CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- The federal government held an info session Thursday in Bolingbrook for people who did nuclear work for the federal government and for their survivors. People were told what kinds of compensation they might be entitled to if they were dealing with certain illnesses."It’s an opportunity for people out who worked at these department of energy facilities doing important work for our country and to understand what they need to file a claim," said Josh Novack of the U.S. Department of Labor.David Smiley, 72, worked for 21 years for Argonne and Fermi Labs. He wonders whether materials he worked around as an operating engineer contributed to nodules on his left lung.
"We were always told that you get more radiation when you go to the dentist for x-rays than you’d pick up around here," he said.
"Even with radiation, even when we had floods in certain areas, we had to be the first ones there to clean it up," Owens said.Novack said about 11 such events are held around the country every year.