ST. GEORGE — Families and people suffering from exposure to nuclear testing are being reminded that local support remains in the city.
Intermountain Health’s Downwinders Clinic is still open and available to assist those in the community who have questions about how radiation fallout from previous nuclear testing may have impacted them or their families, according to a media release issued by Intermountain.
The Intermountain Downwinders Clinic is located in the Intermountain St. George Regional Hospital’s Cancer Center and has been providing vital education and assistance about the federal Radiation Exposure Compensation Act.
The RECA federal statute provided compensation for qualifying people and their families who contracted certain cancers and/or other diseases as a direct result of their exposure to atmospheric nuclear testing performed by the federal government decades ago.
The RECA compensation ended without an extension on June 10. There have been different bills debated in Congress to continue and/or expand the program, but for now, the United States Department of Justice is not accepting applications, the news release states.
Rebecca Barlow, project director for the Radiation Exposure Screening Clinic at Intermountain St. George Regional Hospital, is still available to meet with claimants and their families to discuss qualifications, if an extension is granted, or the new, extended compensation act is passed.
“The Department of Justice cannot accept RECA applications at this time due to the expiration of the program. But anyone who thinks that they would have qualified for the program if it was still active, are welcome to call me to discuss what they could be doing while we wait for the bill to start again,” Barlow said in the news release. “We are also still open to do cancer screening education and a physical for downwinders.”
Cancers that previously qualified under RECA include leukemia (but not chronic lymphocytic leukemia), multiple myeloma, lymphomas (other than Hodgkin’s), and primary cancers of the pharynx, small intestine, salivary gland, brain, stomach, urinary tract/bladder, colon, thyroid, pancreas, breast, esophagus, bile ducts, liver, gall bladder, lung, and ovary. However, it’s too early to know which cancers will be included in the law when it is reinstated, according to Barlow.
People can contact the Intermountain Downwinder’s Clinic by calling 435-251-4760 and leaving a message. Your call will be returned at the earliest opportunity.