The U.S. Labor Department is following the law, but needs to improve the federal program to aid sick nuclear weapons workers, including those from Rocky Flats, near Denver, an inspector general's audit found.

"DOL can and should do more to assist claimants," the Labor Department's assistant inspector general for audits, Elliot Lewis, wrote in his report released Thursday.

Lewis' audit reviewed 140 of the 167,498 claims filed by sick and dying U.S. nuclear weapons workers or their survivors since the compensation program began in 2001.

In each case, the department followed the law, he said.

Terrie Barrie, a national advocate for claimants whose husband, George, worked at Rocky Flats, said she is pleased that the audit recognized that the Labor Department needs to do more to help claimants, as required by law.

But she said the audit did not dig deep enough.

"Looking at less than one- tenth of one percent of the cases, there's no way that can reveal any of the kinds of problems we are concerned about," Barrie said.

Claimants and their advocates have complained bitterly for years that program officials had created hurdles making it more difficult for sick workers to be compensated. In July, the Rocky Mountain News published a three-part series, Deadly Denial, detailing its own investigation of the program.

Anne Block, an attorney and former Labor Department claims examiner, told the Rocky that her supervisors in Seattle had encouraged claims examiners to deny claims. Block has a federal suit pending against her former employer. The inspector general did not interview Block, but said 10 fellow claims examiners did not corroborate her story.

Block said the inspector general's office refused to interview her after she asked to bring her attorney and a tape recorder.

Block said Thursday that she believes her former co-workers might have been intimidated because their statements were taken within eyesight of their bosses.

The audit said that claims took, on average, more than three years and sometimes more than four years to decide. Labor officials blamed much of the delay on the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, which is responsible for scientific analysis of workers' radiation exposures.

But the audit said that the Labor Department needed to take more responsibility: "DOL, as the lead agency, must develop the necessary coordination with other federal agency processing partners to avoid claimant confusion and duplication of effort."

A NIOSH spokesman could not be reached for comment Thursday. A Labor Department spokesman said that his office was preparing a statement.

The audit recommended the Labor Department resolve its issues with other agencies through formal agreements. Other recommendations:

* Create a better data-tracking system so the department can tell how long claims have been pending. The audit said that the department had lost track of more than 7,000 claims at NIOSH, including some that had languished for more than five years.

* Increase contact with claimants, including using electronic means when possible, instead of relying on traditional mail with both claimants and other agencies.

* Expand the work of its 11 resource centers, including one in Westminster, to help claimants find evidence to support their claim and educate them on eligibility. The audit said that some claimants had filed for compensation and medical care even though they weren't sick, because they expected to become ill and were aware of the years-long wait for aid.

frankl@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5091