NIOSH Referral Letter to Claimant

Dear Claimant Name:

We have received the information submitted in support of your claim for compensation under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 (EEOICPA), as amended.   You do not need to submit any additional evidence to us at this time.

The next step in the adjudication of the claim is dose reconstruction.  The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services, administers this portion of the process.  In order for NIOSH to evaluate the dose reconstruction, they must have access to your complete case record.  Therefore, a copy of your case file is being referred to NIOSH.

Based on our review of your claim, we will report the following information to NIOSH:

Medical

· Cancer diagnosis type (nomenclature), ICD-9 Code, and date of diagnosis

Employment

· Employer name, facility, and dates of employment (list each individually)

*If the employee also had another primary cancer besides what is shown above, please send this District Office written medical records documenting an explicit diagnosis of the other cancer, the type of cancer, and the date of its first diagnosis as a cancer.  Likewise, if the employee had other covered employment, either before or after the dates shown above, or at another covered facility, please send this District Office evidence to establish the additional employment. 

Once NIOSH receives your claim packet, they will send you a letter to let you know they have received your information.  The letter will contain information on dose reconstruction and what to expect from NIOSH in regard to your claim.  NIOSH has informed us that the process of dose reconstruction can be time consuming because it relies on information that must be collected from a number of sources.  NIOSH’s primary concern will be to ensure the collected information is valid and that the assumptions used to estimate doses are fair, consistent, and well grounded in the best available science.

When NIOSH finishes its dose reconstruction and sends us the results, we will apply a formula using the data to determine whether the claimed cancer was at least as likely as not (50% or greater chance) related to the covered employment.  We will then notify you in writing regarding the status of your claim.

If you have specific questions regarding the status of the dose reconstruction, you may contact the NIOSH office by calling toll free at 1-877-222-7570.  Any other questions should still be addressed to this district office.

Sincerely,

Claims Examiner