By Kevin Lavery, KWMU
St. Louis, MO. – A federal advisory board is recommending that the government speed up payments for some former Mallinckrodt workers.
The panel is urging Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt to approve the claims of those who worked at the former plant in downtown St. Louis from 1942 through 1948.
The workers were exposed to high dosages of radioactivity while working with processed uranium. Senator Kit Bond of Missouri says he hopes HHS acts soon.
"We want to see compensation for those ill workers approved as quickly as possible for them and their families who've endured great medical expenses, as well as the human heartache of a very ill family member," Bond said.
HHS has 30 days to approve the recommendation.
The advisory board will meet again in April to review the cases of others who worked at the plant from 1949 through 1957.