An audit that pointed out problems with data on radiation exposure at the Hanford nuclear reservation will be considered by officials who could help ill workers.

It's a step toward possibly winning compensation for workers with cancer who believe they have been unfairly denied $150,000 payments under a federal program for workers exposed to radiation at Hanford and other federal sites.

Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., has been pushing for a discussion of the audit, which was released in June. She announced Thursday that it will be considered in January at a National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health meeting in Oak Ridge, Tenn.

The audit, prepared by S. Cohen & Associates, found that sometimes inadequate data on worker exposure between 1944 and 1968 may lead government officials to underestimate the workers' exposure to radiation at Hanford.

The government considers whether workers received enough exposure to radiation to likely cause specific cancers before granting the $150,000 payment.

If accurately establishing radiation is not possible, workers can be designated as part of a "special exposure cohort." For those groups, standards for receiving the payment are lower. Workers with a wide range of cancers are automatically compensated.

No special exposure cohorts have been created at Hanford, but a discussion of the audit results could be a step toward that.

For information on applying for the compensation program, call 946-3333 or 1-888-654-0014.