The new ombudsman overseeing nuclear worker’s compensation claims said in a report to Congress that the federal government should move more quickly to get new rules in place to expedite claims.
“Claimants who are sick and elderly, and anxious for their claims to be adjudicated, feel there is no corresponding sense of urgency in their claims examiners,” said the report by Donald Shalhoub.
“This is manifested by delays in response to, or failure to return telephone calls as well as the recurring reassignment of claims examiners,” the report said.
Shalhoub was appointed the first ombudsman for the troub led nuclear worker’s compensation program last February.
A backlog of nearly 35,000 claims – including about 2,400 from the Rocky Flats nuclear plant – plagues the program, according to federal figures.
The ombudsman’s report found that $1.5 billion in claims has been paid, but concluded more could be done.
In the report, Shalhoub catalogs the workers’ list of gripes. Among them:
The new compensation program does not benefit adult children of deceased workers.
It is too difficult to prove exposure.
Employment and exposure records are lost.
Labor Assistant Secretary Victoria Lipnic said the department is working hard to resolve the department’s shortcomings noted in Shalhoub’s report, and in many cases has already corrected problems.
Still, nuclear-worker advocates said they hope the ombudsman’s report resonates with members of Congress.
“We’re really very happy with the report,” said Terrie Barrie, whose husband, George, worked at Rocky Flats and suffers from ailments, including a chronically inflamed stomach lining.
“This is another tool we can use to ask Congress to help us,” Barrie said.
In October 2004, the Labor Department took over administration of the nuclear workers compensation programs after Congress lost patience with the Department of Energy, which had managed to pay only 31 claims in four years.
Shalhoub’s report comes on the heels of news that President Bush’s proposed budget includes $686 million in cuts in benefits from the Labor Department’s nuclear worker compensation program.
At the urging of concerned Rocky Flats workers, Sen. Ken Salazar and Rep. Mark Udall have asked labor officials to brief Colorado’s delegation on the proposed cuts.
“I’m teed off, there’s no two ways about it,” said Wally Gulden, who worked in the plant’s industrial engineering department. “We’re the ones that made the pits. We saved America. But no one wants to give us a dime now.”
Staff writer Kim McGuire can be reached at 303-820-1240 or kmcguire@denverpost.com.
