From "Killing Our Own" the aptly titled book from 1982 by Harvey Wasserman and Norman Solomon to today's new report "
IRRADIATED" information abounds about the consequences of nuclear weapons manufacture. This of course, is quite apart from use of nuclear weapons - 50 to 100 would destroy planet Earth, with nuclear winter.
Soldiers who witnessed nuclear explosions saw the bones of their own hands and later died of radiation-induced cancers. Workers at all phases of the nuclear cycle have suffered exposure to uranium and even plutonium, resulting in all kinds of cancers.
Highlights from the report (thanks to McClatchy for doing this research):
For the last year, McClatchy journalists conducted more than
100 interviews across the country and analyzed more than 70 million records in
a federal database obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.
Among the findings:
- McClatchy
can report for the first time that the great push to win the Cold War has left
a legacy of death on American soil: At least 33,480 former nuclear workers who
received compensation are dead. The death toll is more than four times the
number of American casualties in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
- Federal
officials greatly underestimated how sick the U.S. nuclear workforce would
become. At first, the government predicted the program would serve only 3,000
people at an annual cost of $120 million. Fourteen years later, taxpayers have
spent sevenfold that estimate, $12 billion, on payouts and medical expenses for
more than 53,000 workers.
- Even
with the ballooning costs, fewer than half of those who’ve applied have
received any money. Workers complain that they’re often left in bureaucratic
limbo, flummoxed by who gets payments, frustrated by long wait times and
overwhelmed by paperwork.
- Despite
the cancers and other illnesses among nuclear workers, the government wants to
save money by slashing current employees’ health plans, retirement benefits and
sick leave.
- Stronger
safety standards have not stopped accidents or day-to-day radiation exposure.
More than 186,000 workers have been exposed since 2001, all but ensuring a new
generation of claimants. And to date, the government has paid $11 million to
118 workers who began working at nuclear weapons facilities after 2001.
For the last year, McClatchy journalists conducted more than 100 interviews across the country and analyzed more than 70 million records in a federal database obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.
Among the findings:
McClatchy can report for the first time that the great push to win the Cold War has left a legacy of death on American soil: At least 33,480 former nuclear workers who received compensation are dead. The death toll is more than four times the number of American casualties in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Federal officials greatly underestimated how sick the U.S. nuclear workforce would become. At first, the government predicted the program would serve only 3,000 people at an annual cost of $120 million. Fourteen years later, taxpayers have spent sevenfold that estimate, $12 billion, on payouts and medical expenses for more than 53,000 workers.
Even with the ballooning costs, fewer than half of those who’ve applied have received any money. Workers complain that they’re often left in bureaucratic limbo, flummoxed by who gets payments, frustrated by long wait times and overwhelmed by paperwork.
Despite the cancers and other illnesses among nuclear workers, the government wants to save money by slashing current employees’ health plans, retirement benefits and sick leave.
Stronger safety standards have not stopped accidents or day-to-day radiation exposure. More than 186,000 workers have been exposed since 2001, all but ensuring a new generation of claimants. And to date, the government has paid $11 million to 118 workers who began working at nuclear weapons facilities after 2001.
Read more here: http://media.mcclatchydc.com/static/features/irradiated/#storylink=cpy
