Kelly-Backed Legislation to Expand Compensation for Arizona Downwinders and Uranium Workers Passes Senate

Reauthorization of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) expands compensation to all Arizona downwinders

Today, the Senate passed Kelly-backed legislation to strengthen the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) to expand compensation for downwinders and uranium workers in Arizona who are currently ineligible. Arizona downwinders, including those in Mohave County, who have been left out of the program, would now be eligible for up to $100,000 in compensation.  

“For too long, our country has failed to fulfill its moral obligation to make right by Arizonans whose lives were permanently altered by radiation exposure from nuclear testing and uranium mining,” said Kelly. “Now, Arizonans in places like Mohave County will finally be eligible to receive the compensation they and their families deserve.”  

Background  

The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) provides compensation to Americans exposed to radiation while living downwind from atomic weapons testing sites or working in uranium mining. The reauthorization of RECA will expand the geographic downwinder eligibility to include all counties in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Guam; add eligibility to people living around improperly stored nuclear waste sites; and extend the time for RECA eligibility from 1971 to 1990 for uranium workers (miners, millers, core drillers, and ore transporters).