This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2005, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
People from certain parts of Utah, Nevada and Arizona may no longer be the only ones eligible for federal compensation for exposure to radioactive fallout from aboveground nuclear testing.
A National Academy of Sciences report to Congress, released Thursday, says the existing compensation boundaries established by Congress 15 years ago are inadequate and should be expanded to include the entire United States and U.S. territories.
But part of the report acknowledges that proving a link under the potential new system could be difficult due to gaps in the scientific data.
People from 21 counties, including 10 counties in southern Utah, now are eligible for compensation for sicknesses related to fallout from testing in Nevada in the 1950s and early 1960s.
Critics of the report question whether the recommended changes, most notably a new formula for determining the link between fallout exposure and disease, will make it easier for people in other areas, such as northern Utah and Idaho, to receive compensation.
"To me, it's still a little ambiguous," said Mary Dickson, of Salt Lake City, a downnwinder activist and manager and writer at KUED-TV.
Dickson said she was pleased the report tells Congress that compensation boundaries are inadequate, but is concerned about any eligibility formula that requires a scientific link between certain cancer types and fallout. Because of a lack of studies, it may be tough for people making a claim to prove fallout in other parts of the country caused specific cancers, besides thyroid, she said.
So far, nearly 9,000 claims have been approved for $447 million in compensation. Those approved had to meet geographical and illness requirements, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
The National Research Council, part of the National Academy of Sciences, examined the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act of 1990 (RECA) at the request of Congress, which now must decide if any action is needed.
"New information since RECA was enacted in 1990 reveals a wider geographic distribution of dose from [radioactive iodine] than was generally recognized when Congress identified selected counties as affected areas for downwinder eligibility," according to the report.
R. Julian Preston, a researcher with the Environmental Protection Agency who chaired the committee that issued the report, said the government should create a map that shows the maximum possible fallout exposure a person could have in any given area. People in areas that score high on this formula could then determine how likely they are to receive compensation. The maps would not be intended to exclude people from areas that score low, since there may be special circumstances, he said.
A separate set of standards, including a scientific link, would have to be met to be eligible for compensation, the reports said.
"We wanted a science-based criteria for compensation," PresĀton said, "rather than a geographic-based criteria."
Under the existing program, people who lived in the covered counties only have to show they contracted medical problems, such as breast, stomach, thyroid or pancreatic cancer or leukemia for eligibility. The report also recommends that uranium millers and ore transporters with certain diseases living in areas not previously covered under the compensation program also be eligible.
Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said in a statement that he hopes any congressional changes to the program do not undercut any persons who are currently eligible for compensation.
Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, said the report shows the need for more data to determine the health effects from exposure to fallout from nuclear weapons testing. The number of monitoring stations available at the time of the testing did not provide enough details about how widespread exposure was.
"There is still a lot we don't know," he said.
Hatch, one of the authors of the existing program, said this report offers hope that the compensation program could be expanded.
"I am frequently approached by constituents who believe that they should be eligible for RECA but who are not," Hatch said. "It is impossible for Congress to evaluate those requests without a solid scientific analysis, which is what the NAS report was intended to provide."
Sen. Bob Bennett called the report "a useful tool as Congress determines the best way to proceed with this program."
Preston said the report suggests that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, along with the National Cancer Institute, finish gathering data on some 30 other radioactive fallout components besides iodine. Other elements may play a role in health problems.
Matheson said those studies could provide a more accurate picture of all elements of fallout from nuclear weapons testing.
Preston Truman, head of Downwinders, an activist group based in Idaho, said he is skeptical about the impact of the report. But at least the report indicates that people from other areas are in need of compensation, he said.
"It's nice to see them find that we need justice," he said.
Joseph Lyon, a University of Utah researcher who has studied fallout-related thyroid problems, said many downwinders in southern Utah, for example, were exposed due to radioactive fallout landing on grassy fields. Cows ate the contaminated grass, which in turn led to contaminated milk. People who drank locally produced milk every day at the time of testing may have been exposed to risk of developing thyroid problems, including cancer.
He said the problem was not limited to Utah, Nevada and Arizona.
"There's no question the contamination was more widespread," he said.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently ended funding of Lyon's multiyear study examining fallout and thyroid problems before all participants could be examined.