US Department of Labor to host Traveling Resource Center in Lynchburg, Va., on Thursday, Sept. 23, to assist nuclear weapons workers

OWCP News Release: [09/16/2010]
Contact Name: Jesse Lawder Michael Volpe
Phone Number: (202) 693-4659 (202) 693-3984
Release Number: 10-1292-PHI

WASHINGTON —The U.S. Department of Labor will host a traveling resource center on Sept. 23 in Lynchburg, Va., to provide information about a new class of former employees at BWX Technologies Inc. that was recently added to the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act's Special Exposure Cohort. Stationary resource centers are based in 11 locations nationwide 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 EEOICPA 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 July 13, 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 Atomic Weapons Employer employees who worked at BWX Technologies Inc. in Lynchburg, Va., from Jan. 1, 1959, through Dec. 31, 1959, and/or from Jan. 1, 1968, through Dec. 31, 1972, 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 Aug. 12, 2010. The Labor Department's role is to adjudicate these claims based on the new SEC class definitions as determined and introduced by HHS.

To date, more than $6.1 billion in compensation and medical benefits has been paid nationwide under the EEOICPA. For additional information about the Traveling Resource Center or to schedule an appointment for claim-filing assistance, contact the department's Oak Ridge Resource Center toll-free at 866-481-0411. This event is open to the public, and pre-registration is not required.

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