HANFORD SITE, Wash. – In a remote area of east central Washington, the majority of plutonium used in the national stockpile of nuclear weapons was produced over decades. Former site workers now have new avenues to secure medical care after being exposed to radioactive materials.
From 1943 onward, the Hanford Site was a critical part of American nuclear armament and remained open throughout the Cold War.
Workers at the site were exposed to radioactive and toxic substances as the US dedicated trillions of dollars to remaining the dominant international nuclear superpower.
After Hanford shuttered in 1989 and a decades-long federal cleanup was ordered for the area, former workers who spent years interacting with potentially harmful materials at the site began to experience Beryllium Disease.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, the ailment is caused by exposure to harmful metals.
“Berylliosis (beryllium disease) is chronic inflammation in your lungs due to inhaling fumes or dust containing beryllium. Beryllium is a metal used to manufacture many different products,” the clinic’s informational page states.
The Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA) passed by the US Congress in 2001 allowed people who were employed at Hanford to apply for federal medical benefits to address their berylliosis.
A new rule issued by the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP) on July 16 has expanded medical benefit accessibility for Hanford workers by creating new ways to prove that a worker is experiencing beryllium sensitivity.
The new testing regime offers several avenues for workers to prove that they were exposed to toxic substances rather than a single test previously administered under the preexisting EEOICPA guidelines.
Senator Patty Murray (D), who cosponsored a law which enhanced healthcare benefits for energy workers, touted the new rule on Saturday via social media.
“I passed [the policy] into law to make sure Hanford workers can get the care they need for beryllium exposure,” Murray said.
$26 billion in federal funding has already been directed to those suffering from illnesses due to working in nuclear weapons manufacturing since the passage of the EEOICPA according to the US Department of Labor.
While the Hanford Site has not produced a nuclear weapon in over three decades, the ecological, financial and political impact of the site continues to echo throughout eastern Washington today.
