There are many people across the globe who work for nuclear energy facilities. However, it is important to take note of the negative health effects this type of job can impose on the workers. Working in a nuclear energy facility poses serious health threats to employees. These long-term effects may even affect them even after they retire, making their lives harder as years passed by.
However, the government devised a compensation plan to help these employees and their families. The coverage of this compensation spans from medical assistance, housing remodeling and long-term home nursing services. For one, the congress in the United States created the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program (EEOICPA) to provide assistance and benefits to employees of the Department of Energy facilities across the country.
What Are The Long-Term Effects Of Nuclear Energy Exposure?
Ever since the emergence of radioactivity, many studies have shown the link between ionizing radiation and the occurrence of many health problems like congenital effects among pregnant women, hereditary diseases, and malignancies or the formation of cancerous cells.
This is because radiation can negatively affect parts of the cells that can interfere with various cellular processes. In fact, radiation can damage the genetic makeup of the cell that could eventually lead to cancer.
Is Exposure To Nuclear Facilities Risky?
Many studies have shown that exposure to high doses of radiation can cause cancer. However, many facilities today do not expose its workers to high doses of ionizing agents. The long-term exposure to these low doses of radiation, however, may still affect human health.
Hence, governments from all over the world, including the United States, have devised compensation programs to help workers in the past, starting from post-WWII, to help them cope with the long-term health effects of working in nuclear facilities.
Working in these facilities may negatively affect one’s health. However, the long-term effects have been countered by health care professionals provided by the government. Today, a wide range of services are exclusively offered to retired workers and their families.
