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A compensation program for ill nuclear workers won key approval Tuesday to offer automatic $150,000 payments to potentially hundreds more Hanford workers or their survivors. An advisory committee to the federal government meeting in New York voted unanimously to further ease compensation requirements for Hanford workers who may have developed any of a wide range of cancers due to radiation exposure on the job. Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of Health and Human Services, now is expected to recommend the eased rules, called a special exposure cohort, to Congress. If Congress does not object, the special exposure cohort would be formed. Under the special exposure cohort, automatic $150,000 compensation and medical coverage would be extended to any Hanford worker who was employed for at least 250 days from Oct. 1, 1943, through June 30, 1972. That's more inclusive than previous decisions to ease rules only for workers assigned to specific Hanford areas for certain of those years.

A compensation program for ill nuclear workers won key approval Tuesday to offer automatic $150,000 payments to potentially hundreds more Hanford workers or their survivors. An advisory committee to the federal government meeting in New York voted unanimously to further ease compensation requirements for Hanford workers who may have developed any of a wide range of cancers due to radiation exposure on the job. Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of Health and Human Services, now is expected to recommend the eased rules, called a special exposure cohort, to Congress. If Congress does not object, the special exposure cohort would be formed. Under the special exposure cohort, automatic $150,000 compensation and medical coverage would be extended to any Hanford worker who was employed for at least 250 days from Oct. 1, 1943, through June 30, 1972. That's more inclusive than previous decisions to ease rules only for workers assigned to specific Hanford areas for certain of those years.

We're not nuclear scientists or radiation experts, but we're willing to accept the recommendation from those who are -- especially after years of study. Congress should approve the special exposure cohort for Hanford workers currently being recommended by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. A special cohort would make automatic $150,000 in compensation and extend medical coverage to potentially hundreds of sick Hanford workers who were employed for at least 250 days from Oct. 1, 1943, through June 30, 1972. In the case of deceased workers, surviving family may be eligible for the payment.

We're not nuclear scientists or radiation experts, but we're willing to accept the recommendation from those who are -- especially after years of study. Congress should approve the special exposure cohort for Hanford workers currently being recommended by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. A special cohort would make automatic $150,000 in compensation and extend medical coverage to potentially hundreds of sick Hanford workers who were employed for at least 250 days from Oct. 1, 1943, through June 30, 1972. In the case of deceased workers, surviving family may be eligible for the payment.

"The U.S. Department of Labor has announced that a new class of nuclear weapons workers from plants located in California and New Jersey have been added to the Special Exposure Cohort of the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA), which provides compensation and medical benefits to workers who became ill as a result of working in the nuclear weapons industry. Survivors of qualified workers may also be entitled to benefits. All former Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory employees who worked at the Berkeley, Calif., site between Aug. 13, 1942, and Dec. 31, 1961, as well as former Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory employees who worked at the Livermore, Calif., site between Jan. 1, 1950, and Dec. 31, 1973, have been added to the Special Exposure Cohort. In addition, former Westinghouse Electric Corp. employees who worked at the Bloomfield, N.J., site between Aug. 13, 1942, and Dec. 31, 1949, are included. "

The Labor Dept. today released information on three more employee groups with "special exposure cohort" designations, which should make it easier for them to gain compensation under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act. In statements distributed to the news media, the Labor Dept. said it had notified the employees or their survivors of the designation, which includes a "presumption" that workplace explosure caused their illness if they were diagnosed with any of the 22 specified cancers. The newly designated special exposure cohorts were:

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) gives notice of a decision to designate a class of employees at the Connecticut Aircraft Nuclear Engine Laboratory in Middletown, Connecticut, as an addition to the Special Exposure Cohort (SEC) under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000. On October 24, 2008, the Secretary of HHS designated the following class of employees as an addition to the SEC: All employees of the Department of Energy (DOE), its predecessor agencies, and DOE contractors or subcontractors who worked at the Connecticut Aircraft Nuclear Engine Laboratory in Middletown, CT, from January 1, 1958 through December 31, 1965 for a number of work days aggregating at least 250 work days occurring either solely under this employment or in combination with work days within the parameters established for one or more other classes of employees in the Special Exposure Cohort.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) gives notice of a decision to designate a class of employees at the Spencer Chemical Company/Jayhawk Works near Pittsburg, Kansas, as an addition to the Special Exposure Cohort (SEC) under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000. On August 15, 2008, the Secretary of HHS designated the following class of employees as an addition to the SEC: All Atomic Weapons Employer (AWE) employees who worked at Spencer Chemical Company/Jayhawk Works near Pittsburg, Kansas, from January 1, 1956 through December 31, 1961 for a number of work days aggregating at least 250 work days occurring either solely under this employment or in combination with work days within the parameters established for one or more other classes of employees in the Special Exposure Cohort.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) gives notice of a decision to designate a class of employees at the Y-12 Plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, as an addition to the Special Exposure Cohort (SEC) under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000. On August 15, 2008, the Secretary of HHS designated the following class of employees as an addition to the SEC: All employees of the Department of Energy (DOE), its predecessor agencies, and DOE contractors or subcontractors who worked at the Y- 12 Plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee from March 1, 1943 through December 31, 1947 for a number of work days aggregating at least 250 work days occurring either solely under this employment or in combination with work days within the parameters established for one or more other classes of employees in the Special Exposure Cohort.

Decision To Evaluate a Petition To Designate a Class of Employees for the Lake Ontario Ordnance Works, Niagara Falls, New York, To Be Included in the Special Exposure Cohort AGENCY: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). ACTION: Notice. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: HHS gives notice as required by 42 CFR 83.12(e) of a decision to evaluate a petition to designate a class of employees for the Lake Ontario Ordnance Works, Niagara Falls, New York, to be included in the Special Exposure Cohort under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000. The initial proposed definition for the class being evaluated, subject to revision as warranted by the evaluation, is as follows: Facility: Lake Ontario Ordnance Works. Location: Niagara Falls, New York.

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health; Decision To Evaluate a Petition To Designate a Class of Employees for the Norton Company in Worcester, MA, To Be Included in the Special Exposure Cohort AGENCY: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). ACTION: Notice. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: HHS gives notice as required by 42 CFR 83.12(e) of a decision to evaluate a petition to designate a class of employees for the Norton Company in Worcester, Massachusetts, to be included in the Special Exposure Cohort under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000. The initial proposed definition for the class being evaluated, subject to revision as warranted by the evaluation, is as follows: Facility: Norton Company. Location: Worcester, Massachusetts.

Final Effect of Designation of a Class of Employees for Addition to the Special Exposure Cohort AGENCY: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). ACTION: Notice. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: HHS gives notice concerning the final effect of the HHS decision to designate a class of employees at Tyson Valley Powder Farm near Eureka, Missouri, as an addition to the Special Exposure Cohort (SEC) under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000. On March 31, 2009, as provided for under 42 U.S.C. 7384q(b), the Secretary of HHS designated the following class of employees as an addition to the SEC: All Atomic Weapons Employer (AWE) employees who worked at Tyson Valley Powder Farm near Eureka, Missouri, from February 13, 1946 through June 30, 1948, for a number of work days aggregating at least 250 work days, occurring either solely under this employment or in combination with work days within the parameters established for one or more other classes of employees in the SEC.

Final Effect of Designation of a Class of Employees for Addition to the Special Exposure Cohort AGENCY: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). ACTION: Notice. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: HHS gives notice concerning the final effect of the HHS decision to designate a class of employees at Westinghouse Atomic Power Development Plant in East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as an addition to the Special Exposure Cohort (SEC) under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000. On March 31, 2009, as provided for under 42 U.S.C. 7384q(b), the Secretary of HHS designated the following class of employees as an addition to the SEC: All Atomic Weapons Employer employees who worked at Westinghouse Atomic Power Development Plant in East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from August 13, 1942 through December 31, 1944, for a number of work days aggregating at least 250 work days, occurring either solely under this employment or in combination with work days within the parameters established for one or more other classes of employees in the SEC.

The Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health today recommended that Oak Ridge Hospital workers, 1950-59, be desigated a Special Exposure Cohort, NIOSH spokeswoman Shannon Bradford said. The ruling is based on the likelihood they were exposed to chronic levels of radiation. The SEC status, if it stands, would make it easier for those workers with cancer to receive compensation under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program. The advisory board concurred with an earlier recommendation from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, and now it will be sent to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, who will make a recommendation to Congress, Bradford said. If Congress doesn't act within 30 days, the secretary's recommendation stands, she said.

The Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health today recommended that Oak Ridge Hospital workers, 1950-59, be desigated a Special Exposure Cohort, NIOSH spokeswoman Shannon Bradford said. The ruling is based on the likelihood they were exposed to chronic levels of radiation. The SEC status, if it stands, would make it easier for those workers with cancer to receive compensation under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program. The advisory board concurred with an earlier recommendation from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, and now it will be sent to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, who will make a recommendation to Congress, Bradford said. If Congress doesn't act within 30 days, the secretary's recommendation stands, she said.

"The U.S. Department of Labor is notifying all former Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory employees who worked at the Berkeley, Calif., site between Aug. 13, 1942, and Dec. 31, 1961, about a new class of employees added to the Special Exposure Cohort of the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act. The act provides compensation and medical benefits to workers who became ill as a result of working in the nuclear weapons industry. Survivors of qualified workers may also 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 April 5, 2010, 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 Department of Energy, its predecessor agencies, and their contractors and subcontractors who worked at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, Calif., from Aug. 13, 1942, through Dec. 31, 1961, 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 5, 2010. The Labor Department's role is to adjudicate these claims based on the new SEC class definitions as determined and introduced by HHS. "

HHS gives notice as required by 42 CFR 83.12(e) of a decision to evaluate a petition to designate a class of employees for the Bliss & Laughlin Steel facility, in Buffalo, NY, to be included in the Special Exposure Cohort under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000. The initial proposed definition for the class being evaluated, subject to revision as warranted by the evaluation, is as follows: Facility: Bliss & Laughlin Steel facility. Location: Buffalo, NY. Job Titles and/or Job Duties: All employees. Period of Employment: January 1, 1948 through December 31, 1998.

Mortality and cancer incidence were studied in the National Registry for Radiation Workers in, relative to earlier analyses, an enlarged cohort of 174 541 persons, with longer follow-up (to 2001) and, for the first time, cancer registration data. SMRs for all causes and all malignant neoplasms were 81 and 84 respectively, demonstrating a 'healthy worker effect'. Within the cohort, mortality and incidence from both leukaemia excluding CLL and the grouping of all malignant neoplasms excluding leukaemia increased to a statistically significant extent with increasing radiation dose. Estimates of the trend in risk with dose were similar to those for the Japanese A-bomb survivors, with 90% confidence intervals that excluded both risks more than 2-3 times greater than the A-bomb values and no raised risk. Some evidence of an increasing trend with dose in mortality from all circulatory diseases may, at least partly, be due to confounding by smoking. This analysis provides the most precise estimates to date of mortality and cancer risks following occupational radiation exposure and strengthens the evidence for raised risks from these exposures. The cancer risk estimates are consistent with values used to set radiation protection standards.

HHS gives notice as required by 42 CFR 83.12(e) of a decision to evaluate a petition to designate a class of employees for the University of Rochester in Rochester, New York, to be included in the Special Exposure Cohort under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000. The initial proposed definition for the class being evaluated, subject to revision as warranted by the evaluation, is as follows: Facility: University of Rochester. Location: Rochester, New York. Job Titles and/or Job Duties: Laboratory Technicians who worked in the University of Rochester Atomic Energy Project laboratory building. Period of Employment: September 1, 1943 through June 19, 1945.

U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius has signed the designation that adds the 1950s employees at Oak Ridge Hospital -- when the hospital was being used for pioneering cancer treatments with radiation -- as a "Special Exposure Cohort" in the Energy Employees Occupational Illness and Compensation Program. The SEC status makes it easier for workers with cancer to collect under the compensation program. The designation was forwarded to Congress and will become effective Jan. 9, unless Congress acts on it prior to that date, according to NIOSH spokeswoman Shannon Bradford.

U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius has signed the designation that adds the 1950s employees at Oak Ridge Hospital -- when the hospital was being used for pioneering cancer treatments with radiation -- as a "Special Exposure Cohort" in the Energy Employees Occupational Illness and Compensation Program. The SEC status makes it easier for workers with cancer to collect under the compensation program. The designation was forwarded to Congress and will become effective Jan. 9, unless Congress acts on it prior to that date, according to NIOSH spokeswoman Shannon Bradford.

U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius has signed the designation that adds the 1950s employees at Oak Ridge Hospital -- when the hospital was being used for pioneering cancer treatments with radiation -- as a "Special Exposure Cohort" in the Energy Employees Occupational Illness and Compensation Program. The SEC status makes it easier for workers with cancer to collect under the compensation program. The designation was forwarded to Congress and will become effective Jan. 9, unless Congress acts on it prior to that date, according to NIOSH spokeswoman Shannon Bradford.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) gives notice as required by 42 CFR 83.12(e) of a decision to evaluate a petition to designate a class of employees at the Vitro Manufacturing in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, to be included in the Special Exposure Cohort under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000. The initial proposed definition for the class being evaluated, subject to revision as warranted by the evaluation, is as follows: Facility: Vitro Manufacturing. Location: Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. Job Titles and/or Job Duties: All Atomic Weapons Employer employees. Period of Employment: August 13, 1942 through December 31, 1957.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) gives notice as required by 42 CFR 83.12(e) of a decision to evaluate a petition to designate a class of employees at the Metallurgical Laboratory in Chicago, Illinois, to be included in the Special Exposure Cohort under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000. The initial proposed definition for the class being evaluated, subject to revision as warranted by the evaluation, is as follows: Facility: Metallurgical Laboratory. Location: Chicago, Illinois. Job Titles and/or Job Duties: All Atomic Weapons Employer employees. Period of Employment: August 13, 1942 through June 30, 1946.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) gives notice as required by 42 CFR 83.12(e) of a decision to evaluate a petition to designate a class of employees at the Mallinckrodt Chemical Co., Destrehan Street Plant in St. Louis, Missouri, to be included in the Special Exposure Cohort under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000. The initial proposed definition for the class being evaluated, subject to revision as warranted by the evaluation, is as follows: Facility: Mallinckrodt Chemical Co., Destrehan Street Plant. Location: St. Louis, Missouri. Job Titles and/or Job Duties: All employees who worked with uranium. Period of Employment: January 1, 1958 to December 31, 1958.