navy korean war veterans exposed to ionizing radiation

The health concerns for this group of vets includes 3 special categories: cold injuries, noise, and occupational hazards. These include extreme cold injuries, radiation and iodizing radiation exposure, asbestos exposure, noise, vibration, and PCBs (an organic chlorine compound that was widely deployed as dielectric and coolant fluids in electrical apparatus) to name just some of the hazards that these veterans were exposed to during their service. There are some special risks and circumstances that Korean war veterans faced that veterans of some other wars may not have been exposed to.

What Special Risks Did Korean War Veterans Face? More than 103,000 Americans were wounded during the Korean war as well. This war started in 1950 and ended in 1953, and resulted in a total of 54,246 deaths of which 36,574 happened in theater according to this report in 2013.

Note: If you get a disability rating, you may also be eligible for VA health care and other benefits.More than 5.7 million Americans served during the Korean War, and today there are still approximately over 2.25 million Korean war veterans still alive. You were assigned to a gaseous diffusion plant at Area K-25 at Oak Ridge, Tennessee.You were assigned to a gaseous diffusion plant at Portsmouth, Ohio, or.You were assigned to a gaseous diffusion plant at Paducah, Kentucky, or.You were part of underground nuclear weapons testing at Amchitka Island, Alaska, or.You may also qualify for disability benefits if you served in at least one of these locations and capacities : You did tasks like those of a Department of Energy (DOE) employee that make them a member of the Special Exposure Cohort (For more details, check 42 U.S.C.You were a prisoner of war (POW) in Japan, or.You served in the postwar occupation of Hiroshima or Nagasaki, or.You were part of atmospheric nuclear weapons testing, or.Review radiation-related illnesses on the eCFR websiteĪnd you must have had contact with ionizing radiation in one of these ways while serving in the military : Note: You can find a list of radiation-related illnesses on the National Archives’ Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR) website. Your illness started within a certain period of time (as shown along with the list of illnesses).You have an illness that’s on our list of illnesses believed to be caused by radiation or that doctors say may be caused by radiation, and.

You may be eligible for disability compensation if you didn’t receive a dishonorable discharge and you meet these requirements.

Navy korean war veterans exposed to ionizing radiation