There are some Cancer victims and their families finding that they are eligible for a tax free $50,000 or more from the federal government. Patients, those in remission, and the loved ones of the deceased, are being compensated; but time is running out.
The program, officially known as the “Radiation Exposure Compensation Act” and unofficially known as “The Downwinders Program”, started in 1990 as an effort from Congress to compensate victims of nuclear radiation in certain counties Arizona, Nevada, and Utah. These victims were affected as a result of radiation from atomic bomb testing, be it through the wind or direct contact with uranium ore from mining or transporting.
While children were playing on the playground and watching the above ground tests, they were being condemned to a future of cancer-related hardships, and they didn’t even know it. While miners and transporters of uranium ore were being paid to do their job, their lives and the lives of their loved ones were being permanently affected.
Many of these individuals have received the compensation for which they are eligible in the 27 years since the program began, but not everyone has. Those who potentially qualify and have not yet filed should act soon, as the program is ending in 2022.