Alaskan workers receive compensation

People who fell ill as a result of atomic testing in Amchitka, Alaska, may finally get some financial assistance.

About 3,000 workers were employed on Amchitka Island in the Aleutian Island chain during the period of atomic warhead testing from 1964 to 1971. To date, a federal program has paid more than 100 claims of US$150,000 each. Many of the workers now suffer from cancer or lung ailments related to exposure to radioactivity.