DOE HOLDS MEETING WITH LAB WORKERS.

Byline: Beth Barrett Staff Writer

SIMI VALLEY - About 100 former nuclear energy contract workers concerned that their illnesses may be linked to Cold War research at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory and other Southland facilities met for the first time Tuesday with federal officials administering a program offering $150,000 in compensation and lifetime medical benefits.

The turnout provided evidence of the depth of local concern among former workers who once handled radioactive materials, beryllium and silica after federal officials initially balked at aggressively serving the region because of a perceived lack of interest.

``We are delighted with the turnout,'' said Jeff Eagan, special assistant in the Department of Energy's Office of Environment Safety & Health after the afternoon meeting at the Posada Royale Hotel and Suites. ``We've made a real commitment to come back and back (until all workers are processed).''

The meetings were scheduled after the Daily News disclosed in July that the region was being slighted despite some 6,000 employees who once worked in Rocketdyne's nuclear research lab in the hills between Simi Valley and Chatsworth, while a predecessor company in Canoga Park was listed as a beryllium vendor. U.S. Rep. Elton Gallegly, a Republican representing Ventura County, subsequently demanded the service be provided.

Several former workers, or their eligible survivors, said they were encouraged by what they heard about the Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act administrated by the Department of Labor.

Betty Radcliff, a Reseda resident, said her husband died of cancer after working for years at the field lab operated by Rocketdyne, now a division of the Boeing Co.

A nuclear material technician, Jules Radcliff frequently came home with stories of being exposed to radioactive materials, his wife said.

``He'd say, 'I was in the hot stuff again,''' Betty Radcliff said, holding a packet containing doctor's bills and other information to back her claim for compensation.

But many former employees left disappointed, because while they worked with some of the dangerous substances - particularly beryllium, a metal whose dust can cause fatal lung disease - they did so under Department of Defense or other contracts, but not for the DOE.

Walter McCarron, a Woodland Hills resident and former Rocketdyne employee, who along with dozens of others was exposed to particles of aluminum alloy containing beryllium, said many people handled the alloy in connection with Department of Defense or NASA work.

``It (the act) is too narrowly focused, and will cut out a lot of people now,'' McCarron said.

Boeing officials have begun offering tests for beryllium sensitivity to its workers, including former employees and those not directly covered by the federal compensation act. So far about 70 people have been tested, and while company officials said there have been some ``indeterminate'' results, none have been positive.

Eagan, the DOE assistant, said the government is attempting to provide broader assistance to former employees who don't fall within the act by establishing physician panels to help people pursue state compensation claims.