My father worked at Hanford from 1951 to 1973, sixteen years in
Reactor Operations.Job titles as follows. (Radiation Monitoring,
Supervisor, Radiation Monitoring, Supervisor, Supplemental Crews,
Reactor Specialist, and Supervisor 105-109, 100N Area.)
After which he worked as Office Equipment Manager, and Manager of
Printing and Duplicating.
He was in charge of classified files for the Atomic Energy Commission.
My father had a Q clearance, that's the highest.
My father also worked for Bendix and U.N.C. Geotech in Grand Junction, Colorado.
With almost thirty years of employment for the Department of Energy he
died in 1988 at age 62, of Multiple Myeloma a rare type of cancer
having Statistically Significants linking it to Nuclear workers.
Brief history of my father: From March,1944 to Nov.1946 Military
Service, Held rank of Sargent in Army Air Force as Remote Control
Gunner. His position was Ball and Turret gunner B-17 Bomber Combat
Crew. My father spent time in France,Austria,and Germany.
Education: Mesa Jr. College from Dec.1946 to June,1949 after which he
attended the University of Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania.My father took
courses in Pre-Dental,including chemistry,bacteriology,
physics,zoology,anatomy,and mathematics. Company sponsored courses in
the field of employee and union relations.
Summary of qualification: Held administrative position for nine years,
for Bendix, and Geotech U.N.C.,(DOE) as Supervisor of Printing
Department.
Held administrative positions for 19 of 23 years employed at the
Hanford Project. Responsibilities included directing the activities of
union, non-union and supervisory employees.
Appraisals by management asserted his performance was proficient and
emphasized his ability to handle personnel relations effectively,as
well as getting the job done.
Responsibilities in Arrow Lite and Paint and Arrow Trophies, Inc.,
included outside selling.
While he was manager of Arrow Trophies,Inc., he traveled western
Colorado selling trophies,awards,and component parts wholesale and
retail.
The gross sales tripled in the three years he managed the corporation.
He was Branch Manager and only sales person while employed by Rocky
Mountain Hose Co.
Hired on with General Electric 4-18-51 to March 1955 as H.I.Inspector
B, later job title changed to Radiation Monitor.
Duties: Responsible for radiation protection and contamination control
in a single reactor building under the supervision of a radiation
monitoring supervisor Duties included routine and
non-routine,radiation surveys,air sampling and accurate record
keeping.
March 1955 to October 1959 Supervisor,Radiation Monitoring Reactor
Operations.Duties: Supervised a crew of 8 to 16 radiation
monitors,providing monitoring service for 4 to 8 production reactors
during one 8-hour shift. Maintain a sustained radiation protection
training program for all reactor personnel on the shift;i.e.,
radiation monitors, reactor operators and maintenance craftsman.
Assume responsibility for all radiation problems and incidents with in
the assigned reactors on the shift.
Oct. 1959 to June 1961 Supervisor, Radiation Monitoring Reactor
Operations.Duties: Same as June 1964 to June 1967. June 1961 to April
1963- Reactor Specialist- Reactor Operations.Duties: In training for
first 18 months. As Reactor Specialist, responsible for the efficient
and safe operation of nuclear production reactor during 8-hour shift.
Provide functional guidance to reactor operating crew.
April 1963 to June 1964- Supervisor, 100-N Reactor Operation.Duties:
Supervise a shift crew of 10 to 12 reactor operators and 2 radiation
monitors in work not directly affecting the process control for a dual
purpose reactor during the initial operating period following
construction. Much of the work involved high temperature - high
pressure water, and steam. Work included non-irradiated and irradiated
solid, gas, and liquid materials arrangement, handling, storage and
shipping; decontamination activities and radiation protection clothing
control.
June 1964 to June 1967- Supervisor, Supplemental Crews- Reactor
Operations.Duties: Supervise a crew of 6 to 8 reactor operators and 2
to 4 radiation monitors during one eight- hour shift. This crew is
concerned primarily with supplying supplemental manpower during
shutdown periods of the eight Hanford plutonium production reactors.
From April 1951 to 1967- General Electric Company, Richland, Washington.
June 1967 to June 1969- Specialist - Office Equipment
Management.Duties: Coordinated procedures and controls to insure
availability, suitability, maximum utilization, and economical
retirement of all office machines, furniture, and other related items
of controlled equipment utilized at the October Project by the Atomic
Energy Commission and it's cost-type contractors. Conducted tests and
made studies off all types of office equipment such as typewriters,
electronic calculators, and economical and dependable equipment to be
purchased as replacement and additions to stock.
June 1969 to Oct. 1973- Manager of Printing and Duplicating.Duties:
Responsible for management of printing plant, duplicating service,
from design service, engineering reproduction service and classified
files for the Atomic Energy Commission and it's cost-type contractors
at the Hanford Project. Held accountable for planning, organizing and
directing activities of 40 employees.
From June 1967 to Oct. 1973- ITT Federal Support Services, Inc., and
Atlantic Richfield Hanford Co., Richland, Washington.
Dec. 1973 to Jan. 1977- Arrow Trophies, Inc., Grand Junction,
Colorado.Duties: Manager and part owner of retail outlet supplying
trophies and awards.
Jan. 1977 to Sept. 1978- Arrow Lite and Paint, Grand Junction,
Colorado.Duties: Manager and part owner of retail and wholesale store.
Products included paints, wall-coverings, framed mirrors, medicine
chest, fireplace doors and related items.
Sept. 1978 to Sept. 1979- Rocky Mountain Hose Co., Grand Junction, Co.
Duties: Branch Manager and outside sales.
Oct.1979 to March 1988- (DOE)- Geotech U.N.C., and Bendix Field
Engineering Corporation, Printing Manager
Accomplishments: Authored several systems acceptance test procedures
and detailed operating procedures for startup of the new reactor.
Promoted from Radiation Monitor to Radiation Monitoring Supervisor
with less time as a monitor that anyone promoted before him.
Also was youngest Monitoring Supervisor.
Established highest charging rate for a 12 month period, while a
Supplemental Crews Supervisor.
Personnel working for him never suffered a major injury.
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory,(PNNL) operated by Battelle for
the U.S. Department of Energy in charge of radiological exposure
records claims he received 22.008 rems of whole body effective dose
equivalent, and 27.010 rems skin dose equivalent, and 27.730 rems
extremity dose extremity dose equivalent, and no eye dose equivalent.
PNNL claims he received no internal dose.
My father told his doctors shortly before he died that he had received
45 rems of whole body effective dose equivalent.
I have documentation from the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona
stating that he had received 45 rems while employed at Hanford, and
also documentation from a his doctor at Saint Marys Hospital in Grand
Junction, Colorado stating diagnosis of multiple myeloma is
potentially pertinent in that he has a history of irradiation exposure
in his prior occupation associated with accelerators and reactors.
Battells explanation for the discrepancy in dose was possibly my
father was calculating his penetrating exposure with his skin exposure
which is not a meaningful number.
If that was the case it would have added up to be forty nine.
I contend that taking into consideration with respect to my fathers
education, monitoring experience, and record keeping skills that this
is a false conclusion.
Whether it is 22rems or 45 rems most of the scientific community
believes that any number over 20 can cause, and or increase your risk
associated with cancer.
Recently my only living first degree relative my brother, was told by
a supervisor at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and
Health.(NIOSH) In charge of dose reconstruction that it does not look
like my fathers cancer was 50 percent as likely as not caused from his
employment for the Department of Energy. With all due respect,I must
disagree.
Evidence:
1.My father had a Q clearance.
2.My father spent most of his time in the 100 area, but also spent
time in the 200 and 300 areas.
3.Department of Energy, General Electric worker records from 1951 to
1955 are not documented on job locations, to fully understand what
types of exposures may have occurred between those years.
4.My father started working in 1951 his work involved exposure to
neutrons and it was not until the late 1950's that the neutrons were
properly monitored.
5.My father worked in Reactor Operations, Production,and Manufacturing.
Manufacturing Process, Reactor Operations main radiation hazards were
from inhalation of fission products, activation products, external
whole body ionizing radiation.
6.Production workers were exposed to natural uranium through about
1958. Reactor workers,they do not know how they were monitored for
activation products until 1960 except air sampling.
7.My father was involved in at least three laps of radiation control
incidents,and one skin contamination incident.
8.One of the incidents personnel who may have received uncontrolled
exposures are not known for certain.
9.Incidents were classified as severity 11 and severity 16.
10.At Hanford, urine samples were used as one way to monitor radiation exposure.
But for decades those tests showed only the activity level in the
urine, not whether radiation was from isotopes being quickly excreted
or insoluble.
11.My father was monitored by biological radiation monitoring programs
urine, and
in-vivo/whole body count for Plutonium, and Fission Products,also for Isotopes.
12.Samples for bioassay were also picked up from my fathers door step.
13.For years my father traveled to where ever he was needed all around
the Hanford Reservation when working as day relief radiation monitor,
and as supplemental crews.
14.In the early 1950's Hanford had a severe problem with hot particles
from the stacks and he was exposed to radioactive dust,and fall-out.
15.My father reported to the Hanford doctor for particles in his eyes,
and also for some deep cuts and continued to work in radiation zones.
16.Which means he most likely received internal radiation exposure
from these circumstances through inhalation and absorption that were
never calculated.
17.For sixteen years my father was exposed to radiation, chemicals,
and heavy metals.
18.On some of the earlier dosimetry records on the bottom of the
dosimetry card it states that you must not exceed 50 mrems daily
without special permission.
19.He reached 50 mrems at least 50 times, and over 50 mrems a least 30 times.
20.My Father was withdrawn, restricted from certain Job sites because
of over-exposure at least 10 times.
21.Dosimetry records that I received from Battelle (DOE) were poor
quality, and around one fourth were illegible, so the number of
radiation limits and with drawn from job sites are most likely much
higher.
22.My father told his doctors from the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale
shortly before he died that he had received 45 rems of whole body
effective dose equivalent, and one of his doctors in Grand Junction,
Colorado states that the multiple myeloma is potentially pertinent in
that he has a history of irradiation exposure in his prior occupation
(meaning Hanford) with accelerators and reactors.
23.I have documentation from the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona,
stating exposed to 45 rems while employed at Hanford, and Saint Marys
Hospital in Grand Junction, Colorado stating diagnosis of Multiple
Myeloma is pertinent do to his previous work with radiation and
accelerators.
24.My father had supervisor evaluations states that strengths were in
Radiation Monitoring and was qualified in all aspects, as well as
being quite qualified in Reactor Operations.
25.Meaning that he was an expert in Radiation Monitoring, and
calculating Dosimetry,and record keeping, and was very knowable in
Reactor Operations.
26.My fathers job required that he have X-rays almost on a yearly
bases, he had at least fourteen chest X-rays while at Hanford.
27.My father was exposed to radiation while working with accelerators.
28.The IREP computer program designed to calculate probability of
causation, which is so instrumental to the out come of the program
does not take into account for accelerator produced particles which
under estimates his exposure.
29.With all the factors involved with my father's work the synergistic
effect is incomprehensible.
30.Radiation is known to effect the immune system adding to the
possibility of contracting cancer.
31.There are a number of accredited studies around fifty with
statistically significant findings linking radiation workers to
multiple myeloma.
32.Most of these case studies were exposed to far less radiation
exposure than my father was.
33."Statistical significance" is the likelihood that the results found
could not have occurred by chance alone. The association of disease
risk with radiation exposure in a study is said to be statistically
significant if the association is so strong that it is unlikely to
have occurred simply by chance.Statistically significant means that
chance is operating less than 5 percent of the time.
34.My father had no history of any kind of cancer in his family.
35.Multiple Myeloma is a rare type of cancer.
36.Blacks are twice as likely to contract and die from multiple
myeloma as whites.
37.The Department of Energy has known from as early as 1977 that
Nuclear workers at Hanford were dyeing from Multiple Myeloma.
38.The Program Director Mr. Peter M. Turcic made the statement
quote.(This is a claimant friendly process workers don't have to prove
any exposure at all in dose reconstructions,only that they are ill and
worked in the area where there was a 99 percent confidence level that
they were exposed.)
Conclusion:
My Father while employed as Printing and duplicating supervisor at the
Hanford Project was in charge of classified files for the Atomic
Energy Commission.
The responsibility involved with this job means he was thought as a
very respected, competent, and trustworthy employee and knew exactly
what he was doing.
I believe Congress enacted the (EEOICP) for families like mine who
have suffered from the loss of a loved one.
With all do respect, I believe that the over abundance of evidence of
my fathers claim shows that an approval is in order.
I am still awaiting a decision. I have been waiting for over four years.
I truly believe that the biggest
problem with the porgram is that the IREP computer program is flawed.
A good question would be to ask DOL how many claims for Luekemia,
Thyroid Cancer, and Multiple Myeloma have been approved?
I have asked but they claim that they do not know.
The money is not the most importance
factor it would not begin to pay for lost wages, medical and burial expences.
I get a little paranoid at what our
government is capable of doing.
In a society as open as are's is, the
only way that they can admister
certain policies is to lie, deni or
be secretive,which are all the same to me.
I only wish that DOL,DOE,HHS,NIOSH,OCAS,ORAU,
would follow the path that congress intend
for the Energy Employees Occupational Compensation Program.
It was not designed for NIOSH to make up the
rules as they see fit. Yes, my family has
suffered the consequences of Hanford, and the cold war.
My father dieing in my arms at age 62 of Multiple Myeloma, my mother as healthy
as a horse one day, and dead the next of Acute Myeloid Leukimia and my
brother wasting away in front of my face with Colon Cancer and dieing at age 42.
All the while ripping a piece of my heart out
with each of their death's. I am so scorn that
life will never be the same.Nor will I.
Richard
Reactor Operations.Job titles as follows. (Radiation Monitoring,
Supervisor, Radiation Monitoring, Supervisor, Supplemental Crews,
Reactor Specialist, and Supervisor 105-109, 100N Area.)
After which he worked as Office Equipment Manager, and Manager of
Printing and Duplicating.
He was in charge of classified files for the Atomic Energy Commission.
My father had a Q clearance, that's the highest.
My father also worked for Bendix and U.N.C. Geotech in Grand Junction, Colorado.
With almost thirty years of employment for the Department of Energy he
died in 1988 at age 62, of Multiple Myeloma a rare type of cancer
having Statistically Significants linking it to Nuclear workers.
Brief history of my father: From March,1944 to Nov.1946 Military
Service, Held rank of Sargent in Army Air Force as Remote Control
Gunner. His position was Ball and Turret gunner B-17 Bomber Combat
Crew. My father spent time in France,Austria,and Germany.
Education: Mesa Jr. College from Dec.1946 to June,1949 after which he
attended the University of Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania.My father took
courses in Pre-Dental,including chemistry,bacteriology,
physics,zoology,anatomy,and mathematics. Company sponsored courses in
the field of employee and union relations.
Summary of qualification: Held administrative position for nine years,
for Bendix, and Geotech U.N.C.,(DOE) as Supervisor of Printing
Department.
Held administrative positions for 19 of 23 years employed at the
Hanford Project. Responsibilities included directing the activities of
union, non-union and supervisory employees.
Appraisals by management asserted his performance was proficient and
emphasized his ability to handle personnel relations effectively,as
well as getting the job done.
Responsibilities in Arrow Lite and Paint and Arrow Trophies, Inc.,
included outside selling.
While he was manager of Arrow Trophies,Inc., he traveled western
Colorado selling trophies,awards,and component parts wholesale and
retail.
The gross sales tripled in the three years he managed the corporation.
He was Branch Manager and only sales person while employed by Rocky
Mountain Hose Co.
Hired on with General Electric 4-18-51 to March 1955 as H.I.Inspector
B, later job title changed to Radiation Monitor.
Duties: Responsible for radiation protection and contamination control
in a single reactor building under the supervision of a radiation
monitoring supervisor Duties included routine and
non-routine,radiation surveys,air sampling and accurate record
keeping.
March 1955 to October 1959 Supervisor,Radiation Monitoring Reactor
Operations.Duties: Supervised a crew of 8 to 16 radiation
monitors,providing monitoring service for 4 to 8 production reactors
during one 8-hour shift. Maintain a sustained radiation protection
training program for all reactor personnel on the shift;i.e.,
radiation monitors, reactor operators and maintenance craftsman.
Assume responsibility for all radiation problems and incidents with in
the assigned reactors on the shift.
Oct. 1959 to June 1961 Supervisor, Radiation Monitoring Reactor
Operations.Duties: Same as June 1964 to June 1967. June 1961 to April
1963- Reactor Specialist- Reactor Operations.Duties: In training for
first 18 months. As Reactor Specialist, responsible for the efficient
and safe operation of nuclear production reactor during 8-hour shift.
Provide functional guidance to reactor operating crew.
April 1963 to June 1964- Supervisor, 100-N Reactor Operation.Duties:
Supervise a shift crew of 10 to 12 reactor operators and 2 radiation
monitors in work not directly affecting the process control for a dual
purpose reactor during the initial operating period following
construction. Much of the work involved high temperature - high
pressure water, and steam. Work included non-irradiated and irradiated
solid, gas, and liquid materials arrangement, handling, storage and
shipping; decontamination activities and radiation protection clothing
control.
June 1964 to June 1967- Supervisor, Supplemental Crews- Reactor
Operations.Duties: Supervise a crew of 6 to 8 reactor operators and 2
to 4 radiation monitors during one eight- hour shift. This crew is
concerned primarily with supplying supplemental manpower during
shutdown periods of the eight Hanford plutonium production reactors.
From April 1951 to 1967- General Electric Company, Richland, Washington.
June 1967 to June 1969- Specialist - Office Equipment
Management.Duties: Coordinated procedures and controls to insure
availability, suitability, maximum utilization, and economical
retirement of all office machines, furniture, and other related items
of controlled equipment utilized at the October Project by the Atomic
Energy Commission and it's cost-type contractors. Conducted tests and
made studies off all types of office equipment such as typewriters,
electronic calculators, and economical and dependable equipment to be
purchased as replacement and additions to stock.
June 1969 to Oct. 1973- Manager of Printing and Duplicating.Duties:
Responsible for management of printing plant, duplicating service,
from design service, engineering reproduction service and classified
files for the Atomic Energy Commission and it's cost-type contractors
at the Hanford Project. Held accountable for planning, organizing and
directing activities of 40 employees.
From June 1967 to Oct. 1973- ITT Federal Support Services, Inc., and
Atlantic Richfield Hanford Co., Richland, Washington.
Dec. 1973 to Jan. 1977- Arrow Trophies, Inc., Grand Junction,
Colorado.Duties: Manager and part owner of retail outlet supplying
trophies and awards.
Jan. 1977 to Sept. 1978- Arrow Lite and Paint, Grand Junction,
Colorado.Duties: Manager and part owner of retail and wholesale store.
Products included paints, wall-coverings, framed mirrors, medicine
chest, fireplace doors and related items.
Sept. 1978 to Sept. 1979- Rocky Mountain Hose Co., Grand Junction, Co.
Duties: Branch Manager and outside sales.
Oct.1979 to March 1988- (DOE)- Geotech U.N.C., and Bendix Field
Engineering Corporation, Printing Manager
Accomplishments: Authored several systems acceptance test procedures
and detailed operating procedures for startup of the new reactor.
Promoted from Radiation Monitor to Radiation Monitoring Supervisor
with less time as a monitor that anyone promoted before him.
Also was youngest Monitoring Supervisor.
Established highest charging rate for a 12 month period, while a
Supplemental Crews Supervisor.
Personnel working for him never suffered a major injury.
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory,(PNNL) operated by Battelle for
the U.S. Department of Energy in charge of radiological exposure
records claims he received 22.008 rems of whole body effective dose
equivalent, and 27.010 rems skin dose equivalent, and 27.730 rems
extremity dose extremity dose equivalent, and no eye dose equivalent.
PNNL claims he received no internal dose.
My father told his doctors shortly before he died that he had received
45 rems of whole body effective dose equivalent.
I have documentation from the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona
stating that he had received 45 rems while employed at Hanford, and
also documentation from a his doctor at Saint Marys Hospital in Grand
Junction, Colorado stating diagnosis of multiple myeloma is
potentially pertinent in that he has a history of irradiation exposure
in his prior occupation associated with accelerators and reactors.
Battells explanation for the discrepancy in dose was possibly my
father was calculating his penetrating exposure with his skin exposure
which is not a meaningful number.
If that was the case it would have added up to be forty nine.
I contend that taking into consideration with respect to my fathers
education, monitoring experience, and record keeping skills that this
is a false conclusion.
Whether it is 22rems or 45 rems most of the scientific community
believes that any number over 20 can cause, and or increase your risk
associated with cancer.
Recently my only living first degree relative my brother, was told by
a supervisor at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and
Health.(NIOSH) In charge of dose reconstruction that it does not look
like my fathers cancer was 50 percent as likely as not caused from his
employment for the Department of Energy. With all due respect,I must
disagree.
Evidence:
1.My father had a Q clearance.
2.My father spent most of his time in the 100 area, but also spent
time in the 200 and 300 areas.
3.Department of Energy, General Electric worker records from 1951 to
1955 are not documented on job locations, to fully understand what
types of exposures may have occurred between those years.
4.My father started working in 1951 his work involved exposure to
neutrons and it was not until the late 1950's that the neutrons were
properly monitored.
5.My father worked in Reactor Operations, Production,and Manufacturing.
Manufacturing Process, Reactor Operations main radiation hazards were
from inhalation of fission products, activation products, external
whole body ionizing radiation.
6.Production workers were exposed to natural uranium through about
1958. Reactor workers,they do not know how they were monitored for
activation products until 1960 except air sampling.
7.My father was involved in at least three laps of radiation control
incidents,and one skin contamination incident.
8.One of the incidents personnel who may have received uncontrolled
exposures are not known for certain.
9.Incidents were classified as severity 11 and severity 16.
10.At Hanford, urine samples were used as one way to monitor radiation exposure.
But for decades those tests showed only the activity level in the
urine, not whether radiation was from isotopes being quickly excreted
or insoluble.
11.My father was monitored by biological radiation monitoring programs
urine, and
in-vivo/whole body count for Plutonium, and Fission Products,also for Isotopes.
12.Samples for bioassay were also picked up from my fathers door step.
13.For years my father traveled to where ever he was needed all around
the Hanford Reservation when working as day relief radiation monitor,
and as supplemental crews.
14.In the early 1950's Hanford had a severe problem with hot particles
from the stacks and he was exposed to radioactive dust,and fall-out.
15.My father reported to the Hanford doctor for particles in his eyes,
and also for some deep cuts and continued to work in radiation zones.
16.Which means he most likely received internal radiation exposure
from these circumstances through inhalation and absorption that were
never calculated.
17.For sixteen years my father was exposed to radiation, chemicals,
and heavy metals.
18.On some of the earlier dosimetry records on the bottom of the
dosimetry card it states that you must not exceed 50 mrems daily
without special permission.
19.He reached 50 mrems at least 50 times, and over 50 mrems a least 30 times.
20.My Father was withdrawn, restricted from certain Job sites because
of over-exposure at least 10 times.
21.Dosimetry records that I received from Battelle (DOE) were poor
quality, and around one fourth were illegible, so the number of
radiation limits and with drawn from job sites are most likely much
higher.
22.My father told his doctors from the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale
shortly before he died that he had received 45 rems of whole body
effective dose equivalent, and one of his doctors in Grand Junction,
Colorado states that the multiple myeloma is potentially pertinent in
that he has a history of irradiation exposure in his prior occupation
(meaning Hanford) with accelerators and reactors.
23.I have documentation from the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona,
stating exposed to 45 rems while employed at Hanford, and Saint Marys
Hospital in Grand Junction, Colorado stating diagnosis of Multiple
Myeloma is pertinent do to his previous work with radiation and
accelerators.
24.My father had supervisor evaluations states that strengths were in
Radiation Monitoring and was qualified in all aspects, as well as
being quite qualified in Reactor Operations.
25.Meaning that he was an expert in Radiation Monitoring, and
calculating Dosimetry,and record keeping, and was very knowable in
Reactor Operations.
26.My fathers job required that he have X-rays almost on a yearly
bases, he had at least fourteen chest X-rays while at Hanford.
27.My father was exposed to radiation while working with accelerators.
28.The IREP computer program designed to calculate probability of
causation, which is so instrumental to the out come of the program
does not take into account for accelerator produced particles which
under estimates his exposure.
29.With all the factors involved with my father's work the synergistic
effect is incomprehensible.
30.Radiation is known to effect the immune system adding to the
possibility of contracting cancer.
31.There are a number of accredited studies around fifty with
statistically significant findings linking radiation workers to
multiple myeloma.
32.Most of these case studies were exposed to far less radiation
exposure than my father was.
33."Statistical significance" is the likelihood that the results found
could not have occurred by chance alone. The association of disease
risk with radiation exposure in a study is said to be statistically
significant if the association is so strong that it is unlikely to
have occurred simply by chance.Statistically significant means that
chance is operating less than 5 percent of the time.
34.My father had no history of any kind of cancer in his family.
35.Multiple Myeloma is a rare type of cancer.
36.Blacks are twice as likely to contract and die from multiple
myeloma as whites.
37.The Department of Energy has known from as early as 1977 that
Nuclear workers at Hanford were dyeing from Multiple Myeloma.
38.The Program Director Mr. Peter M. Turcic made the statement
quote.(This is a claimant friendly process workers don't have to prove
any exposure at all in dose reconstructions,only that they are ill and
worked in the area where there was a 99 percent confidence level that
they were exposed.)
Conclusion:
My Father while employed as Printing and duplicating supervisor at the
Hanford Project was in charge of classified files for the Atomic
Energy Commission.
The responsibility involved with this job means he was thought as a
very respected, competent, and trustworthy employee and knew exactly
what he was doing.
I believe Congress enacted the (EEOICP) for families like mine who
have suffered from the loss of a loved one.
With all do respect, I believe that the over abundance of evidence of
my fathers claim shows that an approval is in order.
I am still awaiting a decision. I have been waiting for over four years.
I truly believe that the biggest
problem with the porgram is that the IREP computer program is flawed.
A good question would be to ask DOL how many claims for Luekemia,
Thyroid Cancer, and Multiple Myeloma have been approved?
I have asked but they claim that they do not know.
The money is not the most importance
factor it would not begin to pay for lost wages, medical and burial expences.
I get a little paranoid at what our
government is capable of doing.
In a society as open as are's is, the
only way that they can admister
certain policies is to lie, deni or
be secretive,which are all the same to me.
I only wish that DOL,DOE,HHS,NIOSH,OCAS,ORAU,
would follow the path that congress intend
for the Energy Employees Occupational Compensation Program.
It was not designed for NIOSH to make up the
rules as they see fit. Yes, my family has
suffered the consequences of Hanford, and the cold war.
My father dieing in my arms at age 62 of Multiple Myeloma, my mother as healthy
as a horse one day, and dead the next of Acute Myeloid Leukimia and my
brother wasting away in front of my face with Colon Cancer and dieing at age 42.
All the while ripping a piece of my heart out
with each of their death's. I am so scorn that
life will never be the same.Nor will I.
Richard
posted by:
|
-
Re: Another Downwinders Life Shattered (MINE)
Sat, May 14, 2005 - 11:40 PMDear Richard,
It's not fair. I hope you have a place to go, in your world and/or your heart where you can find Peace and connection to those lost.
Thru the rest of the days and nights I'm thankful for your outrage and fervor and thank you for your commitment and great work.
God Bless. -
-
Re: Another Downwinders Life Shattered (MINE)
Sun, May 15, 2005 - 3:41 PMDear Terri,
Thank you for reading my post.
You are a very nice and compassionate person.
I 'am lucky enough to be a believer, which means
that I can put my faith in the lord to lift the burden off my shoulders.
I don't have to make since out of the loss of my family members.
As difficult as some day's are, I know that God will make it right.
Best Wishes,
Richard Fash
P.S. A friend is a gift that you give to yourself.
-
-
Re: Another Downwinders Life Shattered (MINE)
Mon, November 6, 2006 - 4:56 AMI am really sorry to read your story and share your pain.
I lost my dad to Multiple Myeloma Apr 2005. My father had worked in the chemical industry all his life and I think that this cased his cancer too. My dad did his apprenticeship with ICI where back in the day they used to stick their hands into paint strippers and all sorts with benzene in them. I have read a lot of articles from US about working in chemical industry being a possible cause of myeloma. In the UK thought, they are more inclined to think it is cased by physical bne damage.
Louise
