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Testimony of Pete Lopez

Before

the Subcommittee on Immigration and Claims

of the

Committee on Judiciary

U.S. House of Representatives

September 21, 2000

Concerning

Obstacles to Workers Compensation for Beryllium Disease at the Pantex Facility

My name is Pete Lopez, 608 S. Marrs, Amarillo, Texas, 79104. My home telephone number is (806)374-5440. I am fifty years old and have tested positive for "beryllium sensitivity". I have been employed by the Day Zimmermann/Mason & Hanger at the Department of Energy's Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas for approximately twenty eight years. The Pantex facility is responsible for the assembly and disassembly of nuclear weapons.

Due to the requirements set forth by the Department of Energy , 10 CFR Part 850, which mandates that contractors implement a chronic beryllium disease prevention program (CBDPP) and establish medical surveillance requirements to ensure early detection of disease, Mason & Hanger began testing workers for beryllium in January, 2000. I received initial testing in February, 2000 and received notification of a positive confirmatory beryllium lymphocyte proliferation test (Be-LPT) on March 2000. At that time the Pantex Medical Doctor recommended that I file a workers compensation claim in order to cover the costs of further testing. I filed a workers compensation claims, and without a hearing or any type of meeting, my claim was denied.

My claim was filed in April of 2000 and I received a notice of refusal for the disputed claim on May 31, 2000. On this notice, the workers compensation carrier stated that payment was refused or disputed for the following reason:

Carrier is filing a formal denial that the employee has sustained an injury or occupational disease within the course and scope of employment or has sustained a work related injury or disease. Carrier further denies the occupational disease in that it is an ordinary disease of life, to which the general public is exposed. Also the carrier denies this claim based on the fact that it may not have been the carrier that carried the workers compensation insurance for this employer at the time of the last alleged injurious exposure.

I am unsure as to the current status of this claim. Four other Pantex employees have also filed and subsequently been denied workers compensation. To date, two hundred and nine employees have been tested for beryllium sensitivity, with twelve initial positive results and nine confirmed positive. I know that the Pantex Plant is the only place where I could have been exposed to beryllium. Beryllium levels have been found above the "housekeeping levels" in the plant. I am frustrated at all the dead-ends and walls I have hit in trying to get something done on this situation. And I know my frustration is shared by all of the others who have tested positive for beryllium at the Pantex Plant. Current scientific information concerning beryllium sensitivity indicates that approximately 10% of those who have a positive BeLPT test will develop chronic beryllium disease each year. The diagnosis of chronic beryllium disease could lead to a protracted, painful illness as the lungs gradually fail to exchange oxygen. During my tenure at Pantex, I have been a Production Technician for twenty two years. As a Production Technician I have responsibility for assembly/disassembly of numerous weapons programs. During the process, we work with various weapons components. Some are composed of beryllium metals while other components contain radioactive materials such as uranium, depleted uranium, thorium, plutonium, and tritium. The weapons components also consist of other hazardous/toxic materials such as lead, cadmium, chromium, mercury, silver, selenium, asbestos, 4,4'Methylenedianlline (MDA), and barium. Added to the list of materials used during assembly/disassembly, is the list of chemicals shown below:

• .Acetone
• .Thinner
• .MEK
• .Dichlorodifluoromethane
• .Sylgard
• .Isopropyl Alcohol
• .Trichlcrotrifluoroethane
• .Lacquers
• .Xylene
• .Alodine
• .Freon
• .Trichloroethane

This list is not all inclusive. It is intended to give an estimation of the materials used to support weapons' work. Through my efforts as a Production Technician I have been, to a great extent, involved in the success of the Cold War. I served my country in Vietnam, and am proud of my service. After observing what can happen to people who are not free, I was proud and glad to work in a place where weapons were made to keep this country liberated. Now, my family and I must suffer the consequences of that job. The government knew the dangers of beryllium since the early fifties but never communicated that vital information to the workers. There was zero protection against this deadly dust.

Now I'm asking you to help all of us. I would ask of my government "What are you going to do for me and my family?" My illness is due to an exposure at our nation's only nuclear weapons assembly/disassembly plant.

The Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Act was passed by the United States Senate as part of the FY 2001 Defense Authorization Act (S. 2549). That legislation establishes a presumption of work relatedness for beryllium disease or beryllium sensitivity if beryllium were present in the DOE facility or by a vendor that supplied beryllium. Since I am defined as a "covered beryllium employee"under that law, I would be eligible for worker compensation to cover my costs of additional medical care, and if I were to lose my health, it would replace my wages or pay me a lump sum. My family is deeply concerned that I have been diagnosed with this beryllium condition, and we have no security knowing that this diagnosis will not be compensated by my employer's worker compensation policy.

In the closing weeks of Congress, I hope you will agree to pass the legislation in the House of Representatives that had been approved in the Senate so that people like myself are not left hitting dead-ends.