Letter from Glenn Bell
March 17, 2000
Senator Fred Thompson
Senate Governmental Affairs Committee
340 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510Dear Senator Thompson:
Please accept the following comments on the Health and Safety Issues of the Department of Energy facilities, being investigated by the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee.
As your office is aware, I am one of over a hundred present and former ORO workers to be diagnosed with Chronic Beryllium Disease or Beryllium sensitization. I have forwarded your office a large volume of information explaining the battle that those of us diagnosed with this disease have had with both a potentially fatal disease, and an often uncaring system. Secretary Richardson's announcement last July of a compensation proposal gave a glimmer of hope to our struggles. However, the effort has not resulted in an acceptable offer of compensation and treatment for the Beryllium victims. The details of the proposal are still unclear, and the either/or choice between a lump sum settlement or medical coverage is quite unacceptable in its present form. The affected workers, who have sacrificed so much, need adequate coverage to make their lives as near normal as possible, had they not contracted this disease. Had the lump sum been offered at the time of my diagnosis in 1993, it would have been exhausted by now, leaving me with no income, and no medical coverage. This is with those of us in the most provable of the ill health effects resulting from the DOE sites.
The March 2 announcement of the hearings states, "If the federal government put workers in harm's way without their knowledge, we need to know about it, and we know what we can do to make it right." Reading the transcripts from the public meetings hosted by Dr. David Michaels over the past few months should leave no doubt as to the fact that the workers and public were adversely impacted by the operation of these sites.
The announcement continues, "The Department of Energy has acknowledged that problems exist at several of its sites, and has proposed legislation to compensate certain workers." This being a given, it is unfair to include only certain sites and certain workers, at the expense of hundreds, if not thousands, of workers and residents who have suffered the loss of health and even life, due to the operations of these sites. To borrow a phrase from our counterparts in the Western states exposed population, "We need a JUSTICE, not JUST US, solution."
Realizing that this will be an extremely expensive undertaking, no doubt stymied by legal and classification issues at every turn, we, the casualties of the Cold War, call on the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee to seek a truly fair resolution for the affected workers and other citizens who have given so much. Trillions of dollars were spent on the Cold War effort, thousands of citizens contributed to winning it. We ask only that the same amount of dedication and commitment goes into repairing the damage to those of us wounded in the effort.
Glenn Bell
504 Michigan Ave
Oak Ridge, TN 37830
Letter to Senator Voinovich
March 17, 2000
Senator George V. Voinovich
317 Hart Senate Building
Washington, DC 20510Dear Senator Voinovich:
As a DOE contractor employee diagnosed with Chronic Beryllium Disease, I am extremely interested in the upcoming Senate Governmental Affairs Committee hearings into the DOE legacy and ongoing health issues. I have been in contact with the offices of Senators Thompson, DeWine, Kaptor, and Kanjorski, since the beryllium issues began to attract the attention of legislators. I was one of the victims profiled in the Toledo Blade's "Deadly Alliance" series, and have networked with other affected individuals in Ohio, Colorado, Washington State, California, Arizona, and Texas. My interest has expanded to DOE health issues other than beryllium, and I am in almost daily contact with affected individuals in Paducah, Portsmouth, Brookhaven and other sites.
I am including comments to Senator Thompson and some examples of the several thousand pages of supporting documents which I have collected in the last few years. I hope that this brief introduction will serve to solidify the need for the proper addressing of the health devastation that has resulted from the operation of these sites over the past fifty years. The workers and residents of all of the affected areas are looking to Washington for a fair resolution of our situations. We have neither the time nor the money to continue to battle both health problems and the very system to which we have devoted our careers. Please approach these hearings with the seriousness and compassion that they deserve. The Cold War veterans are depending on you and the rest of the Committee to be our champions. Your efforts will certainly be appreciated.
Glenn Bell
504 Michigan Ave.
Oak Ridge, TN 37830
Submitted as supplementary testimony for the March 22, 2000, Senate Hearings:
March 4, 2000
The Honorable William B. Richardson
Office of the Secretary of Energy
Forrestal Building
1000 Independence Ave.
Washington, DC 20585Honorable Secretary,
I feel it necessary to contact your office once more in regard to the legacy health issues of the Department of Energy sites. While I appreciate the efforts of your administration in bringing the stories of individuals to light through the series of public meetings, we, the victims of decades of poor decisions and outright cover-ups need to see results of the promises made at these meetings. You have heard the stories, the outrage, the cries for help. Daily publicity continues, in printed, telecast, and Internet form, of more discoveries of the waste of money, resources and lives, all under the umbrella of "national security".
Since the end of the Cold War, and the era of Admiral Watkins, there have been consistent acknowledgements of inadequate procedures and bad practice confirmed by DOE HQ and various government and private groups. Yet nothing has been done to hold those in charge accountable, or to remove the persons responsible for the decision making, or lack thereof. The new DOE/ORO manager reportedly has said she was quite satisfied with her staff, and would not change them in spite of all the reported problems.
Please try to imagine yourself in the victims' position, knowing our government is using every resource at its disposal- lawyers, judges, doctors, and scientists- to do everything that they can to deny you justice. As a matter of fact, while you sincerely apologize, your General Counsel continues to scorch the earth in denying us ill workers any kind of realistic, well-deserved relief. We cannot change the past, but we ask you to make good on your commitment to rectify the wrongs to keep a tight rein on the Department and its contractors, and to insure no more horror stories from future generations of workers and residents.
The recent dismissal of the Federal Tort cases, which were brought by sick workers, resulting from Beryllium exposure at Oak Ridge Operations was a disappointment, but not unexpected. This decision repeats what many victims have received in other segments of the exposed population. The discretionary function clause has stymied many legitimate claims in the past, and was designed to do so. The purpose of this function should not be to condone manslaughter or reckless disregard for human life. I realize the judge was acting within the strict limits of his interpretation of the law, and even footnoted his discomfort in regarding its 'policy use'.
The compensation plan proposed by your office has been pointed out to be insufficient at every public meeting to date, and by several professional organizations and insurance representatives. While we appreciate the efforts, victims need adequate money to live on, plus appropriate medical care. I have mentioned my own inability to obtain mortgage or life insurance due to my diagnosis of Chronic Beryllium Disease, and I am still actively employed. Some have lost almost everything, because of their sacrifices in the line of duty. Injustices have been inflicted on workers and other citizens, by exposures to toxic and radioactive materials, then dealt a blow not unlike a rape victim, by the legal system. We implore you to take steps to end this persecution, and replace it with real justice.
Attached is a list of suggestions from local and national contacts, which we feel would adequately provide relief. Anything less will force us to take more extremes of publicity and legal action to seek amends. I would rather history to remember us as allies, who achieved a humane solution by working together, than as adversaries, having to fight our own government for the bare minimum of medical attention and compensation. We beg of you to scuttle the legalistic and misguided wrangling of your General Counsel and the Justice Department, and work with us toward a just conclusion.
Alfred Glenn Bell
504 Michigan Ave.
Oak Ridge, TN 37830
