OFFICE OF WORKERS COMPENSATION HAS PAID 5.5 BILLION TO NUCLEAR WEAPONS WORKERS

OVER 5.9 MILLION DOLLARS PAID to BROOKHAVEN NATIONAL LABORATORY (BNL) EMPLOYEES FOR JOB RELATED CANCERS AND DEATHS

According to the New York State Department of Labor website, the Office of Workers Compensation (OWC) has paid out over 5.5 Billion dollars to nuclear weapons workers since 2001. This represents 130,211 cases for 76,382 individual workers and a total of $449,232,311 in medical expenses paid.  The other $5,067,377,094 was for compensation paid for these claims.

BNL employees who have worked at the lab since 1947 and are covered either as SEC (Special Exposure Cohort) Class members or under the auspices of the EEOICPA (Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act) have to date been paid $5,901,298. This total represents 421 cases and 231 unique individual workers. $251,170 dollars was specifically paid for medical bills and $5,650,128 dollars for compensation to survivors with illness or to family members of deceased who are presumed to have died or contracted their cancers while working at Brookhaven National Laboratory anytime from 1947 to the present.


The SEC or “Cohort” Class, which applies to anyone who worked at BNL from 1947-1979 was so designated January 8, 2010.  Other persons who work or worked at BNL from 1980 to the present and who have illnesses they feel may be job related due to exposure to toxins such as beryllium, radiation or other environmental hazards, can get a free medical screening and under part B or E of the EEOICPA could get a dose reconstruction.  This may be necessary depending upon how much documentation is available to verify their workplace exposure.  Documents from 1947-1979 are difficult to obtain because of the secret nature of the nuclear weapons programs conducted at BNL and other DOE sites during that time period.

Those who qualify for EEOICPA compensation are eligible for between $150 thousand to $400 thousand dollars and medical expenses.  If the worker is deceased from one of 23 cancers, chronic beryllium disease or other illnesses covered by the act, then his immediate family may receive compensation for the loss of their loved one.

THE DOL HOLDS A TOWN MEETING REGARDING THE NEW SEC DESIGNATION

The Department of Labor, the agency responsible for all notification relating to the EEOICPA, will conduct a Town Hall meeting to assist nuclear weapons workers and all other workers at BNL from 1949 to the present,  (or their surviving family members) on Wednesday, March 3, 2010

It will be held at:

The Courtyard by Marriott
5000 Express Drive South, Ronkonkoma, N.Y.            2 and 7 pm

The Department of Labor will host two meetings to present information about the new SEC Class and to present an overview of parts B and E of the EEOICPA, according to their website.  They are also scheduled to have resource center staff available to help individuals who may need assistance in filing claims with the EEOICPA and the Office of Workers’ Compensation.

TOXIC COLLEGES MADE NUCLEAR WEAPONS

Students, faculty and administrators at New York University, Stanford, Columbia, MIT, SUNY at Stony Brook and over a dozen universities in the United States may have been exposed to cancer causing radiation, beryllium, plutonium, silica and other highly toxic substances while attending school or working at universities holding contracts with the Department of Energy from 1941 through the present. 

The universities on a list from Department of Energy (DOE),  Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act  (EEOICPA) website provided by the Office of Health, Safety and Security were listed as “Atomic Weapons Employers”, “Beryllium Vendors” and  “Weapons Research and Development Facilities” doing work such as  “nuclear research involving plutonium and uranium” at the universities’ laboratories.   

Over 400 contaminated DOE sites,  or their contractors and subcontractors, are listed by the EEOICPA. Persons at listed DOE sites may be compensated for their exposure to toxic and radioactive substances in the course of their work and research but if the exposed person is already deceased, surviving relatives could be entitled to monetary compensation.

Any person who worked or studied at the university sites listed, during the specified time periods, are entitled to a free medical screening, medical benefits and lump sum payments from $150,000 to $400,000 dollars if they have cancers or other illnesses presumed to be caused by their exposure to carcinogenic and radioactive substances when the DOE was working on early nuclear weapons creation and testing at many American colleges; including several in the New York area.

According to the EEOICPA website, the State University of New York  (SUNY) at Stony Brook is listed as a DOE contractor  (1998- present).   At Brookhaven National Laboratories (BNL) in Upton, Long Island (1947 –present) the Department of Energy conducted basic and applied research in high energy and nuclear physics.  The potential for exposure to beryllium existed at this site, according to the DOE website. SUNY is listed as a contractor under BNL on the DOE list.

In January, Brookhaven National Laboratory was named part of a Special Exposure Cohort (SEC) Class for the years 1947-1979.  Administered by the National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety (NIOSH) it refers to a time in history when records are difficult to obtain, because of the secret nature of the nuclear weapons programs carried out at many universities and laboratories like BNL.  Anyone who worked at BNL from 1947-present may be eligible for compensation.  The program is primarily administered by The Department of Labor (DOL), which handles the intake and is also responsible for notification.  Then the Department of Energy or NIOSH will determine the level of compensation based upon dosage levels of radiation, beryllium and a whole laundry list of other toxins and known carcinogens people were exposed to in the course of their work or study.

One of the contractors, another "Atomic Weapons Employer";  Chapman Valve Manufacturing Co., located in Indian Orchard, Massachusetts supplied and "machined uranium rods into slugs for the Brookhaven National Laboratory" where BNL used them as reactor fuel.  Other contractors listed under BNL on the DOE site are Battelle Memorial Institute (1998-present) and Associated Universities (1947-1998).

The Special Alloyed Materials Laboratories (SAM) at Columbia University in New York City, was involved in the process of researching whether it was feasible for the United States to build a nuclear weapon in the early nineteen forties.  Buildings used as part of the SAM Laboratories included:  Pupin, Schmermerhorn, Prentiss, Havemeyer and Nash.  Work related to the production ended in 1947 with the establishment of the Atomic Energy Commission and subsequent work focused on health effects and basic nuclear physics.

The University of Chicago had several contractors and subcontractors who worked with beryllium, plutonium and uranium.  Between June 1943 and July 1944 DuPont and the University of Chicago subcontracted the Baker Brothers also known as Rems Inc. to machine roll metal rods into uranium slugs that were used for fuel in the world’s first reduction reactors, according to the website.

The Metallurgical Laboratory at the University of Chicago, known as Eckhardt Hall (+ West Stands, New Chem. Lab and Annex, Ryerson Physical Lab, Kent Chem. Lab) was also known as “Met Lab” from 1942-1946.

Billed as an atomic weapons employer and beryllium vendor simultaneously, the Met Lab was involved in early uranium metallurgical work as part of the Manhattan Project and connected to Enrico Fermi’s work; the “Chicago Pile 1”, the first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction. 

Beryllium was used at the Metallurgical Laboratory when Fermi was conducting experiments trying to decide whether to use graphite, heavy water or beryllium as a pile moderator. He eventually chose graphite, but at this site throughout the course of its operations, the potential for beryllium exposure existed due to residual contamination and decontamination activities, according to the EEOICPA site.

The University of California at Berkeley, Los Alamos and Los Angeles are all listed as Department of Energy/EEOICPA sites. 

“The Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (LBL), also known as the Lawrence Radiation Lab, was founded by Ernesto Orlando Lawrence, winner of the 1939 Nobel Prize in physics for his invention of the cyclotron.” according to the DOE site.

In 1942 the Manhattan Engineer District (MED) was founded and scientists at Berkeley joined the group and developed the electromagnetic enrichment process that was installed and operated at the Y-12 plant in Oak Ridge from 1943-1947. 

The Berkeley scientists discovered the transuranium elements: plutonium, neptunium and americium. Work took place in Gilman Hall on the University of California campus, considered to be part of the LBL.  “Exposure to beryllium in the course of the operations existed during the time of operation as well as residual contamination and during decontamination activities (1942-present)”.

The Perdue University chemistry building in Lafayette, Indiana, listed as an Atomic Weapons Employer, was involved in nuclear physics research during the Manhattan Project. (1942-1946)

 

Princeton University’s Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) listed as a DOE contractor (1951-present), located on sites C and D of the James Forrestal Campus and owned by Princeton University, began with construction of the Model-C Stellerator and continues to conduct research on nuclear fusion and development of non-weapons applications of this technology.  

Last January, the US DOE awarded a new contract to Princeton University for the management and operation of the PPPL in New Jersey.  The contract runs from April 1, 2009 to March 31, 2014 is valued at approximately $390 million and under the agreement, Princeton can earn an award fee of up to $1.8 million each year.

Current research at the lab involves innovative experiments that use powerful magnets to confine and control high temperature plasmas.  Fusion power systems have the potential to produce abundant energy without producing long-lived nuclear wastes or air pollution.  

Located in Charlottesville, The University of Virginia is listed as an Atomic Weapons Employer (1942-1949); 1960s; residual radiation 1970-85.

The University of Virginia played an integral role in developing the process to use uranium in the development of nuclear weapons.

At Stanford, in Palo Alto from 1962 to the present, the Department of Energy contracted with Stanford which owns and operates the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) a research facility for high-energy particle physics.

The center's four major experimental facilities are the Linear Accelerator, the Positron Electron Project Storage Ring, the Stanford Positron Electron Asymmetric Ring and the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center Linear Collider.

Other East coast colleges included in the EEOICPA/ DOE site list are the University of Rochester; responsible for the early fundamental contributions to the first nuclear weapons known as the Atomic Energy Project and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; listed as a beryllium vendor.

Exposure to beryllium in vapor, dust or particle form, when inhaled, can cause Chronic Beryllium Disease, an incurable lung disease which can take decades to show symptoms, but eventually can cause the lungs to shut down completely.

To see the complete list of Universities, Contractors and Subcontractors click the link to the DOE database:

http://www.hss.energy.gov/healthsafety/fwsp/advocacy/faclist/findfacility.cfm

Sources: DOE, EEOICPA, NIOSH and HHS databases.

For a list of facts and to see the compensation schedule see the EEOICPA Fact Sheet.


Program information and claim forms are available at the EEOICPA website.  There is also a toll-free information line about the program at 1-877-447-9756.

FACT SHEET FOR ENERGY OCCUPATIONAL ILLNESS COMPENSATION PROGRAM

  
 THE FACT SHEET

The Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program

Act (EEOICPA)

*  was passed in October 2000;
*  became effective on July 31, 2001; and
*  was amended in October and December 2001 and again in October 2004
    and June 2005.

PART B

*  provides a lump-sum compensation of $150,000, as well as related medical
    expenses to workers who contracted certain  illnesses as a result of exposure to
    radiation, beryllium, or silica while working for the Department of Energy
    (DOE) certain DOE contractors or subcontractors, atomic weapons
    employers (AWE)), or beryllium vendors (BV) in the nuclear weapons
    industry;
*  provides a $50,000 lump-sum payment and medical expenses to uranium
    workers who were awarded benefits by the Department of Justice under
    Section 5 of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA); and
    provides benefits to qualified survivors of deceased employees.
  
PART E
*  provides variable compensation of up to $250,000 and medical benefits for
    employees of DOE contractors and subcontractors who developed an illness
    as a result of occupational exposure to toxic substances at certain DOE
    facilities;
*  grants covered employees a federal payment based on the level of impairment
    and or wage loss incurred as a result of the covered illness;
*  provides these same payments and benefits to Section 5 uranium miners,
    millers and ore transporters, and certain Section 4 RECA individuals; and
*  provides benefits to qualified survivors of deceased employees.

Covered diseases under Parts B & E include:
    cancer that is at least as likely as not related to radiation exposure at a covered
facility

*  specified cancer for some employees;
*  chronic beryllium disease (CBD);
*  chronic silicosis;
*  beryllium sensitivity (medical monitoring only)
*  any illness that resulted from exposure to a toxic substance.


Agencies with responsibility for administering the Act:

The Department of Labor (DOL), as the primary adjudicating agency, determines eligibility for compensation and payment of benefits for those conditions covered.

*  The DOE provides to DOL work condition exposures, including access to restricted data and  
    verification of covered employment with relevant information.

*  Through the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), the Department of  
    Health and Human Services (HHS) is tasked with establishing procedures for estimating radiation    
    doses, and develops guidelines to determine the probability that a cancer was caused by the exposure
    to radiation.   In addition, HHS is responsible for designating additional classes of the Special
    Exposure Cohort.

*  The Department of Justice notifies beneficiaries who have received an award under RECA Section 5
    of their possible EEOICPA entitlement and provides specific information required by DOL to  
    complete the claim development and adjudication process for RECA claimants (uranium miners,
    uranium millers and ore transporters).

New York DOE Facilities

Brookhaven National Laboratory......... Upton............................................. 1947–Present.

Electro Metallurgical Co. ..................... Niagara Falls ................................. 1942–1953.

Environmental Measurements Laboratory ,   New York............................. 1946–2003.

Lake Ontario Ordnance Works .................. Niagara County..................... 1944–1997.

Linde Ceramics Plant (Buildings 30, 31, 37, 38 only) .. Tonawanda........ 1942–1953; 1988–1992†; 1996†.

Peek Street Facility (Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory) ...Schenectady........ 1947–1954.

Sacandaga Facility............................ Glenville......................................... 1947–1953.

SAM Laboratories, Columbia University,   New York................................... 1942–1947.

Separations Process Research Unit (Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory) Schenectady...... 1950–1965.

University of Rochester Atomic Energy Project ...................................... Rochester ......... 1943–1986.

Executive Order Providing Compensation to America's Nuclear Weapons Workers

Presidential Documents 

77487 

Federal Register 

Vol. 65, No. 238 

Monday, December 11, 2000 

Title 3— 

The President 

Executive Order 13179 of December 7, 2000 

Providing Compensation to America’s Nuclear Weapons 

Workers 

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the 

laws of the United States of America, including Public Law 106-398, the 

Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 

(Public Law 106-398, the ‘‘Act’’), and to allocate the responsibilities imposed 

by that legislation and to provide for further legislative efforts, it is hereby 

ordered as follows: 

Section 1. Policy. Since World War II, hundreds of thousands of men and 

women have served their Nation in building its nuclear defense. In the 

course of their work, they overcame previously unimagined scientific and 

technical challenges. Thousands of these courageous Americans, however, 

paid a high price for their service, developing disabling or fatal illnesses 

as a result of exposure to beryllium, ionizing radiation, and other hazards 

unique to nuclear weapons production and testing. Too often, these workers 

were neither adequately protected from, nor informed of, the occupational 

hazards to which they were exposed. 

Existing workers’ compensation programs have failed to provide for the 

needs of these workers and their families. Federal workers’ compensation 

programs have generally not included these workers. Further, because of 

long latency periods, the uniqueness of the hazards to which they were 

exposed, and inadequate exposure data, many of these individuals have 

been unable to obtain State workers’ compensation benefits. This problem 

has been exacerbated by the past policy of the Department of Energy (DOE) 

and its predecessors of encouraging and assisting DOE contractors in oppos- 

ing the claims of workers who sought those benefits. This policy has recently 

been reversed. 

While the Nation can never fully repay these workers or their families, 

they deserve recognition and compensation for their sacrifices. Since the 

Administration’s historic announcement in July of 1999 that it intended 

to compensate DOE nuclear weapons workers who suffered occupational 

illnesses as a result of exposure to the unique hazards in building the 

Nation’s nuclear defense, it has been the policy of this Administration 

to support fair and timely compensation for these workers and their survivors. 

The Federal Government should provide necessary information and otherwise 

help employees of the DOE or its contractors determine if their illnesses 

are associated with conditions of their nuclear weapons-related work; it 

should provide workers and their survivors with all pertinent and available 

information necessary for evaluating and processing claims; and it should 

ensure that this program minimizes the administrative burden on workers 

and their survivors, and respects their dignity and privacy. This order sets 

out agency responsibilities to accomplish these goals, building on the Admin- 

istration’s articulated principles and the framework set forth in the Energy 

Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000. The 

Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Energy shall be 

responsible for developing and implementing actions under the Act to com- 

pensate these workers and their families in a manner that is compassionate, 

fair, and timely. Other Federal agencies, as appropriate, shall assist in this 

effort.