Politics

Washington House Passes Protections For Sick Hanford Workers

NWNews | By Austin Jenkins,

Austin Jenkins

Published March 2, 2017 at 6:13 PM PST

The Washington state House has voted to give added protections to sick workers at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation.

In a 69 to 29 vote Thursday afternoon, the House approved a measure that says if a Hanford worker gets one of several diseases or conditions, it’s presumed to be work-related.

Democrat Gerry Pollet gave the example of Chronic Beryllium Disease.

“A transitory exposure to the beryllium dust can cause a disease that will kill you in 10 or 15 years after horrible debilitation,” he said.

Pollet credited KING TV’s ongoing coverage of sick workers at Hanford for bringing attention to this issue. The bill is designed to make it easier for any Hanford site worker who gets sick to collect workers’ compensation.

The measure now goes to the Washington state Senate.

Workers at Hanford are cleaning up 56 million gallons of radioactive sludge left over from making plutonium during World War II and the Cold War.

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Austin Jenkins

Since January 2004, Austin Jenkins has been the Olympia-based political reporter for the Northwest News Network. In that position, Austin covers Northwest politics and public policy as well as the Washington State legislature. You can also see Austin on television as host of TVW's (the C–SPAN of Washington State) Emmy-nominated public affairs program "Inside Olympia." Prior to joining the Northwest News Network, Austin worked as a television reporter in Seattle, Portland and Boise. Austin is a graduate of Garfield High School in Seattle and Connecticut College in New London, Connecticut. Austin’s reporting has been recognized with awards from the Association of Capitol Reporters and Editors, Public Radio News Directors Incorporated and the Society of Professional Journalists.

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