OAK RIDGE, Tenn. (WVLT) -- Workers and retirees are demanding more help to deal with the life-threatening illnesses they claim they've gotten, from Oak Ridge's nuclear weapons and research facilities.
A rally Wednesday is part of several pushes to make Uncle Sam come clean and dig deep.
Whether in the so-called Secret City, or other sites, some former nuclear workers call themselves the Cold War's last victims.
They can file claims for help, but the problem is proof.
For some, the signs of sickness show around their necks or in their seats, but not so with Y-12 retiree Glenn Bell's claim of chronic beryllium disease.
“I have frequent breathing attacks that are similar to asthma attacks.”
Or K-25 retired firefighter James Hunter:
“They diagnosed me as having myelodysplasia. Your bone marrow is not producing blood.”
Seven years ago, Oak Ridge opened a center to help nuclear workers and retirees make their cases.
Bell says, “When I left Y-12 at the first of this year, I was still finding documents that pointed out exposures or potential exposures, that I may have had years ago.”
Which explains why, of more than 41,000 claims filed, fewer than a third have gotten any money.
Even though the labor department claim the payouts have topped four Billion dollars.
Bell says, “I'm hoping that Congress can pay attention here, and accept at least most of the suggestions that we have made.”
They're not likely to come cheaply.
The Alliance For Nuclear Worker Advocacy Groups wants more types of cancer covered, as well as easing the burden of proof that their jobs, or exposure through their jobs made them sick.
Hunter says, “Sometimes, just because you got cancer, doesn't mean that you can pinpoint exactly where you got it…It's destroyed my quality of life.”
Some workers or families claim the wait for help amounts to a death sentence.
Glenn Bell would soon channel his frustrations into change, “and try to maintain a good attitude and hope it works.”
The proposed reforms cover nine pages. They include watchdogs aimed at stopping folks from trying to scam the system.
What isn't spelled out is just how much it would cost either to put in place, or by increasing payouts by making claims easier to prove.
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