HARRIMAN, Tennessee, Aug 22 (Reuters) – Steve Hicks spent 34 years at the Y-12 National Security Complex, a key U.S. nuclear weapons site that enriched uranium for the Hiroshima bomb in 1945. Today, at 70, he is fighting two cancers and nerve damage linked to radiation exposure. His days are consumed by managing 30 medications and petitioning the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to cover medical bills for thousands of former nuclear workers like him.
“I made a good living there but I am not happy that I am this sick. And there are people who worked there that are sicker than me,” Hicks said.
Hicks is among many workers seeking help under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act, passed in 2000. The law entitles eligible employees to $150,000 and medical insurance if they develop cancers linked to radiation exposure at U.S. nuclear sites. More than 700,000 people have worked in the weapons complex since the Cold War, across 380 sites nationwide.
But their claims are now in limbo. HHS has indefinitely suspended the Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health, the expert body that reviews medical evidence for compensation claims. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which oversees the program, confirmed the pause but cited only “outstanding administrative requirements.” The White House declined to comment.
The suspension, not previously reported, has left sick workers waiting for years as they attempt to gather thousands of pages of evidence documenting cancers recognized by the government. Hicks himself previously won coverage for kidney cancer but is now struggling to secure benefits for skin cancer treatment.
Hicks, who voted for Donald Trump, said he has written repeatedly to the president, Tennessee’s senators, and lawmakers in other states with major weapons facilities. “I’ve contacted politicians and the White House and haven’t heard anything back,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Energy Department says it is focusing on modernizing the arsenal while “learning from past experiences” to ensure safer workplaces. For aging workers like Hicks, however, time is running out as they wait for the government to restart reviews of their medical claims.
-Peace News Desk