Workers Compensation For Radiation Exposure Being Denied To American Indian Miners
For decades, the mines deep under the Colorado Plateau has been worked by American Indians.This involves running a drill that gouged soft, yellow uranium ore out of the rock. This uranium, mined by thousands of Native Americans over the years, became a part of the nuclear warheads that won America the Cold War.
The downside is how many of these miners have become casualties of that same Cold War.They are either dead or drying from cancer and other ailments blamed on exposure to radiation in the mines. Some still live, but each day is a battle to survive, and most families have lost loved ones to cancer.Find out more about personal injury solicitors through this website.
The majority of workers have webs of scars on their arms from dialysis treatments. For those that are suffering from kidney failure, this treatment is a necessity.Workers were told the water in the mines was safe to drink, but science has since proven that it actually contained trace levels of radioactive materials.
In 1980, the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act was passed by Congress.The goal in passing this law was to assist uranium miners who are suffering as a result of exposure to radiation while they worked the mines.America’s nuclear weapons were the primary benefactor of the mining work executed in those mines.
Under the law, each eligible uranium miner is entitled to a $100,000 compensation.The condition being that they experience one of six lung diseases linked to radiation exposure. Countless miners of American Indian descent still have not been compensated, despite being eligible.As a person looking for workers compensation lawyers melbourne you should visit that site.
The language of the compensation law creates a lot of difficult red tape for the miners to go through.To begin with, the papers required to begin the compensation process must be filled out in English.The Indians speak little or no English and understand very little of it.
There have been 242 miners who applied through the Office of Navajo Uranium Workers for their compensation, but to date only 96 of them have received approval.The Justice Department states that a total of 1,314 claims filed by uranium miners have been approved.Compare this to the 1,316 applications that have been denied.
Another problem for many miners is that the government requires proof of constant exposure in the form of check stubs or similar documentation.Those types of records are seldom kept by the miners who have been working in the mines for decades.In addition, even government officials have had trouble acquiring the documents.
The Navajo Indian Reservation saw the first uranium mines opening in 1947.The jobs and careers that accompanied the mines were welcomed in the beginning.People were happy to have the work despite the low wages and harsh conditions.
Another danger to be found in the mines was radon.Radon is created when uranium breaks down and decays, but because it is odorless and colorless, it is sometimes difficult to detect.Exposure to radon is believed to be a cause of most of the lung ailments that make miners eligible for government compensation.
The current plan this fall is for former miners and tribal officials to lobby Congress to make changes in this compensation law to clear the way for these former miners to receive the payments due.The challenge facing the government is that all Navajo miners believe that they are entitled to the compensation based solely on their work.
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