The group asserts that the V.A. has improperly denied benefits to thousands of veterans exposed to life-endangering radiation at postwar atomic tests and in the occupation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, where the first atomic bombs were dropped in 1945.

The legislation also includes some new benefits for veterans exposed to nuclear radiation in World War II or in tests in the 1950's and 1960's.

Precise information on the number of tests, experiments, and participants is not available and the exact number of veterans exposed will probably never be known.

The study also linked exposure to the herbicide Agent Orange to the occurrence of benign fatty tumors and a 40 percent increase in the risk for miscarriage among wives of veterans exposed to the herbicide.

In 1979 Congress passed a law ordering the Veterans Administration, the precursor of the Department of Veterans Affairs, to make the first comprehensive assessment of the health of veterans exposed to Agent Orange.

This research found that the likelihood of a mental health diagnosis, including but not limited to PTSD, more than doubled for veterans exposed to MST.

In 1987, the C.D.C. canceled the study of veterans exposed to Agent Orange after five years of research and $43 million in expenditures.

A report from the Institute of Medicine has found that veterans exposed to Agent Orange three decades ago were at greater risk for chronic lymphocytic leukemia, a fast-moving and deadly cancer.

Doyle won nine gold Clios for a print public service campaign for the National Association of Atomic Veterans of Salem, Mass., a nonprofit organization seeking Government help for veterans exposed to atomic tests.

Eventually, it helped persuade the Government to pay damages to veterans exposed to Agent Orange.