[CPEO-MEF] RADIATION, VETERANS: "Lawmaker presses for quicker action to help military clean-up crews of 1966 nuclear accident" in Spain

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

Lawmaker presses for quicker action to help military clean-up crews of 1966 nuclear accident

By Leo Shane III    
Military Times
August 29, 2018

WASHINGTON - Veterans exposed to radioactive debris more than five decades ago haven’t made much progress in the courts to have their illnesses recognized by the Department of Veterans Affairs, so now they’re hoping Congress can intervene.

On Wednesday, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., joined a group of advocates to unveil new legislation that would force VA to offer presumptive status to veterans involved the 1966 cleanup of an accident involving nuclear bombs in Palomares, Spain, an incident that may have given radiation poisoning to more than 1,600 American service members.

“These veterans were exposed to nuclear materials without any warning or protection that today would be considered routine,” Blumenthal said. “The quickest way to get them what they deserve now is for Congress to act.”

Veterans involved in the accident have been unsuccessfully petitioning VA on their case since the mid-1970s, after a host of strange cancers and other illnesses began appearing among individuals involved in the Palomares incident.

…

For the entire article, see
https://www.militarytimes.com/veterans/2018/08/29/lawmaker-presses-for-quicker-action-to-help-clean-up-crews-of-a-deadly-military-nuclear-accident/

--

Lenny Siegel
Executive Director
Center for Public Environmental Oversight
a project of the Pacific Studies Center
P.O. Box 998, Mountain View, CA 94042
Voice/Fax: 650/961-8918 
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org

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