| For years the Department of Energy heard increasing concerns from current and former workers who believed that their health has been impaired by DOE operations. For the most part, these workers were not able to receive workers’ compensation benefits, because of the difficulty of linking certain illnesses to work conditions. Workers had been filing claims for workers' compensation for radiogenic cancers at DOE sites for decades. Although there have been only a small number of claims filed, virtually all were disputed.
In 1999, David Michaels the DOE’s Assistant Secretary for Environment, Safety and Health initiated a nationwide effort to find out what was ailing the compensation system for these veterans of the Cold War. Public Meetings took place at locations around DOE facilities throughout the country. In meeting after meeting Michaels, and Congressional Representatives who attended many of these sessions, heard testimony from workers or their spouses about the illnesses they suffered as a result of their employment at the DOE as well as the difficulty they had in getting anyone to acknowledge their concern.
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