Opinion: Utah congressional delegation cannot stay silent on Radiation Exposure Compensation Act

The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) still needs to be renewed to ensure sick Utahns and others get the life-saving assistance they need. This week, reports from Congress suggest a breakthrough in RECA negotiations — giving us fresh hope a solution is in reach. But this entire time, our own congressional delegation has remained silent. Why?

Utahns have been suffering as a result of the devastating effects of radioactive fallout from atmospheric nuclear tests for well over half a century. There is no debate about this. All of us who have lived in Utah most of our lives have friends or family who have suffered over the decades.

In 1990, Congress passed a law to compensate victims and families who developed cancer resulting from their exposure to fallout from the Nevada Test Site. The law, championed by Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch, was signed into law by President George H.W. Bush, who called it “compassionate payment to those presumed to have been harmed.”

The bill was a lifeline for many downwinders. According to government data, 10,000 Utahns from southern Utah counties have already benefitted since this life-saving program began. But RECA never went far enough.

Too many of us in northern Utah, surrounding states and elsewhere were excluded. The Cold War had far more casualties than those originally included in RECA. Nearly 30 years ago, the National Cancer Institute concluded that every county in the continental U.S. got some level of radioactive fallout from testing. Among the 28 counties across the country that ranked highest in deposition of radioactive material in the soil from Nevada bomb tests were Utah, Morgan, Davis, Salt Lake, Weber, Summit and Wasatch counties, which comprise 77% of the Utah population. None of those are currently covered under RECA. That means that for decades, people in these counties have been getting sick with no recourse.

On June 7, RECA went dark. Due to the inaction of the House of Representatives, including Utah’s congressional delegation, no new claims can be filed. For years, we’ve been calling on our representatives to expand the program to cover victims across the entire state — their constituents — and beyond. Now, there is a real opportunity on the table to renew the program and expand coverage across Utah as well as other Western states, areas contaminated by radioactive waste from our nation’s nuclear weapons program, and workers who mined and milled uranium.

Back in March, the Senate passed bipartisan legislation to reauthorize and expand RECA with a supermajority of 69-30, a vote unheard of in this political climate. But not one of our senators or representatives support it. Six months later, for cancer victims like myself and so many people I know who lack RECA coverage, it’s becoming increasingly inexplicable.

Some members of our delegation are even fighting the Senate bill each step of the way. We deserve an explanation for this. The Senate bill would expand RECA coverage and help victims in places like New Mexico and St. Louis — other areas that have proven areas of major contamination and associated cancers and deaths. After all, Department of Energy maps of fallout trajectories show how far fallout from the blasts in Nevada was carried. The associated waste from weapons production was deposited negligently across the country. Radioactive contamination does not respect state lines. It’s completely reasonable to work with these other states to help innocent citizens and their families. After all, we are all Americans.

It’s long past time for our congressional delegation — Sens. Lee and Romney, and Representatives Maloy, Owens, Curtis and Moore — to step up. Each one of them has a role to play. Tell Speaker Mike Johnson to put the Senate bill on the floor for a vote. Make this a priority. After all, our entire state government — from our state legislature to our governor — are on record supporting RECA renewal and expansion. The bipartisan nature of this support is in stark contrast with the insensitive inaction of our delegation.

I’m glad to hear that advocates from across the country, including members of the Navajo Nation, will be in Washington D.C. this week to make their case to our delegation and other members of Congress. This time, I hope our representatives listen and get something done.

Mary Dickson is a Salt Lake City downwinder, writer and internationally recognized advocate for survivors of nuclear weapons.