US Department of Labor to host March 16 and 17 town hall meetings in Kennewick, Wash., to assist nuclear weapons workers

OWCP News Release: [03/04/2010]
Contact Name: Jesse Lawder Michael Volpe
Phone Number: (202) 693-4659 (202) 693-3984
Release Number: 10-0263-SEA

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor will host town hall meetings on March 16 and 17 in Kennewick, Wash., to provide information about the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act. Department officials will present details about a new class of former employees of the Hanford Site in Richland, Wash., recently added to the EEOICPA’s special exposure cohort, as well as an overview of Parts B and E of the EEOICPA. The department’s Hanford Resource Center staff also will be available at the meetings to assist individuals with the taking of claims under the EEOICPA.

The EEOICPA provides compensation and medical benefits to employees who became ill as a result of working in the nuclear weapons industry. An employee who is included in a designated special exposure cohort group or class of employees, and who is diagnosed with one of 22 specified cancers, may receive a presumption of causation under the EEOICPA. The new special exposure cohort class of former employees at the Hanford Site includes all employees of the U.S. Department of Energy, its predecessor agencies, and its contractors and subcontractors who worked at the Hanford Site from Oct.1, 1943, through June 30, 1972, for at least 250 workdays occurring either solely under this employment or in combination with workdays within other classes of employees in the special exposure cohort. Survivors of qualified Energy Department employees and that department’s contractor or subcontractor employees who were employed at the Hanford Site may also be entitled to benefits.

For additional information about the meetings or to schedule an appointment for claim-filing assistance, please contact the department’s Hanford Resource Center toll-free at 888-654-0014. These meetings are open to the public and pre-registration is not required.

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