The inspector general of the Energy Department said Thursday that workers at current nuclear weapons plants are not being checked regularly for radiation contamination.

The inspector general's report said that without changes, current "employees may be at risk for occupational exposures to radioactive material that might not be detected."

Besides warning of contamination, records of exposure are needed for weapons plant workers to win federal compensation for cancer and other illnesses caused by radiation.

Workers at the now-defunct Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant outside Denver say they have been denied compensation for job-related illnesses because exposure records can't be found or are incomplete. They recently lost an attempt to have all workers grandfathered into an aid program on the grounds of missing exposure records.

According to the inspector general's report, 67 percent of the 24 workers checked at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory did not get all their required urinalysis and other lab tests for radiation exposure. In some cases, workers were canceling the tests themselves.

In contrast, workers at the Savannah River weapons plant were being tested correctly.

DOE responded by saying federal regulations do not require medical tests, and it refused to insist that employees show up for their exams. DOE said air monitoring was more important to identify possible radiation leaks that could harm workers.

However, the federal aid program uses biological tests, not air monitoring records, to decide if a worker's illness was caused by contamination.

Jennifer Thompson, an advocate for ill Rocky Flats workers, said she was not surprised by the report. "Records have always been and remain a huge challenge," Thompson said.

Jerry Hardin, a 36-year Rocky Flats worker and union official, said he doubts the inspector general's conclusions will help Rocky Flats workers win their bid for automatic aid.

"I've been looking for a magic bullet for some years. At times when I thought we had a show stopper, we were ignored," Hardin said.

imsea@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5438