The U.S. Department of Labor has turned down, and likely will continue to turn down, the call for help for former employees who became sick after years of work at Savannah River Site.

I love my country, but this makes the sixth time I have been denied compensation; I have paid out more than $50,000 in drug store bills. They know we cannot get well. At the most, all that can happen is that we can be treated - if we can pay for the treatment. They know that if they wait it out, we will become too weak and give up.

Do you want to fight or die? It's come down to that. How can we fight? By requesting help from our leaders: U.S. Reps. Charlie Norwood and John Barrow; U.S. Sens. Johnny Isakson and Saxby Chambliss; and state Sen. Jim Whitehead.

Sick workers must be willing to contact these leaders so we can set a time and place for them to come to Augusta. Use you phones and e-mail daily.

The only way we are going to get medical help is to fight the U.S. Department of Energy. If we were just a few people crying for our way, then we shouldn't get medical help. But it's not just one person with one problem. We must become one strong group for our leaders to help us.

Bobby Bragg, Augusta