WASHINGTON, D.C. – Three members of Colorado’s congressional delegation have asked a federal panel to delay making a decision on granting compensation to some Rocky Flats workers, citing concerns that the approval process is flawed.
Sen. Ken Salazar and Reps. Mark Udall and Ed Perlmutter, all Colorado Democrats, are urging the federal Radiation Advisory Board to take more time to consider a petition filed by United Steelworkers Local 8031.
If approved, the petition would grant compensation for workers who were exposed to radiation and have certain types of cancers.
The delegation complained that the Bush administration has stacked the advisory board with petition opponents and that records supporting worker claims are “grossly incomplete and unreliable.”
“Although we – and the Rocky Flats workers and their families – are anxious to reach a conclusion to this drawn-out administrative process, it would be wrong to rush to judgment under certain circumstances,” the officials wrote.
The board is scheduled to discuss the petition at its February meeting in Denver.
