Insider claimsmakers, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) and Department of Energy (DOE), has direct control on which compensation claims attain approval. Their primary claim is that there is an acceptable amount of radiation that Rocky Flats workers were able to get exposed to. Therefore, workers have to prove that there is a 50% probability that the cancer he or she has is a work-related illness (DOL 2011). Failure to do so will result in the rejection of the claim, which has become the case for thousands of affected workers. Furthermore, the DOL only approves compensation to workers who worked at the plant from 1952 to 1958 (NIOSH 2006). The National Institute of Health claims that Rocky Flats workers were protected from radiation during such dates through implemented radiation safety protocols (DOL 2011). Therefore, the DOL believes that the radiation did not cause significant damage to the health of the Rocky Flats workers.
Current Events: Rep. Emanuel Cleaver Ignores Sick Federal Workers Waiting for Compensation Sick Nuclear Workers Await Compensation Claimsmakers: Affected Workers
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Affected workers, however, believe that the government’s refusal to approve their medical claims has been an act of pure injustice. The Cold War Patriots Coalition, an organization where workers with cancer unite to fight for compensation, believe that radiation from the site has indeed caused their illnesses (Draper 2014). Danny Adkins, a former worker, developed pancreatic cancer in 2001 and was denied compensation because there was only a 46% probability that his cancer was a work-related illness, under the 50% threshold required. “I was not aware that Rocky Flats had high levels of plutonium. We were exposed to chemicals no human being should ever be in contact with”, Adkins reported, who later died in 2003 without being compensated (Draper 2014). Stephanie Gray, a former worker who developed a brain tumor, claims that the “cut-off dates that they’re picking leave out a lot of people. It was still nasty after 1983 and after a while, they told us to stop drinking the water or washing our hands” (Draper 2014). Still today, Gray is left with over $100,000 from hospital bills and continues to wait for the compensation she knows she is entitled to.
Critical Opinion: Broken Dreams and Lost Promises
What sounded like justice through the form of the 2000 Act became a false promise, and it is the DOL’s responsibility to grant all affected workers the medical benefits they deserve. The failure to grant compensation to all affected Rocky Flats workers is not only unlawful, but inhumane. It is unacceptable that these workers have to fight their government to get compensation for illnesses they developed on the job. Exposed with toxic chemicals and carcinogens, these workers are simply left to die without recognition and compensation. These sick, dying workers who once hoped to chase the American dream in the 1950’s are ultimately left empty-handed, and this compensation act becomes another dream the Rocky Flats workers will continue to keep chasing.
Current Events:
1. http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_25874064/feds-raided-rocky-flats-25-years-ago-signaling
2. http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_25095991/former-rocky-flats-site-stirs-concerns-some-neighbors
3. http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_25174934/rocky-flats-workers-no-longer-must-prove-cancers
Current Events:
1. http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_25874064/feds-raided-rocky-flats-25-years-ago-signaling
2. http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_25095991/former-rocky-flats-site-stirs-concerns-some-neighbors
3. http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_25174934/rocky-flats-workers-no-longer-must-prove-cancers
1. Draper, Electra. 2004. "Rocky Flats Workers' Burden Still Heavy Even with New Legal Status The Denver Post. Retrieved from November 17, 2014. (http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_25209086/rocky-flats-workers-burden-still-heavy-even-new)
2. "Dying on American Soil: The Workers of Rocky Flats Nuclear, 2011."YouTube. YouTube, Feb. 2011. Web. 01 Dec. 2014. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ws7bs_9RV8E)
3. NIOSH Program Area 2006. “Radiation Dosage Program” Atlanta Georgia, Centers for Disease and Prevention. Retrieved November 17, 2014. (http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/ocas/ocasdose.html)
4. U.S. Department of Labor 2011. “Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP) – Key Personnel in OWCP." Washington DC, U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved November 17,2014.(http://www.dol.gov/owcp/energy/regs/compliance/statistics/WebPages/ROCKY_FLATS_PLT.htm)
2. "Dying on American Soil: The Workers of Rocky Flats Nuclear, 2011."YouTube. YouTube, Feb. 2011. Web. 01 Dec. 2014. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ws7bs_9RV8E)
3. NIOSH Program Area 2006. “Radiation Dosage Program” Atlanta Georgia, Centers for Disease and Prevention. Retrieved November 17, 2014. (http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/ocas/ocasdose.html)
4. U.S. Department of Labor 2011. “Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP) – Key Personnel in OWCP." Washington DC, U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved November 17,2014.(http://www.dol.gov/owcp/energy/regs/compliance/statistics/WebPages/ROCKY_FLATS_PLT.htm)