Atomic Veterans
VA Proposes Additional Aid For "Atomic Veterans"
WASHINGTON, D.C. Veterans exposed to radiation during their military
service and diagnosed with cancer of the bone, brain, colon, lung, or
ovary will
have an easier time applying for, and receiving compensation for their
illnesses,
if proposed regulatory changes are approved.
Hershel W. Gober, Acting Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA), proposed
adding
these cancers to the list of illnesses presumed to be connected to the
military
service of specific veterans, thereby lessening their burden of proof
when
seeking compensation.
"Veterans who were injured by radiation during their military service
should
receive fair and appropriate compensation," Gober said. "No less
than
veterans
who were wounded on the battlefield, they earned VA’s support and the
nation’s
gratitude."
The proposed changes apply to those veterans who participated in
"radiation-risk activities" while on active duty, during active
service
for training or
inactive duty training as a member of a reserve component. Those
activities
include the occupation of Hiroshima or Nagasaki, internment as a POW in
Japan, or onsite involvement in atmospheric nuclear weapons tests.
People in
this group are frequently called "atomic veterans."
In 1988, Congress established a presumption of service connection for
13
different cancers in veterans exposed to "ionizing radiation," with
later changes
bringing the number to 16. Under provisions of the Radiation-Exposed
Veterans
Compensation Act (Pub. L. 100-321), veterans are presumed to be service
connected if they participated in a radiation-risk activity and later
developed one
of the following diseases: leukemia (other than chronic lymphocytic
leukemia),
cancer of the thyroid, breast, pharynx, esophagus, stomach, small
intestine,
pancreas, gall bladder, bile ducts, salivary gland, or urinary tract,
multiple
myeloma, lymphomas (except Hodgkin’s disease), primary cancer of the
liver
(except if cirrhosis or hepatitis B is indicated), or
bronchiolo-aveolar carcinoma.
The proposed changes would also expand the definition of
"radiation-risk
activity" to include exposure to radiation related to underground
nuclear tests at
Amchitka Island, Alaska, prior to January 1, 1974, and service at
gaseous
diffusion plants in Paducah, Ky., Portsmouth, Ohio, and Oak Ridge,
Tenn. (area
K25).
VA’s proposed changes ensure equity in the treatment of veterans and
federal
civilians who are being provided benefits for the first time for health
problems
caused be radiation. These changes bring veterans benefits up to the
same
standards used for civilians under the Radiation Exposure Compensation
Act
(RECA) of 1990, as amended this year.
"When the way comes to an end, then change - having changed, you pass
through" 'I Ching'