US Department of Labor to host Traveling Resource Center in Grand Junction, Colo., on June 28 to assist former nuclear weapons workers

OWCP News Release: [06/21/2011]
Contact Name: Jesse Lawder Enrique Chaurand
Phone Number: (202) 693-4659 (202) 693-4679
Email Address: lawder.jesse@dol.gov chaurand.enrique@dol.gov
Release Number: 11-0923-DEN

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor will host a Traveling Resource Center on June 28 in Grand Junction, Colo., to provide information about a new class of former Grand Junction Operations Office employees recently added to the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act’s Special Exposure Cohort. Eleven stationary resource centers are located across the country and provide in-person and telephone-based assistance to serve individuals regardless of where they live. The department’s Traveling Resource Center takes these services on the road to assist workers in the claim-filing process.

The EEOICPA provides compensation and medical benefits to employees who became ill as a result of working in the nuclear weapons industry. A worker who is included in a designated SEC class of employees, and who is diagnosed with one of 22 specified cancers, may receive a presumption of causation under the EEOICPA. On April 29, 2011, the secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services designated the following class of employees as an addition to the SEC: all employees of the U.S. Department of Energy, its predecessor agencies, and its contractors and subcontractors who worked at the Grand Junction Operations Office from March 23, 1943, through Jan. 31, 1975, for at least 250 workdays occurring either solely under this employment or in combination with workdays within other classes of employees in the SEC. This designation became effective on May 29, 2011. The Labor Department’s role is to adjudicate these claims based on the new SEC class definition as determined and introduced by HHS.

The mission of the EEOICPA also includes delivering benefits to certain Section 5 uranium workers covered under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act administered by the U.S. Department of Justice. Uranium workers who received a $100,000 award under Section 5 of RECA may be eligible to receive an additional lump sum compensation award in the amount of $50,000 and medical benefits under Part B of the EEOICPA for the same illness. Uranium workers who developed an illness as a result of exposure to toxic substances while working at a Section 5 RECA facility may also be eligible for federal compensation and medical benefits under Part E of the EEOICPA.

To date, more than $8.3 million in compensation and medical benefits has been paid to 66 eligible Grand Junction Operations Office claimants under the EEOICPA, while more than $7 billion has been paid nationwide. For additional information about the upcoming Traveling Resource Center or to schedule an appointment for claim-filing assistance, contact the department’s Denver Resource Center toll-free at 866-540-4977. This event is open to the public, and pre-registration is not required.

###