SESSIONS ON COMPENSATION SET NUCLEAR WORKERS RECEIVE PLEDGE FROM FEDS.

SIMI VALLEY - Insisting they now are committed to serving former Cold War nuclear workers in Southern California, two federal agencies on Wednesday will outline a program of compensation and health care during two Simi Valley meetings.

The 1 and 7 p.m. sessions by the Department of Labor, which runs the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program, and the Department of Energy, which employed more than 6,000 contract workers in the region, will be at the Posada Royale Hotel and Suites, 1775 Madera Road, officials said.

The meetings - the first in what the agencies promise will be a long-term commitment to the region - were scheduled after the Daily News in July disclosed that Southern California workers, including about 6,000 who once worked at Santa Susana Field Laboratory in the Simi Hills and other facilities operated previously by Rockwell International, were not being targeted for the program. It provides eligible employees or their survivors $150,000 in compensation and lifetime health care for illnesses related to their DOE work.

Congressman Elton Gallegly, a Republican representing Ventura County, pressed the agencies to hold the meetings after a series of Daily News stories, as well as to set up a local satellite office to help former workers process their claims.

``It means the workers have an opportunity to file a formal claim and that whatever harm they may have received as a result of the facility, they now have an outlet to deal with it and hopefully one that addresses their particular needs,'' Gallegly added.

``We're committed to continue to work with the people of Southern California,'' said Jeff Eagan, with the DOE's office of worker advocacy in Washington, D.C. ``This is the beginning of an ongoing process. This meeting is not the end of anything, but the start of a commitment to these Cold War veterans. They don't have the hospitals and benefits of those who wore the uniforms. They may have worn overalls, but they're veterans as much as anybody else.''

Bonnie Klea, a West Hills bladder cancer survivor who worked nine years for Rocketdyne, a company division, as a secretary visiting high-security areas without a radiation badge, said she is thrilled about the meetings.

Klea said she initially contacted labor officials and was told there was insufficient interest in the region for the sessions.

``I'm very, very gratified, and I'm actually surprised by their coming to town,'' Klea said last week. ``When they said there was no interest, it was because no one knew about it (the program).''

The DOE's Eagan said the agency intends to cast a broad net to include as many eligible workers as possible, including not only contractors who did nuclear work, but some subcontractors as well.

In general, workers who receive the compensation package will need to demonstrate their illnesses were related to their DOE work. Federal officials will explain the law during Wednesday's meetings, and be available to answer questions and assist in filling out forms.

The bulk of the cases are anticipated to involve radiation-induced cancers from working with nuclear materials, but workers with beryllium disease or silicosis caused by their energy employment would also be eligible, Eagan said.

The Daily News has reported that dozens of former workers at Rocketdyne, a Rockwell division since bought by the Boeing Co., worked on beryllium and alloys containing beryllium in Canoga Park, with many workers saying they did not receive adequate training, protective gear or medical testing.

Those workers who were doing DOE-related work would be eligible for beryllium testing and monitoring under the program. Boeing has promised to extend the beryllium program to non-DOE employees.

Boeing's manager of environmental communications, Blythe Jameson, said the company has notified current and former employees of the meetings.

Klea, the West Hills resident, said the expensive tests are crucial for many former employees who may not know they are sensitive to the metal, or have the disease.

While the former Rocketdyne workers are anticipated to make up the bulk of the claimants, some smaller Southern California facilities also have been identified in the federal registry as having former workers who may be eligible.

Those facilities include Ceradyne Inc. in Santa Ana; Electro Circuits Inc., in Pasadena; Hunter Douglas Aluminum Corp. in Riverside; and Laboratory of Biomedical and Environmental Sciences in Los Angeles.

More than 6,000 applications for compensation have been received from former workers nationwide since July 31. The DOE estimates some 660,000 people worked for it, or for its predecessor agencies, from World War II through the Cold War.

Congress has set up the compensation program as an entitlement, which means funds will continue to be there for all claimants, Eagan said.

``If you're sick, the money's there,'' he said. ``Congress set aside as much as is needed, like Medicare or Social Security.''