And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > NAVAJO COUNTRY RADIATION: THE SILENT KILLER > Federal compensation act brings little relief > By Brenda Norrell > Indian Country Today > COVE, Ariz. - Every Navajo family in this community has lost a loved one >to cancer or pulmonary failure as a result of haphazard and reckless uranium >mining. Only recently were Navajo elderly moved from homes built with >radioactive rock. > Navajo here, and in nearby Red Valley, were clearly the canaries whose >songs were silenced; human guinea pigs for an industry that took no >precautions to save their lives. > Dine Citizens Against Ruining our Environment is fighting the good war, >hoping to expose the long-overdue injustice and bring compensation to the >victims and families of the deceased. > Fighting to reform of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act of 1990, >the grassroots group says the Act padded the pockets of attorneys while >leaving most victims ineligible. > "No one is getting any relief," said Alyce Mae Yazzie, community >activist from Kayenta. > Currently, Dine CARE and the Western States RECA Reform Coalition are >struggling to introduce a reform bill in the U.S. House of Representatives >and urging support from Congress. > In Red Valley, near the Four Corners, the recent swearing-in party for >newly elected Navajo Council delegate J.C. Begay, took on a serious tone. > "Navajo voiced their concerns about radiation contamination from mines >and mill sites in their homeland," said Lori Goodman, spokesperson for Dine >CARE. > "Nobody knows about RECA," said Tommie Reed, of Uranium Workers Post 71. >"People don't know who's eligible. Is it miners? Is it their children?" > Pledging his support at the gathering, newly-elected Vice President >Taylor McKenzie said President Kelsey Begaye, is "100 percent" behind the >RECA reform efforts. > The Navajo activists have been arguing for a much broader, more >inclusive reform, to include victims besides miners, on the Navajo Nation >and beyond. > Yazzie said, "We have seen a number of bills, and possible compromises. >We have nothing to compromise. No one is getting any relief. We need to push >for the most comprehensive RECA reform we can get." > Goodman said the goals of the Western States RECA Reform Coalition >include reforming the government's process of compensating individuals who >have been exposed to harmful levels of radiation. > Miners, millers, test subjects, people living close to mines, families >of workers, and people living in the path of airborne fallout from above >ground nuclear tests have all been exposed to dangerous levels of radiation >in a variety of ways. > One of the major pieces of legislation to begin to address these >problems is the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, which was signed into >law in 1990. This act made compensation payments available to underground >miners who are able to document that they have been exposed to dangerous >levels of radiation. > But, Goodman said there are many problems with the act. > "For the miners, the very people supposedly helped by the act, the >burden of proof is often too great. They don't have the documentation to >show they should be compensated. > "And many miners, including those who worked in the mines after 1971, >are considered ineligible for compensation," she said. > The first attempts to reform RECA were intended to change the situation, >to make it easier for miners to get what they deserved. > Goodman said recent government studies show that miners are not the only >ones exposed to dangerous levels of radiation. RECA activists are calling on >Washington to truly reform RECA by including millers, families of workers >who were exposed to radiation, downwinders (people living down wind from >nuclear tests), and families living near mines or tailings. > Supporting this position, the Navajo Nation Council outlined 10 points >of RECA reform in 1998. > Former representative Bill Redmond, R-N.M., introduced H.R. 3539 to the >U.S. House of Representatives in the 105th Congress. It called for health >monitoring and compensation for some of the victims of radiation poisoning. > Meanwhile, in the U.S. Senate, Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., introduced S. >2343, calling for even more comprehensive health studies and compensation >for some of the victims of radiation poisoning. > During the maneuvers over legislation in Washington, it became clear >that attorneys did not want to lose their hefty benefits. > "At the end of 1998, both pieces of legislation almost fell victim to >back room politics, Goodman said. "Eager to produce some type of settlement >by the end of the year - and eager to keep the funds coming for lawyers >entitled to a 10 percent cut of all compensation payments - Washington >legislators proposed an amendment to RECA that did nothing more than ease a >few of the restrictions on miners. > "This last-minute deal would have completely ignored the express hopes >of all people," she said. > Goodman said the Reform Coalition is calling on the 106th Congress to >enact legislation that will bring justice to everyone poisoned by radiation, >and "help prevent the further spread of this toxic threat." ======================================================= ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ta Da! See our new web site. http://www.onelist.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------ DOEWatch List --- Subscribe online: http://www.onelist.com/subscribe.cgi/doewatch Quote from Truman's diary July 25, 1945: "We have discovered the most terrible bomb in the history of the world. It may be the fire destruction prophesized in the Euphrates Valley Era, after Noah and his fabulous Ark. Anyway we think we have found the way to cause the disintegration of the atom." "The Doctor of the future will give No Medicine, but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, in diet, and in the cause and prevention of disease." -Attributed to Thomas Alva Edison &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
