TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE
CHAPTER 84—DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
SUBCHAPTER XVI—ENERGY EMPLOYEES OCCUPATIONAL ILLNESS
COMPENSATION PROGRAM
PART A—ESTABLISHMENT OF COMPENSATION PROGRAM AND COMPENSATION FUND
§
7384. Findings; sense of Congress
(a) FINDINGS—The
Congress finds the following:
(1) Since World War II, Federal nuclear
activities have been explicitly recognized under Federal law as activities that
are ultra-hazardous. Nuclear weapons production and testing have involved
unique dangers, including potential catastrophic nuclear accidents that private
insurance carriers have not covered and recurring exposures to radioactive
substances and beryllium that, even in small amounts, can cause medical harm.
(2) Since the inception of the nuclear weapons
program and for several decades afterwards, a large number of nuclear weapons
workers at sites of the Department of Energy and at sites of vendors who
supplied the Cold War effort were put at risk without their knowledge and
consent for reasons that, documents reveal, were driven by fears of adverse
publicity, liability, and employee demands for hazardous duty pay.
(3) Many previously secret records have
documented unmonitored exposures to radiation and beryllium and continuing
problems at these sites across the Nation, at which the Department of Energy
and its predecessor agencies have been, since World War II, self-regulating
with respect to nuclear safety and occupational safety and health. No other hazardous Federal activity has been
permitted to be carried out under such sweeping powers of self-regulation.
(4) The policy of the Department of Energy has
been to litigate occupational illness claims, which has deterred workers from
filing workers’ compensation claims and has imposed major financial burdens for
such employees who have sought compensation.
Contractors of the Department have been held harmless and the employees have been denied workers’
compensation coverage for occupational disease.
(5) Over the past 20 years, more than two dozen
scientific findings have emerged that indicate that certain of such employees
are experiencing increased risks of dying from cancer and non-malignant
diseases. Several of these studies have
also established a correlation between excess diseases and exposure to
radiation and beryllium.
(6) While linking exposure to occupational
hazards with the development of occupational disease is sometimes difficult,
scientific evidence supports the conclusion that occupational exposure to dust
particles or vapor of beryllium can cause beryllium sensitivity and chronic
beryllium disease. Furthermore, studies
indicate than 98 percent of radiation-induced cancers within the nuclear
weapons complex have occurred at dose levels below existing maximum safe
thresholds.
(7) Existing information indicates that State
workers’ compensation programs do not provide a uniform means of ensuring
adequate compensation for the types of occupational illnesses and diseases that
relate to the employees at those sites.
(8) To ensure fairness and equity, the civilian
men and women who, over the past 50 years, have performed duties uniquely
related to the nuclear weapons production and testing programs of the
Department of Energy and its predecessor agencies should have efficient, uniform,
and adequate compensation for beryllium-related health conditions and
radiation-related health conditions.
(9) On
(10) However, as of
(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS—It is the sense of Congress
that—
(1) a program should be
established to provide compensation to covered employees;
(2) a fund for payment of
such compensation should be established on the books of the Treasury;
(3) payments from that
fund should be made only after—
(A) the identification
of employees of the Department of Energy (including its predecessor agencies),
and of contractors of the Department, who may be members of the group of
covered employees;
(B) the establishment of
a process to receive and administer claims for compensation for disability or
death of covered employees;
(C) the submittal by the
President of a legislative proposal for compensation of such employees that
includes the estimated annual budget resources for that compensation; and
(D) consideration by the
Congress of the legislative proposal submitted by the President; and
(4) payments from that
fund should commence not later than fiscal year 2002.
Pub. L. 106-398, Title XXXVI, §
3602
Pub. L. 106-398, Title XXXVI, §
3601 provided that: “This title may be
cited as the ‘Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of
2000’.”
§ 7384d. Establishment of Energy Employees
Occupational Illness Compensation Program
(a)
PROGRAM ESTABLISHED—There is hereby established a program to be known as
the “Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program” (in this
subchapter referred to as the “compensation program”). The President shall carry out the
compensation program through one or more Federal agencies or officials, as
designated by the President.
(b)
PURPOSE OF PROGRAM—The purpose of the compensation program is to provide
for timely, uniform, and adequate compensation of covered employees and, where
applicable, survivors of such employees, suffering from illnesses incurred by
such employees in the performance of duty for the Department of Energy and
certain of its contractors and subcontractors.
(c)
ELIGIBILITY FOR COMPENSATION—The eligibility of covered employees for
compensation under the compensation program shall be determined in accordance
with the provisions of part B of this subchapter as may be modified by a law
enacted after the date of the submittal of the proposal for legislation
required by section 7384f of this title.
Pub. L. 106-398, Title XXXVI, § 3611
§ 7384e.
Establishment of Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Fund
(a) ESTABLISHMENT—There is hereby established on
the books of the Treasury a fund to be known as the “Energy Employees
Occupational Illness Compensation Fund” (in this subchapter referred to as the
“compensation fund”).
(b) AMOUNTS IN COMPENSATION FUND—The compensation fund shall consist of the following
amounts:
(1) Amounts appropriated to the
compensation fund pursuant to the authorization of appropriations in section 7384g(b) of this title.
(2) Amounts transferred to the
compensation fund under subsection (c).
(c) FINANCING OF COMPENSATION FUND—Upon the
exhaustion of amounts in the compensation fund attributable to the
authorization of appropriations in section 7384g(b) of
this title, the Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer directly to the
compensation fund from the General Fund of the Treasury, without further
appropriation, such amounts as are further necessary to carry out the
compensation program.
(d) USE OF COMPENSATION FUND—Subject to
subsection (e), amounts in the compensation fund shall be used to carry out the
compensation program.
(e) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS NOT PAID FROM
COMPENSATION FUND—No cost incurred in carrying out the compensation program, or
in administering the compensation fund, shall be paid from the compensation
fund or set off against or otherwise deducted from any payment to any
individual under the compensation program.
(f) INVESTMENT OF AMOUNTS IN COMPENSATION
FUND—Amounts in the compensation fund shall be invested in accordance with
section 9702 of title 31, United States Code, and any interest on, and proceeds
from, any such investment shall be credited to and become a part of the
compensation fund.
Pub. L.
106-398, Title XXXVI, § 3612
§ 7384f.
Legislative proposal
(a) LEGISLATIVE PROPOSAL REQUIRED—Not later than
(1) The types of compensation and
benefits, including lost wages, medical benefits, and any lump-sum settlement
payments, to be provided under the compensation program.
(2) Any adjustments or
modifications necessary to appropriately administer the compensation program
under part B of this subchapter.
(3) Whether to expand the
compensation program to include other illnesses associated with exposure to
toxic substances.
(4) Whether to expand the class of
individuals who are members of the Special Exposure Cohort (as defined in
section 7384l(14)) of this title.
(b) ASSESSMENT OF POTENTIAL COVERED EMPLOYEES AND
REQUIRED AMOUNTS—The President shall include with the proposal for legislation
under subsection (a) the following:
(1) An estimate of the number of
covered employees that the President determines were
exposed in the performance of duty.
(2) An estimate, for each fiscal
year of the compensation program, of the amounts to be required for
compensation and benefits anticipated to be provided in such fiscal year under
the compensation program.
Pub. L.
106-398, Title XXXVI, § 3613
§ 7384g. Authorization of
appropriations
(a) IN
GENERAL—Pursuant to the authorization of appropriations in section 3103(a)*, $25,000,000
may be used for purposes of carrying out this subchapter.
(b) COMPENSATION
FUND—There is hereby authorized to be appropriated $250,000,000 to the Energy
Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Fund established by section 7384e
of this title.
Pub. L.
106-398, Title XXXVI, § 3614
*Pub.
L. 106-398, Title XXXI, § 3103(a).
PART B—PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION
§ 7384l. Definitions for program
administration
In this
subchapter:
(1) The term “covered employee” means any of the
following:
(A) A covered beryllium employee.
(B) A covered employee with
cancer.
(C) To the extent provided in
section 7384r of this title, a covered employee with chronic silicosis (as
defined in that section).
(2) The term “atomic weapon” has the meaning given
that term in section 11 d.* of the Atomic Energy
Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2014(d)).
(3) The term “atomic weapons employee” means any
of the following:
(A) An individual employed by an atomic weapons
employer during a period when the employer was processing or producing, for the
use by the United States, material that emitted radiation and was used in the
production of an atomic weapon, excluding uranium mining and milling.
(B)
An individual employed—
(i) at a facility with respect to which the National
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health,
in its report dated October 2003 and titled “Report on
Residual Radioactive and Beryllium
Contamination at Atomic Weapons Employer Facilities and Beryllium Vendor Facilities”, or any update to that report,
found that there is a potential for significant residual contamination outside of the period in which
weapons-related production occurred;
(ii) by an atomic weapons employer or subsequent
owner or operators of a facility described
in clause (i); and
(iii) during a period, as specified in such report
or any update to such report, of potential for
significant residual radioactive contamination at such facility.
(4) The term “atomic weapons employer” means an
entity, other than the
(A) processed or produced, for use
by the United States, material that emitted radiation and was used in the
production of an atomic weapon, excluding uranium mining and milling; and
(B) is
designated by the Secretary of Energy as an atomic weapons employer for
purposes of the compensation program.
(5) The term “atomic weapons employer facility”
means a facility, owned by an atomic weapons employer, that is or was used to
process or produce, for use by the
(6) The term “beryllium vendor” means any of the
following:
(A) Atomics International.
(B) Brush Wellman, Incorporated,
and its predecessor, Brush Beryllium Company.
(C) General Atomics.
(D) General Electric Company.
(E) NGK Metals Corporation and its
predecessors, Kawecki-Berylco, Cabot Corporation, BerylCo, and Beryllium
Corporation of
(F) Nuclear Materials and
Equipment Corporation.
(G) StarMet Corporation and its
predecessor, Nuclear Metals, Incorporated.
(H) Wyman Gordan,
Incorporated.
(I) Any other vendor, processor,
or producer of beryllium or related products designated as a beryllium vendor
for purposes of the compensation program under section 7384m of this title.
(7) The term “covered beryllium employee” means
the following, if and only if the employee is determined to have been exposed
to beryllium in the performance of duty in accordance with section 7384n(a) of
this title:
(A) A current or former employee
(as that term is defined in section 8101(1) of Title 5) who may have been
exposed to beryllium at a Department of Energy facility or at a facility owned,
operated, or occupied by a beryllium vendor.
(B) A current or former employee
of—
(i) any
entity that contracted with the Department of Energy to provide management and
operation, management and integration, or environmental remediation of a
Department of Energy facility; or
(ii) any
contractor or subcontractor that provided services, including construction and
maintenance, at such a facility.
(C) A current or former employee
of a beryllium vendor, or of a contractor or subcontractor of a beryllium
vendor, during a period when the vendor was engaged in activities related to
the production or processing of beryllium for sale to, or use by, the
Department of Energy.
(8) The term “covered beryllium illness” means
any of the following:
(A) Beryllium sensitivity as established
by an abnormal beryllium lymphocyte proliferation test performed on either
blood or lung lavage cells.
(B) Established chronic beryllium
disease.
(C) Any injury, illness,
impairment, or disability sustained as a consequence of a covered beryllium
illness referred to in subparagraph (A) or (B).
(9) The term “covered employee with cancer” means
any of the following:
(A) An individual with a specified
cancer who is a member of the Special Exposure Cohort, if and only if that
individual contracted that specified cancer after beginning employment at a
Department of Energy facility (in the case of a Department of Energy employee
or Department of Energy contractor employee) or at an atomic weapons employer
facility (in the case of an atomic weapons employee).
(B)(i) An individual with cancer
specified in subclause (I), (II), or (III) of clause (ii), if and only if that
individual is determined to have sustained that cancer in the performance of
duty in accordance with section 7384n(b) of this title.
(ii) Clause (i) applies to any of
the following:
(I) A Department
of Energy employee who contracted that cancer after beginning employment at a
Department of Energy facility.
(II) A Department of Energy
contractor employee who contracted that cancer after beginning employment at a
Department of Energy facility.
(III) An atomic weapons employee
who contracted that cancer after beginning employment at an atomic weapons
employer facility.
(10) The term “Department of Energy” includes the
predecessor agencies of the Department of Energy, including the Manhattan
Engineering District.
(11) The term “Department of Energy contractor
employee” means any of the following:
(A) An individual who is or was in
residence at a Department of Energy facility as a researcher for one or more
periods aggregating at least 24 months.
(B) An individual who is or was
employed at a Department of Energy facility by—
(i) an
entity that contracted with the Department of Energy to provide management and
operating, management and integration, or environmental remediation at the
facility; or
(ii) a
contractor or subcontractor that provided services, including construction and
maintenance, at the facility.
(12) The term “Department of Energy facility”
means any building, structure, or premise, including the grounds upon which
such building, structure, or premise is located—
(A) in which operations are, or
have been, conducted by, or on behalf of, the Department of Energy (except for
buildings, structures, premises, grounds, or operations covered by Executive
Order No. 12344, dated February 1, 1982 (42 U.S.C. 7158 note), pertaining to
the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program); and
(B) with
regard to which the Department of Energy has or had—
(i) a
proprietary interest; or
(ii) entered
into a contract with an entity to provide management and operation, management
and integration, environmental remediation services, construction, or
maintenance services.
(13) The term “established chronic
beryllium disease” means chronic beryllium disease as established by the
following:
(A) For diagnoses on or after
(i) a
lung biopsy showing granulomas or a lymphocytic process consistent with chronic
beryllium disease;
(ii) a
computerized axial tomography scan showing changes consistent with chronic
beryllium disease; or
(iii) pulmonary
function or exercise testing showing pulmonary deficits consistent with chronic
beryllium disease.
(B) For diagnoses before
(i) occupational
or environmental history, or epidemiologic evidence of beryllium exposure; and
(iii) any
three of the following criteria:
(I) Characteristic chest
radiographic (or computed tomography (CT)) abnormalities.
(II) Restrictive or obstructive
lung physiology testing or diffusing lung capacity defect.
(III) Lung pathology consistent
with chronic beryllium disease.
(IV)
Clinical course consistent with a chronic respiratory disorder.
(V) Immunologic tests showing
beryllium sensitivity (skin patch test or beryllium blood test preferred).
(14) The term “member of the Special Exposure
Cohort” means a Department of Energy employee, Department of Energy contractor
employee, or atomic weapons employee who meets any of the following
requirements:
(A) The employee was so employed
for a number of work days aggregating at least 250 work days before
(i) was
monitored through the use of dosimetry badges for exposure at the plant of the
external parts of employee’s body to radiation; or
(ii) worked
in a job that had exposures comparable to a job that is or was monitored
through the use of dosimetry badges.
(B) The employee was so employed
before
(C)(i) Subject to clause (ii), the
employee is an individual designated as a member of the Special Exposure Cohort
by the President for purposes of the compensation
program under section 7384q of this title.
(ii) A designation under clause
(i) shall, unless Congress otherwise provides, take effect on the date that is
30 days after the date on which the President submits to Congress a report
identifying the individuals covered by the designation and describing the
criteria used in designating those individuals.
(15) The term “occupational illness” means a
covered beryllium illness, cancer referred to in section 7384l(9)(B) of this
title, specified cancer, or chronic silicosis, as the case may be.
(16) The term “radiation” means ionizing radiation
in the form of—
(A) alpha
particles;
(B) beta
particles;
(C) neutrons;
(D) gamma
rays; or
(E) accelerated ions or subatomic
particles from accelerator machines.
(17) The term “specified cancer” means any of the
following:
(A) A specified disease, as that
term is defined in section 4(b)(2) of the Radiation
Exposure Compensation Act (42 U.S.C. 2210 note).
(B) Bone cancer.
(C) Renal cancers.
(D) Leukemia
(other than chronic lymphocytic leukemia), if initial occupational exposure
occurred before 21 years of age and onset occurred more than two years after
initial occupational exposure.
Pub. L.
106-398, Title XXXVI, § 3621; Pub. L. 107-20, § 2403(a); Pub. L. 107-107, §§
3151(a)(1) and 3151(a)(4)(C); Pub. L. 108-375, §§
3166(b)(2) and 3168(a)
*So in original.
Probably should be “section 11(d)”.
§ 7384m. Expansion of list of
beryllium vendors
Not later than
December 31, 2002, the President may, in consultation with the Secretary of
Energy, designate as a beryllium vendor for purposes of section 7384l(6) of
this title any vendor, processor, or producer of beryllium or related products
not previously listed under or designated for purposes of such section 7384l(6)
of this title if the President finds that such vendor, processor, or producer
has been engaged in activities related to the production or processing of
beryllium for sale to, or use by, the Department of Energy in a manner similar
to the entities listed in such section 7384l(6) of this title.
Pub. L.
106-398, Title XXXVI, § 3622
§ 7384n. Exposure in the performance of
duty
(a) BERYLLIUM—A covered
beryllium employee shall, in the absence of substantial evidence to the
contrary, be determined to have been exposed to beryllium in the performance of
duty for the purposes of the compensation program if, and only if, the covered
beryllium employee was—
(1) employed
at a Department of Energy facility; or
(2) present
at a Department of Energy facility, or a facility owned and operated by a
beryllium vendor, because of employment by the
during a period when beryllium dust,
particles, or vapor may have been present at such facility.
(b) CANCER—An individual with cancer specified in
subclause (I), (II), or (III) of section 7384l(9)(B)(ii) of this title shall be
determined to have sustained that cancer in the performance of duty for
purposes of the compensation program if, and only if, the cancer specified in
that subclause was at least as likely as not related to employment at the
facility specified in that subclause, as determined in accordance with the
guidelines established under subsection (c).
(c) GUIDELINES—(1) For purposes of the compensation
program, the President shall by regulation establish guidelines for making the
determinations required by subsection (b).
(2) The President shall establish such guidelines
after technical review by the Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health
under section 7384o of this title.
(3) Such guidelines shall—
(A) be based on the radiation dose
received by the employee (or a group of employees performing similar work) at such
facility and the upper 99 percent confidence interval of the probability of
causation in the radioepidemiological tables published under section 7(b) of
the Orphan Drug Act (42 U.S.C. 241 note), as such tables may be updated under
section 7(b)(3) of such Act from time to time;
(B) incorporate
the methods established under subsection (d); and
(C) take
into consideration the type of cancer, past health-related activities (such as
smoking), information on the risk of developing a radiation-related cancer from
workplace exposure, and other relevant factors.
(4) In the case of an atomic weapons employee
described in section 7384l(3)(B), the following doses of radiation shall be
treated, for purposes of paragraph (3)(A) of this subsection, as part of the radiation
dose received by the employee at such facility:
(A) Any dose of ionizing radiation received by
that employee from facilities, materials, devices, or byproducts used or
generated in the research, development, production, dismantlement, transportation,
or testing of nuclear weapons, or from any activities to research, produce,
process, store, remediate, or dispose of radioactive materials by or on behalf
of the Department of Energy (except for activities covered by Executive Order
No. 12344, dated February 1, 1982 (42 U.S.C. 7158 note) pertaining to the Naval
Nuclear Propulsion Program).
(B)
Any dose of ionizing radiation received by that employee from a source
not covered by subparagraph (A) that is not distinguishable through reliable
documentation from a dose covered by subparagraph (A).
(d) METHODS FOR RADIATION DOSE
RECONSTRUCTIONS—(1) The President shall,
through any Federal agency (other than the Department of Energy) or official
(other than the Secretary of Energy or any other official within the Department
of Energy) that the President may designate, establish by regulation methods
for arriving at reasonable estimates of the radiation doses received by an
individual specified in subparagraph (B) of section 7384l(9) of this title at a
facility specified in that subparagraph by each of the following employees:
(A) An employee who was not
monitored for exposure to radiation at such facility.
(B) An employee who was monitored
inadequately for exposure to radiation at such facility.
(C) An employee whose records of
exposure to radiation at such facility are missing or incomplete.
(2) The President shall establish an independent
review process using the Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health to—
(A) assess
the methods established under paragraph (1); and
(B) verify
a reasonable sample of the doses established under paragraph (1).
(e) INFORMATION ON RADIATION DOSES—(1) The Secretary of
Energy shall provide, to each covered employee with cancer specified in section
7384l(9)(B) of this title, information specifying the estimated radiation dose
of that employee during each employment specified in section 7384l(9)(B) of
this title, whether established by a dosimetry reading, by a method established
under subsection (d), or by both a dosimetry reading and such method.
(2) The Secretary of Health and Human Services
and the Secretary of Energy shall each make available to researchers and the
general public information on the assumptions, methodology, and data used in
establishing radiation doses under subsection (d). The actions taken under this paragraph shall
be consistent with the protection of private medical records.
Pub. L.
106-398, Title XXXVI, § 3623; Pub. L. 108-375, § 3168(b)
§ 7384o.
Advisory board on radiation and worker health
(a) ESTABLISHMENT—(1) Not later than 120 days after
(2) The President shall make appointments to the
Board in consultation with organizations with expertise on worker health issues
in order to ensure that the membership of the Board reflects a balance of
scientific, medical, and worker perspectives.
(3) The President shall designate a Chair for the
Board from among its members.
(b) DUTIES—The Board
shall advise the President on—
(1) the
development of guidelines under section 7384n(c) of this title;
(2) the
scientific validity and quality of dose estimation and reconstruction efforts
being performed for purposes of the compensation program; and
(3) such
other matters related to radiation and worker health in Department of Energy
facilities as the President considers appropriate.
(c) STAFF—(1) The President shall appoint a staff to
facilitate the work of the Board. The
staff shall be headed by a Director who shall be appointed under subchapter
VIII of chapter 33 of Title 5.
(2) The President may accept as staff of the
Board personnel on detail from other Federal agencies. The detail of personnel under this paragraph
may be on a nonreimbursable basis.
(d) EXPENSES—Members of the Board, other than
full-time employees of the United States, while attending meetings of the Board
or while otherwise serving at the request of the President, while serving away
from their homes or regular places of business, shall be allowed travel and
meal expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, as authorized by
section 5703 of Title 5, for individuals in the Government serving without pay.
(e) SECURITY CLEARANCES—(1) The Secretary of Energy shall ensure that the
members and staff of the Board, and the contractors performing work in support of the Board, are afforded the opportunity to apply for a
security clearance for any matter for which such a clearance is
appropriate. The Secretary should, not
later than 180 days after receiving a completed application, make a
determination whether or not the individual concerned is eligible for the
clearance.
(2) For fiscal year 2007 and each fiscal year
thereafter, the Secretary of Energy shall include in the budget justification
materials submitted to Congress in support of the Department of Energy budget
for that fiscal year (as submitted with the budget of the President under
section 1105(a) of title 31, United States Code) a report specifying the number
of applications for security clearances under this subsection, the number of
such applications granted, and the number of such applications denied.
(f)
INFORMATION—The Secretary of Energy shall, in accordance with law,
provide to the Board and the contractors of the Board access to any information
that the Board considers relevant to carry out its responsibilities under this
title, including information such as Restricted Data (as defined in section 11
y* of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2014(y))) and information
covered by the Privacy Act.
Pub. L.
106-398, Title XXXVI, § 3624; Pub. L. 108-375, § 3166(a)
*So in
original. Probably should be “section
11(y)”.
§ 7384p.
Responsibilities of Secretary of Health and Human Services
The Secretary of
Health and Human Services shall carry out that Secretary’s responsibilities
with respect to the compensation program with the assistance of the Director of
the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
Pub. L.
106-398, Title XXXVI, § 3625
§ 7384q.
Designation of additional members of Special Exposure Cohort
(a) ADVICE ON ADDITIONAL MEMBERS—(1) The Advisory Board
on Radiation and Worker Health under section 7384o of this title shall advise
the President whether there is a class of employees at any Department of Energy
facility who likely were exposed to radiation at that facility but for whom it
is not feasible to estimate with sufficient accuracy the radiation dose they
received.
(2) The advice of the Advisory Board on Radiation
and Worker Health under paragraph (1) shall be based on exposure assessments by
radiation health professionals, information provided by the Department of
Energy, and such other information as the Advisory Board considers appropriate.
(3) The President shall request advice under
paragraph (1) after consideration of petitions by classes of employees
described in that paragraph for such advice.
The President shall consider such petitions pursuant to procedures
established by the President.
(b) DESIGNATION OF ADDITIONAL MEMBERS—Subject to
the provisions of section 7384l(14)(C) of this title,
the members of a class of employees at a Department of Energy facility, or at an atomic weapons
employer facility, may be
treated as members of the Special Exposure Cohort for purposes of the
compensation program if the President, upon recommendation of the Advisory
Board on Radiation and Worker Health, determines that—
(1) it is
not feasible to estimate with sufficient accuracy the radiation dose that the
class received; and
(2) there
is a reasonable likelihood that such radiation dose may have endangered the
health of members of the class.
(c)
DEADLINES—(1) Not later than 180 days after the date on which the
President receives a petition for designation as members of the Special
Exposure Cohort, the Director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety
and Health shall submit to the Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health a
recommendation on that petition, including all supporting documentation.
(2)(A) Upon receipt by the President of a
recommendation of the Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health that the
President should determine in the affirmative that paragraphs (1) and (2) of
subsection (b) apply to a class, the President shall have a period of 30 days
in which to determine whether such paragraphs apply to the class and to submit
that determination (whether affirmative or negative) to Congress.
(B) If the determination
submitted by the President under subparagraph (A) is in the affirmative, the
President shall also submit a report meeting the requirements of section 7384l(14)(C)(ii).
(C) If the President does not submit a determination
required by subparagraph (A) within the period required by subparagraph (A),
then upon the day following the expiration of that period, it shall be deemed
for purposes of section 7384l(14)(C)(ii) that the President submitted the
report under that provision on that day.
(d) ACCESS TO INFORMATION—The Secretary of Energy
shall provide, in accordance with law, the Secretary of Health and Human
Services and the members and staff of the Advisory Board on Radiation and
Worker Health access to relevant information on worker exposures, including
access to Restricted Data (as defined in section 11 y.* of the Atomic Energy
Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2014(y)).
Pub. L.
106-398, Title XXXVI, § 3626; Pub. L. 107-107, § 3151(a)(2);
Pub. L. 108-375, § 3166(b)(1)
*So in
original. Probably should be “section
11(y)”.
§ 7384r.
Separate treatment of chronic silicosis
(a) SENSE OF CONGRESS—The Congress finds that
employees who worked in Department of Energy test sites and later contracted
chronic silicosis should also be considered for inclusion in the compensation
program. Recognizing that chronic
silicosis resulting from exposure to silica is not a condition unique to the
nuclear weapons industry, it is not the intent of Congress with this subchapter
to establish a precedent on the question of chronic silicosis as a compensable
occupational disease. Consequently, it
is the sense of Congress that a further determination by the President is
appropriate before these workers are included in the compensation program.
(b) CERTIFICATION BY PRESIDENT—A covered employee
with chronic silicosis shall be treated as a covered employee (as defined in
section 7384l(1)) of this title for the purposes of
the compensation program required by section 7384d of this title unless the
President submits to Congress not later than 180 days after October 30, 2000
the certification of the President that there is insufficient basis to include
such employees. The President shall
submit with the certification any recommendations about the compensation
program with respect to covered employees with chronic silicosis as the
President considers appropriate.
(c) EXPOSURE TO SILICA IN THE PERFORMANCE OF
DUTY—A covered employee shall, in the absence of substantial evidence to the
contrary, be determined to have been exposed to silica in the performance of
duty for the purposes of the compensation program if, and only if, the employee
was present for a number of work days aggregating at least 250 work days during
the mining of tunnels at a Department of Energy facility located in Nevada or
Alaska for tests or experiments related to an atomic weapon.
(d) COVERED EMPLOYEE WITH CHRONIC SILICOSIS—For purposes of this subchapter, the term “covered employee
with chronic silicosis” means a Department of Energy employee, or a Department
of Energy contractor employee, with chronic silicosis who was exposed to silica
in the performance of duty as determined under subsection (c).
(e) CHRONIC SILICOSIS—For
purposes of this subchapter, the term “chronic silicosis” means a non-
malignant lung disease if—
(1) the
initial occupational exposure to silica dust preceded the onset of silicosis by
at least 10 years; and
(2) a
written diagnosis of silicosis is made by a medical doctor and is accompanied
by—
(A) a chest radiograph,
interpreted by an individual certified by the National Institute for
Occupational Safety and Health as a B reader, classifying the existence of
pneumoconioses of category 1/0 or higher;
(B) results
from a computer assisted tomograph or other imaging technique that are
consistent with silicosis; or
(C) lung
biopsy findings consistent with silicosis.
Pub. L.
106-398, Title XXXVI, § 3627; Pub. L. 107-107, § 3151(a)(3)
§ 7384s.
Compensation and benefits to be provided
(a) COMPENSATION PROVIDED—(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), a
covered employee, or the survivor of that covered employee if the employee is
deceased, shall receive compensation for the disability or death of that
employee from that employee’s occupational illness in the amount of $150,000.
(2) A covered employee shall, to the extent that
employee’s occupational illness is established beryllium sensitivity, receive
beryllium sensitivity monitoring under subsection (c) in lieu of compensation under
paragraph (1).
(b) MEDICAL BENEFITS—A
covered employee shall receive medical benefits under section 7384t of this
title for that employee’s occupational illness.