OWCP News Release: [11/28/2011]
Contact Name: Jesse Lawder

Phone Number: (202) 693-4659
Email Address: lawder.jesse@dol.gov
Release Number: 11-1684-PHI

US Department of Labor notifies former W.R. Grace and Co. employees of inclusion in new EEOICPA special exposure cohort

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor is notifying all former W.R. Grace and Co. workers who were employed at the facility located in Curtis Bay, Md., about a new class of employees added to the Special Exposure Cohort of the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act. The EEOICPA provides compensation and medical benefits to workers who became ill as a result of working in the nuclear weapons industry. Survivors of qualified workers also may be entitled to benefits.

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 Oct. 18, the secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services designated the following class of employees for addition to the SEC: all Atomic Weapons Employees who worked at any building or area at the facility owned by W. R. Grace and Co. in Curtis Bay from May 1, 1956, through Jan. 31, 1958, 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 Nov. 17. 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 $1.2 million in compensation and medical benefits has been paid to 17 eligible W.R. Grace and Co. claimants under the EEOICPA, while more than $7.5 billion in compensation and medical benefits has been paid nationwide. For additional information about the new SEC or to schedule an appointment for claim-filing assistance, contact the department’s New York Resource Center toll-free at 800-941-3943.

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