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Test site claimants depicted as horror movie characters in training manual
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The Associated Press
Actor Robert Englund is seen as Freddy Krueger in this 1991 publicity photo. Advocates for U.S. atomic workers say they are stunned names similar to horror movie characters' were used for subjects in a federal claims training manual.
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LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
A Labor Department manual that depicts horror movie characters as training subjects for a program that compensates sick atomic workers on Tuesday outraged survivors of former Nevada Test Site workers who filed claims for illnesses linked to radioactive materials.
"I am not happy about how they portray our family members who are no longer here with us," Brenda Bain Sieck said in an email. Her father died from cancer in 1986 after working more than two decades as a test site carpenter who re-entered nuclear weapons tunnels at the test site, now called the Nevada National Security Site, 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas. "Obviously whoever wrote this (training manual) hasn't had a family member close to them who suffered from a horrible cancer like my father did."
Labor Department officials backpedaled soon after complaints from survivors of atomic workers in Ohio surfaced in a story by the Dayton Daily News. The officials acknowledged that some references in the manual were offensive and quickly removed them. They said the contractor who prepared the manual "used poor judgment."
The manual portrays a fictional claimant as the disfigured Freddy Krueger, villain of the "Nightmare on Elm Street" movies. Krueger's first name was "Freddie" in the manual, a slight change in the real horror movie character's spelling.
The Krueger in the manual is reported as dying on Halloween. He supposedly suffered from "depression, dementia and skin cancer."
Sieck said cancer "ate away" at her father, Ronald Bain, who went from 250 pounds to 90 pounds during a lengthy illness that was diagnosed as chronic lymphoma cancer. After his death, and after spending nearly two years helping her mother file reams of paperwork, they were awarded $150,000 each for two cancer claims based on exposures to both radioactive materials and toxic materials.
In addition to the Krueger character, another would-be claimant in the manual is called Jack Bauer, the hero of TV's "24." A pathologist is called Hannibal Lechter, an apparent reference to the cannibalistic Hannibal Lecter of books and movies. TV doctors treating patients in the case studies include Dr. Amanda Bentley, a character on the series "Diagnosis: Murder," and Dr. Marcus Welby, who was a genial family practitioner on an ABC drama.
Labor Department spokesman Jesse Lawder said the manual is used to train claims examiners on the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program. The name of the contractor who produced the training manual and the cost of the contract were not available late Tuesday.
Lawder, however, released a statement from the program's acting director, Gary Steinberg, who said the manual "was prepared several years ago by a former contractor for internal use only."
"Upon review of the material, we agree that the use of fictional characters with negative attributes could be perceived as insensitive," Steinberg said in the statement. "We believe the contractor used poor judgment given the nature of the program and we have removed the references in question from our training materials.
"We remain committed to serving our claimants, and an oversight of this nature does not reflect the values and principles by which we operate as an agency."
David Manuta of Waverly, Ohio, wrote to the Labor Department as a member of the Alliance of Nuclear Worker Advocacy Groups, saying the references are examples of continued disrespect for claimants.
As news of the manual reached Nevada, more claimants and former test site workers weighed in.
Las Vegas attorney Jerry Kaufman, who was a claimant for more than 10 years and who helped others file claims, said he was "shocked" by the manual and its "treatment of tragedy by fantasy names and scenarios."
"The people whom I worked with were more than willing to travel to the test site. We were eager. The pain came in the form of surgery, radiation prescribed in the hospital, chemotherapy and, finally, in the form of avoidance and ignoring our plight," Kaufman wrote in an email.
Fred Dunham, a contract worker whose exposure records were kept by the Department of Energy though he worked at the Defense Department's secret Area 51 installation adjacent to the test site, said the training manual debacle "makes it very clear that the Department of Labor and DOE do not have their heart in the process of helping these families who have given their lives for this country. I think there needs to be a staff realignment within these agencies."
Dunham's claim was denied on a technicality in 2008, but he recently challenged the process in a complaint to the program's ombudsman's office.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. Contact reporter Keith Rogers at krogers@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0308.
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If you go to the EECAP website a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping Workers and their Survivors with their claims, you can find this statement, with documentation...On May 11, 2010 EECAP filed a Freedom of Information Act request with Department of Labor(DOL) for their Claims Examiner Training Manual. The manual was received on August 25, 2011 and is available on EECAP's website. Advocates were dismayed by the use of the names of violent fictitious characters for claimants and doctors. DOL issued a statement on September 27 stating that the training manual was prepared by a former contractor several years ago and that the contractor had used poor judgment in the use of the names. DOL also stated that the names in question could be perceived as insensitive and had been removed from the manual.
EECAP is pleased that DOL has removed these possibly prejudicial names from the material they use to train Claims Examiners and the Final Adjudication Branch. However, there seems to be some confusion on whether the contractor or DOL added the names in question. Metadata from the chapters containing the offending names indicate that the author of the two chapters is the Branch of Outreach and Training (BOTA), which is an internal DOL department and the last two people to modify those chapters are DOL employees. Hopefully, DOL will clarify this.
I lost my beloved grandfather to Bone cancer and lung disease. He was an Ironworker out at The Nevada Test Site. He loved his job and he worked hard all his life to care for his family. He raised me to fight for the underdog. He cared deeply about The Workers and the fight for justice long before the "program" was established. I am now an advocate for Workers and I have been expressing my concerns about the disrespect and misleading culture of the DOL for years. Example: When a Q clear Worker does an Occupational History Interview or gives a sworn statement about their work conditions the statement does not have probative value. The program, and this comes from the top, believes that Workers are making self serving statements.
The DOL even ordered the Resource Centers not to run SEMs for claiments. It is a computer printout that the examiners use to help establish exposure and causation. Now you can get one done at the Resource Center... after much complaint. Use it to do your Occ history Interview. If you do not qualify for the SEC then order your complete file from the DOL. Concentrate on Lung Disease. If you have Pneumoconiosis on a B-Read. Ask your PERSONAL physician if you have signs of Chronic Silicosis.
Claim it. Even though the DOL is supposed to contact Workers if they see signs of other occupational diseases, I have not seen it happen much. I have also had the DOL and Resource Centers tell me that they will even take claims for "toe fungus" It must be an internal agency wide reference..
The manual was used by management and the references were used to train Claims Examiners. The "contractor used poor judgement" or did the management disregard the references because this kind of belittling of the Workers is not new? Steinberg says that after review of the material... the references COULD be seen as insensitive. Mr. Steinberg they are insensitive...
As a claimant this is the attitude they put out to us while we are going through the process of all the Developed Red Tap and Road Blocks. Claimant have been dealing with this for 10 years the first of July this year has been grueling road to hold on too.
FMD... You said it perfectly!! Don't support the Americans who got sick, don't support FEMA, just give away billions of our money to Countries that give it to terrorists, who want to kill us all.
Garry... Go back to your meds. Please don't post until you are medicated. Thanx!
I worked at the location that is commonly known as area 51. Now in Oct 1999 President signed a land swap which gave USAF the property that their base is located on in a trade off to the DOE, the DOE in return got a chunk of land which was contaminated (radiation)which the USAF had ownership of. The DOL Ombudsman claims that the area is called systems construction and was used by USAF so the entire area and all persons who worked there are not covered under EEOICPA, I know that REECO employees who became ill or died from exposure to toxins received benefits. So with his statement there are a lot of people who were paid and using his own ruling we need to get that money back or correct this ill information and get a person to replace him. You can't have it both ways. But its nice to know that the government would rather give money to support a foreign government that is the training ground of a terrorist group.
I am a Downwinder, which means I suffered from radiation exposure as a child growing up in Lincoln County. Residents of Rural Nevada, Southern Utah..all of us were dusted by debris from the aboveground tests in the '50s. We also drank the milk imported from Southern Utah. Whenever there was a test, if the prevailing winds were blowing towards Vegas, the test was canceled. If it was blowing towards rural areas, no problem. All of the victims have countless friends and family members who have had cancer. The university provides yearly physicals and gives help in filing claims if you become a victim of cancer. There is a one-time payment if you are inconvenienced by the disease. Covered cancers are those suffered by residents of Japan who lived through the atomic bombs. All except skin cancer, which is interesting. The Feds have an obligation to workers and Downwinders, but they make sure the application process for compensation is as unpleasant as possible. Maybe they are hoping to wait it out until the petitioner dies? Wouldn't surprise me. I also worked at the test site and saw firsthand how carelessly exposed materials were handled. Am I angry? You bet. The attitude behind the "training manual" doesn't surprise me a bit. Was this the product of George Bush's administration?
I am one of the sick former workers at one of the DOE Sites, after filing paper work, and more and more paperwork, and Doctor's reports, and turned down twice and appealing and for the third time met with a DOE Representative out of Washington D.C. one on one, at least he was honest with me, He told me the reason's I was denined Doctor's care and Disability benefits, was due to all the Doctor's Reports NOT ONE Doctor wrote in their report that my sickness was due to working at the DOE Rocky Flats Plantsite in Colorado, he also stated that even though denined, in the future if a Doctor stated that my illness in a Doctor's Medical Report on me stated that it was caused by working at the Rocky Flats Plant, could be resubmitted, and would more than likely be awarded the $150,000 one time payment, and the medical treatment. I read where the miners who bored the tunnel and others who worked at the Yucca Mountain Site in NV, were going to file claims for Silica Sickness, good luck to them, because as per my experience, sure they will be denined as well.....The United States Govt does not want to take care of their own, I personally spoke with Shelly Berkley about this at least three times and did no good what so ever, U.S.Govt wants to send Billions of Dollars overseas to help people there, What a Shame, Shame on them..............
ROFLMAO! that is hilarious! And we paid for this trash! It kind of reminds me of the way that Dorkocrats liberals try to portray the tea party! This company obviously needs to switch to writing sitcoms or something!
Our government at WORK!