New Mexico HM 5: INDIVIDUALS EXPOSED TO RADIATION SUPPORT

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HOUSE MEMORIAL 5
54TH LEGISLATURE - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - SECOND SESSION, 2020
INTRODUCED BY
Angelica Rubio and Joanne J. Ferrary and D. Wonda Johnson
A MEMORIAL
REQUESTING THE NEW MEXICO CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION TO SUPPORT
LEGISLATION TO EXPAND COMPENSATION UNDER THE FEDERAL RADIATION
EXPOSURE COMPENSATION ACT FOR INDIVIDUALS EXPOSED TO RADIATION.
WHEREAS, from 1945 to 1962, the United States government
implemented a massive program of conducting hundreds of
atmospheric nuclear weapons development tests; and
WHEREAS, to provide uranium for the atmospheric nuclear
testing being carried out, the United States undertook uranium
mining and processing in many areas, especially in New Mexico,
Arizona, Colorado, Montana, Nevada and Utah; and
WHEREAS, individuals in New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado,
Montana, Nevada, Utah and elsewhere were hired to work in the
uranium mines and in uranium processing; and
WHEREAS, large uranium deposits were found on or near the
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Navajo Nation, and many Navajo people were employed to work in
the mines; and
WHEREAS, thousands of individuals have been exposed to
radiation in large doses through atmospheric nuclear weapons
testing or through employment in uranium mining and processing;
and
WHEREAS, radiation exposure has been linked to a number of
serious illnesses in exposed individuals, including cancers;
gastrointestinal, neurological and blood disorders; and other
conditions leading to the debilitation or death of individuals
exposed to radiation; and
WHEREAS, in 1990, the United States congress passed the
federal Radiation Exposure Compensation Act; and
WHEREAS, the federal Radiation Exposure Compensation Act
was designed to provide some compensation to those exposed to
radiation through certain atmospheric nuclear weapons tests and
uranium mining and processing operations; and
WHEREAS, the federal Radiation Exposure Compensation Act
designated certain areas of Arizona and Utah that were deemed
to have been downwind of atmospheric nuclear weapons testing as
official downwind areas for which compensation would be
provided; and
WHEREAS, the federal Radiation Exposure Compensation Act
limited compensation for uranium miners, millers and haulers to
those workers employed by the uranium industry before January
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1, 1972; and
WHEREAS, the amount of monetary compensation awarded
pursuant to the federal Radiation Exposure Compensation Act
differs widely according to whether an individual was exposed
due to being in a downwind area or according to the type of
uranium industry-related work the individual performed; and
WHEREAS, under the strict guidelines of the federal
Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, many individuals who have
lived downwind from test sites outside of Arizona, Nevada and
Utah or who worked in the uranium industry have been left with
no remedy for their radiation exposure; and
WHEREAS, in 2019, United States Representative Ben R.
Lujan introduced United States House Resolution 3783, which was
then co-sponsored by United States Representatives Xochitl
Torres Small and Debra A. Haaland, and United States Senators
Tom Udall and Martin T. Heinrich have co-sponsored Senate Bill
947, both of which would extend compensation to uranium workers
who were exposed from 1972 to 1990; and
WHEREAS, United States House Resolution 3783 and United
States Senate Bill 947 also proposed expanding the list of
eligible workers to include uranium core drillers, in addition
to uranium miners, millers and ore transporters, as employees
potentially eligible for compensation from the federal
Radiation Exposure Compensation Act; and
WHEREAS, United States House Resolution 3783 would have
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added other areas to the list of downwind areas in New Mexico,
Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Utah and Guam; and
WHEREAS, United States House Resolution 3783 and United
States Senate Bill 947 would have made all qualifying claims
eligible for one hundred fifty thousand dollars ($150,000) of
compensation, regardless of whether the claimants were exposed
as miners, millers, ore transporters, on-site employees or
individuals living in a downwind area; and
WHEREAS, United States House Resolution 3783 and United
States Senate Bill 947 would have expanded the types of medical
conditions that render claimants eligible for compensation
pursuant to the federal Radiation Exposure Compensation Act;
and
WHEREAS, members of New Mexico's congressional delegation
are continuing their previous effort