(Date)

FILE NUMBER:

NAME OF EMPLOYEE:

(Claimant name)

(Claimant address)

(Claimant address)

Dear:

Our records indicate that you have a claim filed under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA) that received a dose reconstruction at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). As such, I am writing to inform you that on March 8, 2007, NIOSH issued OCAS-PER-009 entitled, “Program Evaluation Report (PER): Target Organs for Lymphoma.”

As outlined in OCAS-PER-009, NIOSH modified the target organs used in dose reconstructions for certain lymphoma cases because it recognized that the site of the radiation injury can differ from the site of the tumor or cancer origin. In addition, NIOSH found that the site listed in the diagnosis of a cancer may not be the site of primary involvement. The change to the dose reconstruction methodology includes selecting the target organ that would have received the highest radiation dose when the identity of the target organ is in question. This change went into effect on March 8, 2007.

The Division of Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation (DEEOIC) is obligated to ensure that the application of the dose reconstruction methodology is administered in a fair and consistent manner. Given the revision to the underlying scientific assumptions used by NIOSH during the dose reconstruction, the probability of causation (POC) calculation made by the DEEOIC is invalid. While the modification to the dose reconstruction methodology may not impact the outcome of your claim, it is necessary for your claim to undergo a new dose reconstruction. Accordingly, the DEEOIC is returning your case to NIOSH.

Once the revised dose reconstruction is complete, you will have the opportunity to review the dose reconstruction report, and will again be required by NIOSH to sign the OCAS-1 to acknowledge your receipt of the revised report and dose reconstruction results.

DEEOIC will then use the information from the revised dose reconstruction to recalculate the POC to determine whether the claimed cancer(s) was at least as likely as not (50% or greater) related to the covered employment and issue a recommended decision on your claim for benefits.

If you have specific questions regarding the status of the dose reconstruction, you may contact the NIOSH office located in Cincinnati, Ohio at (513) 533-6800 or (513) 533-8423. Any other questions should still be addressed to this office.

Sincerely,

Claims Examiner

cc: NIOSH Public Health Advisor