04/20/1999 01:37 PM Senate L&C

         SJR 21-AMCHITKA ISL NUCLEAR TEST SITE WORKERS                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
CHAIRMAN MACKIE announced SJR 21 to be up for consideration.                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MR. MICHAEL KENNY, Teamsters Local 959, said they had members                                                                   
working on Amchitka during nuclear testing and have noticed quite                                                               
a few health problems amongst those members and support this                                                                    
resolution.                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
MS. PAM MILLER, Alaska Community Action Toxic, strongly supported                                                               
SJR 21 and said she is a biologist.  As a member of the Amchitka                                                                
Technical Advisory Group, she is familiar with the great                                                                        
difficulties workers and their families have had in finding the                                                                 
truth about radiation at Amchitka during the years following the                                                                
nuclear attack.  There are numerous reports of cancers and other                                                                
health problems after employment on the island.  She has reviewed                                                               
20,000 documents and has found documentation of radioactive sources                                                             
and leakage that workers were likely exposed to.  The Department of                                                             
Energy still withholds classified documents that would provide                                                                  
additional and much needed information for assessing environmental                                                              
human health practices.  The Worker's Medical Surveillance Program                                                              
will provide workers and their families information that is                                                                     
essential to understanding the health impacts of nuclear tests in                                                               
Amchitka.  She asked the members of the Legislature to work                                                                     
diligently to resolve worker compensation claims in litigation                                                                  
relating to Amchitka workers and their families.                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
MR. KEVIN DOUGHERTY, Alaska Laborers Union, supported SJR 21.                                                                   
There is a need to have a just solution to the workers health                                                                   
issues that come out of Amchitka.  He observed that they are asking                                                             
for equal treatment for Alaskans who were in the private sector who                                                             
worked on Amchitka with those who worked in the federal sector.                                                                 
They did not get the monitoring or Workmen's Compensation that the                                                              
federal workers got.                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
Also, the other nuclear test sites in the lower 48 have had medical                                                             
monitoring surveillance done and Alaskans should have equal                                                                     
treatment.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
Number 424                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
MS. BEV ALECK supported SJR 21.  She said the work that Congressman                                                             
Young and Senator Stevens and Senator Murkowski are doing would be                                                              
well enhanced with this resolution.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
MR. BOB HADRICK, Aleutian Pribiloff Island Association, supported                                                               
SJR 21.                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
MR. WALTER PARKER, Commissioner, U.S. Arctic Research Commission,                                                               
supported SJR 21, said he was the Commission's representative on                                                                
the Amchitka Advisory Group since it was formed to examine the                                                                  
allegations that continue to come up on Amchitka.                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
Number 451                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR LEMAN moved to pass SJR 21 from committee with individual                                                               
recommendations.  There were no objections and it was so ordered.