by Kathy Helms, Dine' Bureau
Gallup
Independent
21 May 2004
WINDOW ROCK—They talk of
watching the clouds, playing in the "snow" in the summer, sweeping the
ash from their cars and the ash burning their skin as it fell on them. They talk
of being farmers who became bankrupt because nobody would buy their produce or
milk, of being so poor they didn't have a choice to throw away goods that had
been grown on ground covered with nuclear ash.
They are
"downwinders." Rebecca Barlow and a fellow oncology nurse have worked with for 10
years as inpatient cancer nurses. The two are employed at Dixie Regional Medical
Center in St. George, Utah.
Taking shots
The
United States conducted more than 900 nuclear weapons tests at the Nevada Test
Site, 100 above ground and 804 detonated underground. The "Sedan Shot"
was detonated at 635 feet underground. "Shot Baneberry" was detonated
at 900 feet. The two tests vented radioactive debris to heights of 16,000 feet
and 10,000 feet respectively, with fallout reaching as far as Kentucky and
Tennessee.
"We have been
involved with people and their families that have been devastated by
cancer," Barlow told the National Research Council committee Tuesday when
the panel of experts came to the Navajo Nation to assess scientific information
for the Radiation Exposure Screening and Education Program (RESEP).
In her testimony to the
committee, Barlow said that among the downwinders they have met, most of their
stories are the same. In addition to tales of ash and snow, she said, they told
of wearing radiation monitors on their shirts as children that always read
"hot."
"They also tell of
a government that told them that these tests were 'safe' and wouldn't hurt them,
when there is now evidence that shows that the government knew of the potential
devastating effects and 'sacrificed' those people anyway," she said.
In the zone
Danielle
Stephens of Kingman, Ariz., in Mohave County is one of those in the sacrifice
zone. "I'm a fourth-generation cattle rancher in Mohave County. We were all
dusted many times with radiation," she told the committee. Out of 27 family
members, only three are still alive.
"My grandfather
passed away in 1967 from stomach cancer. My dad passed away in 1989 from skin
cancer. My uncle, my mom's brother, he had throat cancer. My brother at this
time has lymphatic cancer. My husband has prostate cancer. Right at this time
I'm taking my mom to the doctor for breast cancer. She's not really doing that
well," Stephens said.
"My husband has
several members of his family who have died. The last time I spoke to this panel
it was 17 members. I want to let you know that in January we lost a 46-year-old
girl who was my first cousin (skin cancer). And Clint Cofer, we lost him six
weeks later in March from lung cancer. My mom is in jeopardy and my brother is
not doing very well. My daughter, I lost her in 2001." Overcome with
emotion, she said, "With that, I think I'll just stop."
A portion of Mohave
County located north of the Grand Canyon originally was included in the
Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) enacted in 1990 for purposes of
compensation. However, according to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) when
Congress amended RECA in 2000 and added five additional Arizona counties,
"the drafters of the legislation inadvertently eliminated that portion of
Mohave County that was previously compensable under the original law. As a
result, claimants who reside in the previously covered portion of Mohave County
are no longer eligible for compensation," a DOJ attorney wrote in an April
2001 letter to the Kingman city manager.
Waiting on
remedies
"This is an oversight that we believe was not intended by
Congress," the attorney said, noting that the issue had been brought to the
attention of Congress with the hope that legislation "will be soon
introduced to remedy this, as well as other 'technical' deficiencies in the new
law."
Mohave County residents
are still waiting.
Barlow told the
National Research Council that the RESEP clinic in St. George sees mostly
downwinders about 92 percent. The clinic opened in March 2004 and already had
found 11 cancer-related abnormalities among those patients screened. "We
have an extensive cancer program as a result of the large number of residents
exposed to atmospheric testing. As you know, there is an issue on reopening
testing at Nevada Test Site for underground bunker bombs. We have a lot of
people that come from that area," she said.
Barlow, along with Dr.
Bruce Struminger of Northern Navajo Medical Center in Shiprock, took issue with
findings in the National Research Council's interim report on radiation exposure
and screening. Barlow said she and a fellow oncology nurse read the interim
report with dismay. They took exception to the committee's statement that a
patient's risk for cancer decreases over time.
Two-hit method
The
biology of cancer is explained by the "two hit method," Barlow said,
meaning it takes two hits on the DNA of a cell to cause a malignant change to
occur and begin to replicate. Some people are born with the first abnormality
while others acquire it after birth.
"The exposure to radiation that these
people endured was a definite 'hit,'" she said. "Genetics also suggest
that if a chromosome is damaged, the weakness is often passed on to the daughter
cells and their offspring. This 'first hit' will follow them for their
lifetime."
Cancer patients who
receive low-dose radiation therapy and/or chemotherapy to treat their cancers
must be followed for their lifetime to manage the late effects from these
treatments. It has been found that the younger these treatments occur, the
greater the risks of late effects, which include different health problems and
secondary malignancies, according to Barlow.
"RESEP patients
also have the added burden that, unlike Chernobyl or Hiroshima, which was a
one-time exposure, they have had multiple exposures from the multiple
detonations and uranium contacts," she said.
The nurses and Dr.
Struminger also took issue with the committee's statement that "currently,
there is no evidence to support the notion that screening for radiogenic
diseases in this population will result in measurable health benefit for
eligible participants. In fact, a screening program could be harmful because of
false-positive test results."
Citing conflict
Barlow
told the panel, "We feel that this statement is in direct conflict with the
recommendations from the American Cancer Society, which states that cancers can
be caught early by mammography, colonoscopy, PAP smears, PSA's, etc., and that
their screening recommendations should be followed. This statement reminds one
of not making out a will because it could cause your death."
Dr. Struminger told the
committee, "If the goal of the program was to improve the general health of
the population, the medical screening and medical testing we do probably would
not be the ideal combination of tests." But, he said, the goal of RECA is
not to improve the general health status of the population, but to screen for
disability to determine eligibility for compensation. RECA requires that certain
medical testing be performed in order for an applicant to be awarded a
"compassionate payment," he said.
The Shiprock program is
beginning to focus more attention on helping Navajo and Hopi downwinders of the
Nevada Test Site complete their applications for RECA compensation. Struminger
said a recent chart review at Tuba City hospital showed that 258 living patients
who were alive during the period of atmospheric testing at Nevada Test Site have
confirmed diagnoses of malignancies that are compensable under RECA,
representing $25 million to those downwinders living in the Western Agency.
Another chart review
showed 166 deceased patients with RECA-compensable malignancies, representing an
additional $8 million to their survivors.
"We anticipate an
additional 1,000 living patients with compensable malignancies and 500 patients
who are deceased, but whose families could apply for compensation on their
behalf. ... Addressing the issue of Navajo and Hopi downwinders alone could mean
$75 million to $100 million in compensation to these families," Dr.
Struminger said.
|