Jul 28, 2008

Deadly Denial


ABOUT THE SERIES

Tens of thousands of America's former nuclear bomb builders are sick, dying or already dead because of their exposure to radiation and other poisons. You knew that.

After decades of stonewalling, the government started a compensation program in 2000. You knew that.

After four years of bungling, Congress reformed the program, demanding that it be "compassionate, fair and timely." Perhaps you knew that.

But what you may not know is that today only one in four claimants has been compensated and millions more of your taxpayer dollars have been wasted creating hurdles instead of help.

For many of the nation's cold warriors, the government's game is deadly denial.

DAY 1

Charlie Wolf lays on a hospital bed, as he gets a fiber-glass mask molded to his face. The grid mask will contain the markers which will precisely target the areas of his brain which contain his tumors, with radiation. This 49 year-old former Occupational safety engineer worked at Rocky Flats for many years. He was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2002, and beat the odds by surviving six years when he was only given 6 months to live. His brain tumors went into remission early in December of 2007. He was getting ready to move on with his life, at the same time while fighting the Department of Labor for full compensation for his illness, which he and several other medical, legal and scientific experts attributed to his line of work. He went for a final MRI three months ago, and it revealed the worst of his fears. He developed two new tumors at a different part of his brain, an area too big to operate with gamma knife. He is now undergoing radiation and chemotherapy, and is preparing to beat the odds once again.

Deadly denial: Government fails to help sick nuclear workers

Tens of thousands of nuclear arms workers have applied for government compensation. But most have never seen a dime.

The 12-kiloton nuclear bomb Boltzmann is detonated in 1957 in Nevada. Aid for ill nuclear arms workers this year is expected to be $1 billion, less than the $1.4 billion spent annually to maintain the U.S. nuclear stockpile.

Compensation plan forged within cauldron of politics

The inside story of how the compensation program for sick weapons workers came to be explains why it was once called a "strange beast" with "weird appendages."

Ben Ortiz, a former Los Alamos engineer, lays on a hospital bed as he waits to have a non-cancerous procedure done on his enlarged prostate.

Ben Ortiz was warned that steps to help his case will backfire

Former Los Alamos worker Ben Ortiz was one of the first workers to speak publicly about the ill workers’ plight. But he is still waiting for aid. Government officials told him every time his Senator or Congressman inquires on his behalf about the delay, it only delays his case even more.

Janine Anderson sits on her couch as she talks to a reporter after a video interview, and shows how her liver has grown to overtake all the space in her lower abdomen. Her liver, which has grown exponentially for the past 3 years, is now pushing up to her heart and lungs and has deformed her spinal cord, forcing her to use a wheelchair when traveling for extended distances.

With a 25-pound liver, Janine Anderson was told she isn't too sick

Janine Anderson spent seven years as a secretary at the Oak Ridge nuclear reservation, one of the nation's premier nuclear weapons development and production complexes.

George Barrie looks out the window of his double-semi trailer home in Craig Colorado.

George Barrie is dying. His wife's advocacy work may have become a weapon against him

The pain drives George Barrie from his bed about 3 a.m. — a nightly occurrence. He leaves his sleeping wife and stumbles to his recliner in the living room. He sits down heavily, shifting his weight, trying to make the pain bearable.

DAY 2

Charlie Wolf, a former manager at Rocky Flats, takes one of the injections used to treat his brain tumors. In his battle for compensation, he has had to enlist the aid of a lawyer, a scientist, a doctor, his Congressman and his insurance company.

Deadly denial: Shifting rules drowning sick nuclear workers

Denny Daily worked for 14 years at the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant. When Daily was diagnosed with prostate cancer, he suspected his old job had put him at risk.

Charlie Wolf, a 49 year-old former Occupational safety engineer worked at Rocky Flats for many years. He was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2002, and beat the odds by surviving six years when he was only given 6 months to live. His brain tumors went into remission early in December of 2007. He was getting ready to move on with his life, at the same time while fighting the Department of Labor for full compensation for his illness, which he and several other medical, legal and scientific experts attributed to his line of work. He went for a final MRI three months ago, and it revealed the worst of his fears. He developed two new tumors at a different part of his brain, an area too big to operate with gamma knife. He is now undergoing radiation and chemotherapy, and is preparing to beat the odds once again.

Feds apparently disregarded toxic links to illnesses

The U.S. Department of Labor says it can find "no known" link between toxic exposure and at least 77 medical conditions. Sick workers have come to call this the "no pay" list. But the Rocky Mountain News found that at least seven of those listed diseases actually have "good" or "strong" evidence linking them to toxic substances.

Dee Hasenkamp holds a photo of herself and her late husband, Gerald, a former Rocky Flats radiation technician, at her home in Longmont.

Dee Hasenkamp's husband died; she was told to figure out why on her own

Gerald Hasenkamp was in excruciating pain. Cancer had invaded his colon, his mouth, his lungs and finally his bones. When his wife, Dee, tried to prop him up in bed, his collarbone snapped. When a nurse tried to take a blood sample, his arm broke.

Charlie Wolf, who has been diagnosed with aggressive glioma brain cancer and myelodysplastic syndrome, undergoes radiation treatment for his tumors at Swedish Medical Center in Englewood.

Charlie Wolf should be dead, but six years later, he's still fighting for aid

Charlie Wolf says he has beaten the odds twice. First by surviving six years with brain cancer that was supposed to have killed him in six months. Second, by living to see a check from the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program.

Wayne Knox, a nuclear engineer and health physicist, says the lack of independent verification for the scientific processes used by the compensation program leaves claimants at the mercy of the government.

Final decisions on aid veiled in secrecy

Criminals have the right to know what evidence is used against them, but sick nuclear weapons workers do not.

DAY 3

George Blue Horse, a medicine man, performs a ceremony to improve relations between the Navajo people and the U.S. Department of Labor, at the Tuba City, Ariz., branch of the Office of Navajo Uranium Workers.

Deadly denial: Navajo miners stand ground in a different kind of Cold War

The U.S. government knew early on that uranium could cause lung damage. But instead of warning the Navajo miners, it decided to study what happened to them.

As workers await relief, program doles out big bonuses to its own

Executives at the U.S. Department of Labor are apparently happy with the operation of the program to compensate sick nuclear weapons workers. More than $3.2 million in bonuses has been paid to those administering the program since it started in 2001.

Ross Williams is too weak for the tests he needs to receive compensation

To prove he is sick enough to deserve the federal compensation promised to former uranium miners such as himself, 86-year-old Ross Williams must take a lung-function test. The problem is, Williams and some others like him are too sick to complete the required test.

Sen. Ken Salazar speaks about Colorado's renewable energy in the 3rd Annual Energy Summit at the PPA Events Center in Denver Friday, March 28, 2008.

Condemnation from lawmakers

Lawmakers with ties to nuclear weapons work blast the way the program has been run.

E. Levi Samora Jr., shown on his Weld County land, was a 24-year Rocky Flats worker granted compensation after a five year fight.

Levi Samora got a stack of rejection letters — one on the day he received aid

For five years, former Rocky Flats worker E. Levi Samora Jr. was denied compensation meant for sick nuclear weapons workers, even though he had a diagnosis of a bomb-related illness from Rocky Flats doctors.

MAPS AND GRAPHICS

U.S. Department of Labor has failed to help compensate assist former nuclear workers with health safety issues problems ailments graphic chart document video testimony Graphics show how the federal compensation plan works, who is covered by it, where the major nuclear facilities in the U.S. are, and how radiation exposure is linked to cancer.

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DOCUMENTS

RELATED STORIES

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OPINION

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CHAT TRANSCRIPTS

SERIES IN PRINT

day 1 View the series in the print edition

DAY 1:

Page 1, 2-3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8-9, 10-11, 12

day 2

DAY 2:

Page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6-7, 8



day 3

DAY 3:

Page 1, 2, 3, 4-5, 6-7, 8













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26 comments:

  1. Anonymous7/28/08, 7:49 AM

    Frank - Thank you so very much for all the time and effort it took to place this information on the blog.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous7/28/08, 11:21 AM

    WTF does this have to do with the situation at LANL? Last visit to the blog until this post "goes away."

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous7/28/08, 1:46 PM

    I read this website for LANL information. I don't want to read it if it's not about LANL or LANL connected.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Frank Young7/28/08, 2:39 PM

    7:49 AM,
    You really don't need to thank me. The thanks should go to the folks at The Rocky Mountain news and of course all the workers who are paying a terrible price for the work they did to support our nation.

    11:21 AM and 1:46 AM,
    There have been 955 posts since I started this blog. This post is just eight sentences, a couple of pictures, and a bunch of links to stories that you don't have to click. If you only click one, please read the one about Ben Ortiz. Yes, he worked at LANL.

    If you don't like this post then don't read it.

    If you don't like the blog then don't read it.

    If you're waiting for me to delete this post and apologize, then don't hold your breath.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous7/28/08, 5:08 PM

    My experience is that if you have a dispute with the lab, don't waste time with DOE or LANL. This will lead nowhere, very slowly.

    Get a lawyer and file a lawsuit. Be prepared for threats and slander.

    Your mileage may vary.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous7/28/08, 6:05 PM

    WTF does this have to do with the situation at LANL? Last visit to the blog until this post "goes away."

    7/28/08 11:21 AM

    The NIOSH and EEOICPA programs apply to LANL workers just as they apply to workers at other facilities. How can this not be of interest to LANL workers?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous7/28/08, 6:30 PM

    My suggestion to the negative commenters is the opposite of Frank's.

    I suggest that they do hold their breath until he changes the posting. Then there would be fewer self centered comments to read.

    :-D

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous7/28/08, 8:21 PM

    Frank's agenda is showing (again). He doesn't give a flip about LANL or its employees, one way or the other. Never an employee or Los Alamos resident and never took enough time to learn about his (minor and short) job as a contractor - just enough time to be ignorant and scared that he *might* have been exposed to something. Jeez, what an excuse for running a LANL blog. Is there any other reason, Frank? Don't we at least have a right to expect that the host of this blog has an interest in LANL?

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous7/28/08, 9:26 PM

    7/28/08 8:21 PM,

    7/28/08 6:05 PM here. You have a right to expect that the host of this blog has an interest in LANL?

    A right?

    Damn, I don't know where that has ever been stated as being even a reasonable expectation.

    Blog hosting sites exist so that anyone can host pretty much whatever type of blog they want - on any topic, for whatever audience shows up and with pretty much whatever constraints or liberties the blogger assigns to the visitors.

    Therefore, you have a right to not visit a blog if it doesn't meet your expectations but I don't see many other rights that could be assigned to you, the person clicking the URL for this blog.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous7/29/08, 2:34 AM

    Frank says the post is four sentences. It actually appears as 12 pages on the screen at 1024 x 768 resolution. Is there not one link to the story?

    The links contain a lot of anecdotal claims from some very unfortunate people. It would be interesting to know what is the probability that a random person in the area would have caught cancer, how much the probability was increased because of their work, and what is the probability that the cancer was actually caused by their work.

    This should also apply to the claim at the top of the post about "Tens of thousands of America's former nuclear bomb builders...." This seems like an exaggeration to me, but without careful analysis it is impossible to prove either way.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous7/29/08, 6:41 AM

    To: 11:21 AM and 1:46 AM,

    Don't let the door hit you in the ass.

    This is relavent information to present and former LANL employees.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous7/29/08, 7:06 AM

    Since LANL is slated to become the next Rocky Flats via the expanded pit production at the new building at TA-55, extremely sick people like those featured in the articles could be you or your children or your grandchildren. On wait, there are already current and former LANL employees fighting to receive compensation for their illnesses. Denial and rhetoric doesn't make the history of documented related pit production illnesses go away.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous7/29/08, 7:56 AM

    2:34 makes some good points. However, since the DOE and DOL appear to hide information, it would be wise to assume that the conclusions are unflattering to these departments.

    Or do you think they are withholding information that looks favorable to them?

    ReplyDelete
  14. Frank Young7/29/08, 8:15 AM

    7/28/08 8:21 PM,
    You managed to get nothing correct in your entire comment. My agenda is effluent leaks in PF-4. Of the 956 blog posts to date, that agenda is covered in two. And this post is not one of those two.

    Go read those two posts, comment there if you desire, and stop trying to change the subject here.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Frank Young7/29/08, 8:43 AM

    7/29/08 2:34 AM,
    I said eight (8) sentences, not four (4).

    And yes there is a link in this post to "the story". It's the first link in the post, the title "Deadly Denial". Click it and you will be taken to a web page that may look vaguely familiar to you.

    I can post information to the blog, and can provide links to it. I can't make you read it or comprehend it.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous7/29/08, 5:27 PM

    This post has been up for 24 hours and what's the LANL workforce reaction thus far?
    zzzzzz....

    "WTF does this have to do with the situation at LANL? Last visit to the blog until this post "goes away." said 7/28/08 11:21 AM


    Oh so typical. Who gives a damn if the person next to us is dying of cancer or whatever, just so long as nobody yanks our the federal tit from our collective mouths. Heaven forbid we should even show sympathy! No, let's just leave our chest-thumping hypocrisy for Sunday mass.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous7/29/08, 8:10 PM

    Nope, not gone yet. Just checking. Bye.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous7/30/08, 7:21 AM

    OK, here are a few comments after reading the "page view" layout of the first day's report:

    page 4 "Aid Spigot Open to Some" shows overall 51,000 claims have been paid and 82,000 have been denied. There's a footnote: "Includes applications rejected as non-covered because the claimant failed to prove employment at a covered facility, could
    not provide medical records of a covered disease or was an adult child of a deceased worker, and therefore covered under Part B,
    but not Part E."

    I would first like to know how many of the claims were denied because people couldn't follow instructions, versus how many denied for the reasons claimed in the main body of the article.

    I was also fascinated by the statement early in the article that there was less compensation paid to sick workers last year (around $1 billion) than was spent on maintaining the warheads they built (around $1.4 billion).

    It's a provacative statement, but really, what would be the "right" ratio of expenditures?

    ReplyDelete
  19. Anonymous7/30/08, 10:07 AM

    7:21 am

    Read how much documentation was required and how the mountains of documents were "lost". Not all of these workers have our level of education and the ability to read and comprehend the various federal statutes. Hell, I recall several bloggers complaining about the confusion regarding submitting safety and security and QA paperwork with PRs. NOW is our chance to volunteer our acumen and help these workers fill out their paperwork instead of being dismissive. Show a bit of compassion to our fellow man. Not everyone has our advantages. Hey, this would be a great volunteer effort through the community relations office, we all get 80 hours a year to volunteer, and LANS gets the credit. Win Win? How about it Mike A?

    ReplyDelete
  20. Anonymous7/30/08, 7:26 PM

    "Since LANL is slated to become the next Rocky Flats via the expanded pit production at the new building at TA-55, extremely sick people like those featured in the articles could be you or your children or your grandchildren. On wait, there are already current and former LANL employees fighting to receive compensation for their illnesses. Denial and rhetoric doesn't make the history of documented related pit production illnesses go away."

    First, there is no new building slated to expand the current pit production mission, other than CMRR but this is mostly designed to hold the current analytical capabilities at the old CMR. Second, TA_55 has been open since 1978. Please refer to a post under the article about LANL being slated to get the PDCF mission. Lots of Pu has been pumped through PF-4 and I would argue, there are no exponential increases in illnesses related to handling rad materials. This is not a new concept here at LANL. Making a few extra pits a year doesn't even put a dent in previous production history.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Anonymous8/1/08, 7:36 AM

    10:07,

    It's 7:21 here. You make an excellent suggestion, but I wish you'd managed to do it without judging me quite so harshly. I chose the word "couldn't" carefully, as opposed to "didn't." Having trained and volunteered as a literacy and ESL tutor since I moved to NM, and having helped LANL wokers deal with their own forms and emails, I probably know the impact of this in individuals far better than you do. So Thank You for assuming I'm strolling around on The Hill with a silver spoon in my mouth, looking down on the unwashed masses who are too stupid to fill out a simple form.

    Now, if you'd stop judging me for a second, maybe you could try to understand that my point was to distinguish between the types of nefarious rejections that are claimed in the article, versus claims that were rejected for all sorts of everyday reasons that we all deal with - as you point out, LANL employees deal with rejected claims and requests from UHC and Concur on a daily basis and I would not particularly expect the DOL to be any less of a messed-up bureaucracy.

    Thanks for listening.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Anonymous8/2/08, 9:40 PM

    It's a blog (in particular, a LANL blog). No one's listening.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Frank Young8/2/08, 10:08 PM

    You're listening, and that alone makes it all worthwhile!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Anonymous7/21/09, 3:42 PM

    I am so glad this information is here. Please keep it always - this is important history.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Doug Roberts7/21/09, 3:58 PM

    "It's a blog (in particular, a LANL blog). No one's listening."

    I don't know about you, Frank, but I get a kick out of how desperate this person sounds in his attempts to make it appear as if there is no readership here.

    The last time I checked you were still getting about 1,200 hits per day, representing about 800 unique visits, each and every day. Sounds like a readership to me.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Frank Young7/21/09, 9:22 PM

    I hope it doesn't sound like bragging, but if people who don't want to see the news on the blog are reading it anyway - I think that's an accomplishment.

    ReplyDelete

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