Radiation Related Cancer

The Denver Post appears to be promoting a solution where anyone who ever worked at Rocky Flats gets full lifetime health care and perhaps $150,000. It hopes to draw Mark Udall into the scheme.

This issue has been the subject of a board created by former Energy Secretary Bill Richardson. That board ruled that if a cancer were likely 50% or more a result of radiation, the worker should get compensation. The Post asks what would happen if the odds were only 49%.

The board's decision left more than 10,000 workers without compensation. That means they will be forced to submit individual petitions to the government to try to prove that their jobs caused their illnesses, a process that is onerous and could take years. In the end, the workers could still be left without compensation.

The line needs to be drawn somewhere. One would think that after almost a decade of study the line was drawn reasonably. Although the Post admits that the line doesn't cut compensation off, it wants there to be no line. It will be interesting to see where Udall comes down on the issue.