do the simple thing of communication ? As well, the conflicting rules and laws that clash during a disaster ?

The Grand Department of Federal Foot Dragging seems to be operating on the philosophy of doing very little, knowing that eventually IT'LL GO AWAY . . . . . . . . . . . .

Blog