Since 2018, the DOE has filed more than 500 appeals involving claims under the law. About 152 claims remain in legal limbo after state officials approved benefits but the department continued appealing. Half of those workers have died, and the DOE is still contesting some families’ eligibility for survivors’ benefits.

The law, first passed in 2018 and later expanded to cover workers at other radiological hazardous-waste facilities in Washington, presumes that certain cancers, neurological diseases and respiratory illnesses are work-related. The presumption shifts the burden: To deny a covered claim, an agency must show that something other than the job caused the illness.

State data covering the three and a half years beginning in 2023 shows that Hanford workers filed 102 new claims. The DOE recommended approval of none. Washington’s Department of Labor and Industries, which makes the final decision, approved 75% of the claims; the DOE appealed all but seven of those approvals.

The state provided no claims records for the earlier years of the law, so the recent figures do not capture the full period since 2018. Across that broader period, the state says, about 75% of 428 claims came from DOE Hanford workers.

The prolonged appeals can mean years without wage replacement or other benefits for workers facing serious illnesses. In some cases, the DOE has paid benefits while continuing to contest a claim and has warned workers they could have to repay the money if the department prevails.

Lonnie Rouse, who spent nearly 20 years packaging plutonium and monitoring radioactive waste at Hanford, filed a state claim in 2009 after doctors diagnosed him with toxic encephalopathy, a neurological condition they linked to chemical exposure. The federal government separately approved him for benefits under a federal program for energy workers, finding that his illness was at least as likely as not connected to his work.

Washington approved Rouse’s state claim after he refiled under the new law in 2018. The DOE appealed, disputing his diagnosis and arguing that other factors, including his drinking, could explain his condition. The state did not accept those arguments. The department awarded most of his back pay in 2024, his lawyer said, but Rouse is holding the money until the legal process ends. The DOE has filed more than 20 appeals contesting different aspects of his claim.

Rouse, who now receives round-the-clock care, said workers had been assured they would be safe if they followed their training. “But that’s not what happens,” he said.

The DOE’s litigation has carried substantial costs. From 2018 through 2025, the department paid nearly $10 million to one law firm handling its appeals, according to invoices. Three physicians and an industrial hygienist who testified against Hanford workers collectively received more than $1.7 million. In cases the DOE appealed after state approval, the state appeals agency sided with workers nearly nine times out of 10, according to state data.

Other workers remain caught in the process. Kathleen Kersey, who worked at Hanford for 10 years and was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, received state approval for her claim in 2019. The DOE appealed, arguing that her illness had another cause. Kersey said she has received no back wages and remains among those awaiting a decision. “It makes me feel like I’m worthless,” she said.

Some appeals have continued even as workers’ health failed. The DOE challenged Isidoro Mata Jr.’s claim after Washington approved it in 2019. Mata, who had demolished buildings at Hanford for nearly 30 years, was being treated for thyroid cancer. The department later dropped its appeal; Mata died less than three months afterward.

Hanford, in south-central Washington, produced much of the plutonium for the U.S. nuclear arsenal before production ended in the late 1980s. Its cleanup—one of the country’s largest and most expensive environmental remediation projects—is expected to continue until at least 2086. More than 13,000 people worked at the site as of January 2025, nearly all for private contractors working for the DOE.

The department did not respond to detailed questions about the findings. In a statement, a spokesperson said the DOE follows applicable laws and has a “long and successful record” of protecting human health and the environment.

Washington Labor and Industries spokesperson Carrie McCausland said agency staff met twice with DOE representatives after concerns about the appeals were raised. The department is assessing the pattern and expects to engage further with the DOE; possible steps include an improvement plan and monitoring. State officials also have the option of revoking the DOE’s ability to manage claims directly, though employers could retain appeal rights under other arrangements.

State Rep. Gerry Pollet, a sponsor of the original law, said the continued disputes have fallen short of the policy’s purpose. “This was supposed to have ended a decade ago,” he said.