Press Release- May 03, 2007
OFFICE OF GOV. BILL RITTER, JR.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
THURSDAY, MAY 3, 2007
Contact:
Evan Dreyer, 720.350.8370
GOV. RITTER SENDS LETTER IN SUPPORT OF FORMER ROCKY FLATS WORKERS
Gov. Bill Ritter today sent the following letter of support for former Rocky Flats workers to the Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health:
May 3, 2007
Members of the Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health
In care of:
Paul L. Ziemer, Ph.D, Chairman
Lewis V. Wade, Ph.D, Executive Secretary
Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health
RE: Rocky Flats United Steelworkers of America, Local 8031 Special Exposure Cohort Petition
Dear Drs. Ziemer and Wade and members of the Advisory Board:
I am writing today to join in and endorse the letter you received yesterday from the entire Colorado Congressional delegation seeking justice for the Special Exposure Cohort Petition of the former Rocky Flats workers. That letter compellingly documents the reasons why this petition should be granted. Simple fairness dictates that we give these workers the benefit of the doubt in light of their exposure to radioactive materials, beryllium and silica.
In an ideal world, the Department of Energy would have maintained comprehensive and useful dose records. In the absence of such records, and given adequate time, perhaps NIOSH could accurately reconstruct dose and exposure records and calculate likely health consequences. But as you know, this is far from an ideal world. The dose monitoring records and other data accumulated at Rocky Flats were, in too many circumstances, less than adequate to the task at hand. NIOSH's efforts to reconstruct doses and exposures have encountered methodological and data challenges and have dragged out for too long.
Working together, the state of Colorado and the federal government have made dramatic and even unprecedented progress in cleaning up the Rocky Flats site and converting much of that site to a wildlife refuge. Surrounding property owners are moving forward in their efforts to be compensated for the damage done to their properties by releases of radioactive materials. One enormous task remains unfinished, and it is the task with by far the greatest human element: it is time, far past time, that fair compensation is provided to the people who worked and toiled at Rocky Flats on behalf of a great national purpose, and who may have been stricken as a result of their work.
I urge you in the strongest terms to act promptly on the Rocky Flats Special Exposure Petition.
Respectfully,
Bill Ritter, Jr.
Governor