NAME OF EMPLOYEE:
(Claimant name)
(Claimant address)
(Claimant address)
Dear Claimant:
Our records indicate that you have a claim for compensation 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).
I am writing to inform you that on September 11, 2007, NIOSH issued OCAS-PER-017, “Evaluation of Incomplete Internal Dosimetry Records from Idaho, Argonne – East and Argonne – West National Laboratories.” As outlined in OCAS-PER-017, NIOSH has received internal dosimetry data that was not previously considered in the dose reconstruction. This document is available on the NIOSH website at: http://198.246.98.21/niosh/ocas/pdfs/pers/oc-per-017-r0.pdf.
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 receipt of additional dosimetry data that was not previously considered in the dose reconstruction performed by NIOSH, the prior dose reconstruction/Probability of Causation (PoC) calculation on your claim may be invalid. While the additional of internal dose data may or may not impact the outcome of your claim, it is necessary for your claim to undergo a new dose reconstruction in order to make that determination. 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.
The DEEOIC will then use the information from the revised dose reconstruction to calculate the PoC to determine whether the claimed cancer(s) was at least as likely as not (50% or greater) related to the covered employment.
Again, the change described above does not mean that your claim will be approved; it simply requires that your dose reconstruction be redone by NIOSH. You will be informed of the results of that new dose reconstruction by NIOSH, and DOL will then decide your claim again, using the new dose reconstruction.
If you have specific questions regarding the procedural revision or the status of the dose reconstruction, you may contact the NIOSH office located in Cincinnati, Ohio at (513) 533-8423 or toll-free at (800) 356-4678. Any other questions should still be addressed to this office.
Sincerely,
(Claims Examiner)
cc: NIOSH Public Health Advisor