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Session: State Capitol, Room 427 Juneau, AK 99801-1182 Phone: (907) 465-4925 Fax: (907) 465-3517 Send E-Mail Interim: 112 Mill Bay Road Kodiak, AK 99615 Phone: (907) 486-4925 Fax: (907) 486-5264 PO Box 795 Craig, AK 99921-0795 Phone:(907) 826-3008 Fax: (907) 826-4020 Home Phone: (907) 826-2930 |
Group was Excluded from 1990 Radiation Exposure Compensation Act
For Immediate Release: April 21, 1999
Contact: Jeannie Smith, Legislative Aide to Senator Jerry Mackie, at (907) 465-3802.
Juneau -- The Senate Labor and Commerce Committee Tuesday approved a measure designed to provide benefits to civilian workers and families on Amchitka Island who were exposed to nuclear radiation. Amchitka Island was the site of the largest underground nuclear testing ever conducted by the United States.
"While thousands of others workers exposed to nuclear radiation in other test sites were given benefits under the 1990 Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, this group of workers and their families on Amchitka Island were not," said Senator Jerry Mackie (R-Craig). Mackie chairs the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee, which sponsored Senate Joint Resolution 21. SJR 21 was introduced by the committee on behalf of Alaskan civilian workers, and the families of these workers, exposed to radiation on Amchitka.
"These civilian workers are requesting equal treatment that Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) workers based on Amchitka received. AEC workers and their family members received medical care and death benefits, funded by our tax dollars," said Mackie, noting these benefits were given with "no questions asked."
"Meanwhile, the civilian workers and their families have been all but ignored by our federal government," Mackie said. The U. S. Department of Energy has only recently agreed to check on the health of hundreds of people who were stationed on Amchitka. "The delay by the Department of Energy to recognize these workers must be remedied quickly," said Mackie. "Their health has been jeopardized unnecessarily. They should have been informed as to whether they were in a high risk category, and whether their health conditions were related to Amchitka. If so, they should have been helped to take preventive action."
Mackie publicly recognized and thanked Bev Alek, widow of Alaskan laborer, Nick Alek, for her efforts and success in bringing this issue to the forefront on a state and national level where it belongs.
"SJR 21 provides an opportunity for the Alaska State Legislature to send a strong message of support to our entire Congressional Delegation in their current efforts to seek justice for these Alaskan workers. SJR 21 puts these Alaskan workers on a level playing field with thousands of other workers from test sites around the U.S. who were included in the 1990 Radiation Exposure Compensation Act," said Mackie.
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