02/17/2026
Call to Action: Protect Worker Health and Safety — Submit Comments to the Federal Register
The Metal Trades Department, AFL-CIO, the Hanford Atomic Metal Trades Council, and our partners at the HAMMER Training Center are urging workers, families, and concerned citizens to take immediate action.
Proposed changes to Occupational Radiation Protection standards under 10 CFR Part 835 — including the effective elimination of the long-standing ALARA (“As Low As Reasonably Achievable”) principle — threaten to roll back decades of progress in workplace safety. ALARA has been a cornerstone of protecting nuclear workers and surrounding communities by ensuring radiation exposure is minimized at every opportunity. Weakening or removing it places the burden of risk back on the people doing the work.
These changes were advanced quietly, with little public awareness, yet their consequences could be far-reaching. From Department of Energy facilities to cleanup sites like Hanford, millions of workers rely on strong radiation protection standards to return home safely at the end of the day. Diluting those standards is not a technical adjustment — it is a decision that could increase exposure risks, undermine safety culture, and jeopardize long-term health.
The men and women represented by the Metal Trades Department’s affiliated national and international unions and the Hanford Atomic Metal Trades Council understand what is at stake. These workers work in high-hazard environments where safety rules are not abstract policies; they are the difference between protection and preventable harm. Alongside our allies at the HAMMER Training Center, who train thousands of workers in best-in-class safety practices, we know firsthand that strong standards save lives.
We are asking you to stand with us. Submit a public comment to the Federal Register opposing any changes that weaken radiation protections and calling for the preservation of ALARA as a foundational safety requirement. Agencies need to hear directly from workers, retirees, families, and communities who will be affected by these decisions.
Your voice matters. A strong public record can help stop policies that put cost-cutting ahead of human health. Take a few minutes to speak up for the people who work in and around our nation’s nuclear facilities — and for the communities that depend on those protections.
Protect workers. Protect communities. Defend ALARA. Submit your comment today.
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Sample Comment:
I am submitting this comment in strong opposition to any proposed changes to Occupational Radiation Protection standards under 10 CFR Part 835 that would weaken the long-standing ALARA principle (“As Low As Reasonably Achievable”).
For decades, ALARA has served as a critical safeguard for workers in high-risk environments, ensuring that radiation exposure is minimized through careful planning, training, and oversight. This principle is not simply a guideline — it is a proven protection that has helped prevent unnecessary exposure and long-term health consequences for the people who perform some of the most hazardous work in our country.
Weakening or eliminating ALARA would represent a serious step backward for worker health and safety. Radiation exposure carries lifelong risks, and even small increases in allowable exposure can have significant cumulative impacts. The workers affected by these standards are not statistics; they are skilled professionals, parents, neighbors, and community members who deserve the highest level of protection available.
I am deeply concerned that changes to these protections could undermine the strong safety culture that has been built over many years across Department of Energy sites and related facilities. Safety standards should be strengthened and modernized — not reduced or relaxed. Maintaining ALARA ensures that employers and agencies remain committed to preventing exposure wherever possible, rather than treating higher exposure as acceptable.
I urge the agency to preserve ALARA as a foundational requirement within 10 CFR Part 835 and to prioritize the long-term health, safety, and well-being of the workforce and surrounding communities. Worker protection must remain the top priority in any regulatory decision.
Thank you for the opportunity to provide public comment on this critical matter.
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Another Sample statement:
I am writing to express my concern about proposed changes to Occupational Radiation Protection standards under 10 CFR Part 835, particularly any effort to weaken or remove the ALARA principle. Keeping radiation exposure “As Low As Reasonably Achievable” has been a cornerstone of worker safety for decades and should remain a firm requirement, not an optional goal.
Reducing these protections risks increasing long-term health dangers for workers and weakening the safety culture that protects both employees and surrounding communities. I strongly urge you to maintain ALARA and ensure that worker health and safety remain the top priority in any regulatory updates.
Please do not move forward with changes that would increase acceptable radiation exposure or diminish established safeguards.
Thank you for considering my comment.
