| Bill aims to cover defense workers exposed to beryllium 04/13/2001 Associated Press SAN ANTONIO – Evidence that workers at Kelly Air Force Base handled beryllium has prompted a San Antonio lawmaker to craft a bill that would help Defense Department workers receive compensation if they become ill from exposure to nuclear materials.
The measure, proposed by U.S. Rep. Charlie Gonzalez, aims to set up an occupational illness program similar to the one already in place for Energy Department workers or contractors who handled radioactive materials.
The Energy Department has listed the former Medina Base in San Antonio as one of 317 sites where workers would be eligible for compensation.
Gonzalez, D-San Antonio, told the San Antonio Express-News for its Friday editions that he believes the numbers of workers at Kelly exposed to the deadly metal beryllium could surpass those at Medina.
He said only about 60 people from the San Antonio area have called a toll-free hot line set up by the Energy Department about the program, noting that most of the calls were from military workers looking for information.
"We need to take that into consideration – that there's a real need out there," he said at a briefing with local health, military and community officials. "Where do we direct them and what do we tell them to do?"
Gonzalez's plan would help cover the medical expenses of workers who contract berylliosis, a potentially fatal disease of the lungs, or certain cancers linked to radiation.
A columnist at the Express-News obtained papers from Kelly officials that reveal the existence of a "Beryllium Room" at the base, which was used for the machining of hatch covers made of the metal.
"The machining involved drilling two holes that were approximately one-tenth-inch in diameter in each cover," the paper said.
Kate Kimpan, a senior policy adviser in the Energy Department's Office of Environment, Safety and Health, said that drilling would create dust that, if inhaled, could cause berylliosis
|
