17 years after cancer diagnosis, Veterans Affairs grants Santa Rosa man service-related benefits

Article Title: 17 years after cancer diagnosis, Veterans Affairs grants Santa Rosa man service-related benefits

Article Excerpt: "Paul Critchett battled Veterans Affairs for years, certain his terminal cancer diagnosis stemmed from radiation exposure. On Feb. 21, the government acknowledged it. ...he believed was a straightforward assignment: Repair a stripped pipe fitting. What made it less straightforward was the location of the pipe: Inside a reactor compartment on a nuclear submarine.

Something on that day went horribly awry, and Critchett was exposed to a level of radiation so high it could not be tracked on the pocket dosimeter used to monitor radiation levels in real time. ..."

Reference Source: www.pressdemocrat.com

118,000 Minnesota veterans eligible for expanded health care

Article Title: 118,000 Minnesota veterans eligible for expanded health care

Article Excerpt: "...“All they have to show now is where they served,” Klobuchar said. “They may know they were exposed to toxins, but even if they don’t know, the VA is going to do the research for them. We’ve severely moved up the deadline so that more vets can be immediately eligible.” The increased eligibility, which began on March 5, comes from an expansion of the 2022 PACT Act – which has so far brought health care to more than 700,000 veterans who had been exposed to Agent Orange, radiation, burning pits of waste and other toxins while serving...."

Reference Source: www.mprnews.org