Representative Paul Gosar (R-AZ) questioned Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael Regan Wednesday in a House Oversight hearing, asking why the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) is expanding eastward to Missouri while many still-living victims in Nevada and Arizona are not receiving theirs.
As Cactus Politics covered in March, RECA was passed in 1990 to compensate victims of radiation exposure brought by nuclear testing and uranium mining in the Southwest. However, the urgency of the situation is evident as many Arizona victims have gone without compensation for many years, a mission Rep. Gosar has fought for since 2010, as he reiterated in the Wednesday hearing.
At the same time, the EPA has prioritized superfunds and radioactive landfill sites in Missouri, which means expanding RECA compensation to these areas would be redundant.
"Why is there a reason to expand RECA to this area? It does not make any sense to me because RECA was developed for the exposure of above-ground bombing that the federal government acknowledged. So why do we have to expand RECA?" Rep. Gosar asked, noting that Missouri radiation exposure victims deserve aid as well, but the EPA's superfunds should handle it.
Regan replied, "This is a specific issue that maybe we should discuss because I know that when these sites or expansions occur, that typically means more federal dollars come in to help with the cleanup."
The Arizona Congressman agreed, yet "the point is, we spent a ton of money on the supersites. Why aren't they addressing exposures to radiation from this point forward? With RECA, I have got people who have waited now- their exposure has now been almost 70 years, and they have been excluded because of an administrative error."
However, Gosar said bureaucrats ignore his push for expansion in the Southwest. Still, when Missouri asks for RECA expansion, they are given priority that the superfunds for containment should handle.
The EPA Administrator answered, "You have my personal commitment that we will work on this and see what we can do."
