Excerpted from The Stars and Stripes, June 7-June 20, 1999 -- "'Sen Paul Wellstone's 'Justice for Atomic Veterans' amendment was added to the defense authorization bill May 25.
The Minnesota Democrat said his measure would remove 'some of the frustrating obstacles that have too often kept veterans who were exposed to radiation during military service from getting the disability compensation they deserve.' It would clear the way for compensating atomic veterans by adding three radiogenic diseases -- brain, lung and colon cancers -- to the list of diseases the VA presumes to be service-connected.
...For more than 50 years, Wellstone said, Americans who were exposed to radiation at Hiroshima and Nagasaki and at atmospheric nuclear tests 'have been denied compensation for diseases that VA recognizes as being linked to their exposure to radiation-diseases known as radiogenic diseases. ...Servicemen frequently were sent to measure fallout at or near ground zero immediately after nuclear tests. They were exposed to large doses of radiation, given minimal or no protection and inhaled and ingested radioactive particles. Atomic veterans were given no information on the perils they faced at the time, and were sworn to secrecy about their participation in the tests. Afterwards they were often denied access to their own medical records and were provided no medical follow-up. 'Scientists agree that the dose reconstruction [Amount of exposure. -- Ed.] performed for the VA is notoriously unreliable, but still it is used to bar veterans from compensation for disabling radiogenic conditions. Two years ago VA estimated that less than 50 claims for non-presumptive diseases had been approved out of over 18,000 radiation claims filed.'"