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Radioactive Exposure Compensation Act to expire despite pleas for expansion to Idaho • Idaho Capital Sun [1]

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Date: 2024-06 

A nuclear radiation exposure compensation program is set to expire Monday, despite decades-long pleas from Idahoans living downwind of Nevada nuclear test sites in the 1950s to expand compensation to the Gem State.

Adopted by the federal government in 1990, the Radioactive Exposure Compensation Act, or RECA, provides financial compensation to people who developed specific cancers and other serious illnesses from radiation exposure during nuclear testing.

Only people who lived in parts of Utah, Nevada and Arizona, uranium miners, millers and transporters before 1971 and federal workers on above ground nuclear test sites were eligible for the expiring program.

Idaho downwinders are not eligible for compensation, despite Gem, Custer, Blaine and Lemhi counties being among the top five counties in the U.S. that were most affected by fallout from Nevada nuclear tests in the mid-20th century, according to research by the National Cancer Institute.

Since last summer, U.S. senators have twice passed legislation that would expand RECA to other states, including Idaho. But the most recent legislation, passed in March, hasn’t advanced in the House of Representatives, even with support from President Joe Biden.

The legislation, S. 3853, would add more parts of Arizona, Utah and Nevada to the program and bring coverage to downwinders in Idaho, Colorado, Montana, New Mexico and Guam. It would also offer coverage for residents exposed to radioactive waste in Missouri, Tennessee, Alaska and Kentucky.

“This is the closest we’ve ever gotten,” Tona Henderson, director of Idaho Downwinders, previously told the Idaho Capital Sun.

U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, has advocated for RECA expansion for almost 20 years, working alongside Republicans and Democrats as a cosponsor to S. 3853.

“I am bitterly disappointed that Congress has not come to an agreement for at least extending RECA prior to the end of its current authorization,” he said in an email to the Sun on Friday. “RECA’s expiration will not mark the end of my efforts. I will continue to work with my colleagues to champion RECA and advocate for efforts to reauthorize and update the program to meet modern needs.”

The U.S. Department of Justice is accepting RECA claims until June 10.

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[1] Url: https://idahocapitalsun.com/briefs/radioactive-exposure-compensation-act-to-expire-despite-pleas-for-expansion-to-idaho/

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