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The U.S. Department of Labor has notified all former Mallinckrodt Chemical Company, Destrehan Street Plant workers about a new class of employees added to the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act's (EEOICPA) Special Exposure Cohort (SEC). The EEOICPA provides compensation and medical benefits to employees who became ill as a result of working in the nuclear weapons industry. Survivors of qualified employees 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 act. To date, more than $80 million in compensation and medical benefits has been paid to eligible Mallinckrodt Chemical Company, Destrehan Street Plant employees and more than $4.6 billion in compensation and medical benefits has been paid to eligible claimants nationwide under the act.

Lawmakers aim to improve a federal program designed to provide workers' compensation benefits for nuclear facility employees who become ill as a result of their jobs. Sponsors of the Charlie Wolf Nuclear Workers' Compensation Act, named for an employee who developed brain cancer as a result of working at the Rocky Flats Plant nuclear weapons site near Denver, said the bill would make important changes to reduce the bureaucracy in the program and expand the list of cancers for which individuals are eligible to receive compensation. Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo., one of the sponsors of the bill, said that while the compensation program was set up to help workers who develop illnesses from exposure to radiation or other toxins on the job, employees have instead found their cases delayed for years by bureaucratic red tape.

Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000, as amended AGENCY: Office of Workers' Compensation Programs, Employment Standards Administration, Labor. ACTION: Notice of revision of listing of covered Department of Energy facilities. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: The Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP) is publishing a list of Department of Energy (DOE) facilities covered under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000, as amended (EEOICPA). This notice revises the listing of DOE facilities that was included as part of the list of covered facilities last published by DOE on August 23, 2004 (69 FR 51825) to include the determinations made by OWCP on this subject through June 23, 2009.

France's parliament has passed a law to compensate victims of nuclear tests in Algeria and the South Pacific, a response to decades of complaints by people sickened by radiation. The law cleared France's Senate on Tuesday, its final legislative hurdle following approval in the National Assembly in June. France "can at last close a chapter of its history", Defence Minister Herve Morin said in a statement. He called the law "just, rigorous and balanced." The text, hammered out with help from victims' associations, recognises the right for victims of France's more than 200 nuclear tests to receive compensation. Some 150,000 people, including civilian and military personnel, were on site for the 210 tests France carried out, both in the atmosphere and underground, in the Sahara Desert and the South Pacific from 1960-1996.

France's parliament has passed a law to compensate victims of nuclear tests in Algeria and the South Pacific, a response to decades of complaints by people sickened by radiation. The law cleared France's Senate on Tuesday, its final legislative hurdle following approval in the National Assembly in June. France "can at last close a chapter of its history", Defence Minister Herve Morin said in a statement. He called the law "just, rigorous and balanced." The text, hammered out with help from victims' associations, recognises the right for victims of France's more than 200 nuclear tests to receive compensation. Some 150,000 people, including civilian and military personnel, were on site for the 210 tests France carried out, both in the atmosphere and underground, in the Sahara Desert and the South Pacific from 1960-1996.

The government is refusing to back down over attempts to force it to compensate British nuclear test veterans. Armed forces minister Kevan Jones admitted he had sympathy for over 1,000 veterans of nuclear tests carried out in the 1950s who are seeking compensation. But he said their attempts would continue to be rejected by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) because of a lack of "hard evidence" that their illnesses were caused by exposure to radiation. Labour backbencher Siobhain McDonagh, who obtained the adjournment debate, told the Commons the husband of one of her constituents had committed suicide in 1976 "after 18 years of pain".

The government is refusing to back down over attempts to force it to compensate British nuclear test veterans. Armed forces minister Kevan Jones admitted he had sympathy for over 1,000 veterans of nuclear tests carried out in the 1950s who are seeking compensation. But he said their attempts would continue to be rejected by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) because of a lack of "hard evidence" that their illnesses were caused by exposure to radiation. Labour backbencher Siobhain McDonagh, who obtained the adjournment debate, told the Commons the husband of one of her constituents had committed suicide in 1976 "after 18 years of pain".

"Three meetings have been scheduled in Kennewick to explain changes in a compensation program for ill Hanford nuclear reservation workers or their survivors. A recent change to the program should make more Hanford workers, retirees or their survivors eligible for $150,000 compensation and coverage of some medical expenses related to cancer or certain lung diseases. The meetings also will give an overview of the entire program, which provides compensation for illnesses caused by radiation or hazardous chemicals. Staff from the Hanford Resource Center will be available to help people file claims. The Department of Labor meetings are planned at 7 p.m. March 16 and at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. March 17 at the Red Lion Hotel, N. 2201 Columbia Center Blvd., Kennewick. "

"Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo says the The RECA Amendments Act of 2010 extends eligibility for compensation to residents of Guam who may have been exposed to radiation. The act makes claimants eligible for $150,000 in damages regardless of their occupation, provided that they were living. The Amendments to the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) were introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Congressman Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico. Congresswoman Bordallo was one of eight original co-sponsors of the House bill. Senator Tom Udall of New Mexico introduced identical companion legislation in the Senate yesterday as well. "The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) Amendments Act of 2010 will amend the RECA compensation program to expand the program to include geographic areas that were not part of the original legislation," Congresswoman Bordallo said. "Many people in the designated areas have been affected by nuclear testing, including downwinders on Guam. This bill is a coordinated and concerted effort by Members of Congress representing possible nuclear testing victims. I would like to thank Congressman Luján and Senator Udall for their leadership in introducing this legislation. I would also like to commend Mr. Robert Celestial for his many years of advocacy on behalf of the Pacific Association of Radiation Survivors.""

"New York's senators on Wednesday urged two federal agencies to reform the compensation process for workers at former nuclear sites, including those at the Linde facility in the Town of Tonawanda. Democratic Sens. Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand called on Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and John Howard, director of the National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety, or NIOSH, to make it easier for cancer-stricken workers to receive compensation for their illnesses. "Through a simple rule change, justice can finally be delivered to the nuclear workers of Western New York," Schumer said in a statement. "These Cold War heroes became dangerously ill developing the country's nuclear weapons program, and should not have to wait a minute longer for help." Added Gillibrand, "New York's former nuclear workers have been neglected for far too long, and should not have to scale a mountain of red tape or prove the un-provable before receiving the compensation they deserve...Those affected must have an opportunity for their case to be heard.""

"Japan faces the possibility of having to pay huge compensation to overseas victims of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant because it has yet to sign any international convention that defines procedures for filing lawsuits for damages from a nuclear accident that extend beyond a nation's borders. While the Kan administration has compiled a framework to provide support to Tokyo Electric Power Co., the operator of the Fukushima plant, as it makes compensation payments, if lawsuits were filed overseas the total compensation could go much higher than current estimates of several trillions of yen. There are three conventions which establish the standards for having the nation where a nuclear accident has occurred handle compensation lawsuits. "

* Compensation covers damages until Aug 31 * Subsequent claims to be taken quarterly * First round of compensation does not cover property damage By Taiga Uranaka TOKYO, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Tokyo Electric Power unveiled the first details on Tuesday of how it would compensate Fukushima residents for lodging and other costs stemming from their evacuation of areas close to its crippled nuclear plant. The payments, due to reach victims in October, nearly seven months after the start of the nuclear crisis, mark just the first round in a series of state-supported outlays that some analysts estimate could climb as high as $130 billion. About 80,000 people were evacuated from a 20 kilometre radius around Tokyo Electric's Fukushima Daiichi plant, which has been leaking radiation since a March 11 earthquake and tsunami triggered a meltdown of reactor cores.

Court rules damages paid earlier 'adequate' Twelve victims of radiation poisoning have lost their appeal for 12 million baht in compensation from an engineering and electrical equipment distributor over its reckless storage of radioactive materials. Sonthaya: Right hand crippled SURAPOL PROMSAKA NA SAKOLNAKORN The members of the group claimed Kamol Sukosol Electric Co Ltd was negligent when it stored radioactive materials not properly secured in its car park. This allowed a cylinder of cobalt-60 - a radioactive isotope that can cause cancer - to be stolen from the company property. But the Appeals Court yesterday ruled in the company's favour saying the 640,276 baht in compensation the Civil Court had earlier ordered Kamol Sukosol to pay was sufficient.

Court rules damages paid earlier 'adequate' Twelve victims of radiation poisoning have lost their appeal for 12 million baht in compensation from an engineering and electrical equipment distributor over its reckless storage of radioactive materials. Sonthaya: Right hand crippled SURAPOL PROMSAKA NA SAKOLNAKORN The members of the group claimed Kamol Sukosol Electric Co Ltd was negligent when it stored radioactive materials not properly secured in its car park. This allowed a cylinder of cobalt-60 - a radioactive isotope that can cause cancer - to be stolen from the company property. But the Appeals Court yesterday ruled in the company's favour saying the 640,276 baht in compensation the Civil Court had earlier ordered Kamol Sukosol to pay was sufficient.

The financial compensation of top contractor executives in Oak Ridge, recently revealed as part of the Recovery Act reporting requirements, created a buzz of attention (Who's making the big bucks in Oak Ridge?). It also prompted questions from readers about how much the federal counterparts earn at the Department of Energy and the National Nuclear Security Administration: Below are some of the FY09 salaries for top execs at DOE and NNSA in Oak Ridge, including any performance bonuses received for 2008. Bonus info for '09 is not yet available. Here's the compensation for members of the Senior Executive Service at the NNSA's site office at Y-12 Ted Sherry -- YSO Manager -- $192,541 Kevin Smith -- YSO Deputy Manager -- $167,052. Here's the compensation for top officers at DOE's Oak Ridge Operations:

The financial compensation of top contractor executives in Oak Ridge, recently revealed as part of the Recovery Act reporting requirements, created a buzz of attention (Who's making the big bucks in Oak Ridge?). It also prompted questions from readers about how much the federal counterparts earn at the Department of Energy and the National Nuclear Security Administration: Below are some of the FY09 salaries for top execs at DOE and NNSA in Oak Ridge, including any performance bonuses received for 2008. Bonus info for '09 is not yet available. Here's the compensation for members of the Senior Executive Service at the NNSA's site office at Y-12 Ted Sherry -- YSO Manager -- $192,541 Kevin Smith -- YSO Deputy Manager -- $167,052. Here's the compensation for top officers at DOE's Oak Ridge Operations:

A move to expand the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act to include a new disease has picked up steam, but a group of Cold War-era workers remains outside the system with little immediate hope of being included. Uranium miners, drillers, haulers and others who now suffer from a relatively common form of leukemia could become eligible for compassionate payments from the federal government under legislation proposed by Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo. Expanding the list of diseases covered by the compensation act, however, wouldn't help core drillers, who located uranium deposits by drilling into the sandstones of the Southwest in the 1940s, '50s and '60s. Grand Junction's Lester Rich, 75, a core driller during the uranium boom times on the Colorado Plateau, has so far dodged all of the diseases listed in the compensation act, as well as the form of leukemia now being contemplated for inclusion.

A bill to "provide supplemental ex gratia compensation to the Republic of the Marshall Islands for impacts of the nuclear testing program of the United States, and for other purposes" was reported and placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders, Calendar No. 976, on September 16, 2008. The cost estimate, completed last week by the Congressional Budget Office(CBO), follows: S. 1756 would amend the Compact of Free Association Amendments Act of 2003 and the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000. The legislation would appropriate $4.5 million annually (plus adjustments for inflation) over the 2009-2023 period to supplement health care in communities affected by the U.S. nuclear testing program. In addition, under S. 1756, workers employed at nuclear test sites would be eligible for compensation and medical benefits. Finally, the legislation would require monitoring of a specific nuclear test site. CBO estimates that enacting this bill would increase direct spending by $7 million in 2009, $31 million over the 2009-2013 period, and $57 million over the 2009-2018 period. Enacting the bill would not affect revenues. We estimate that additional administrative costs would total less than $300,000 annually over the 2009-2013 period, assuming appropriation of the necessary funds. S. 1756 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments. ESTIMATED COST TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

New legislation introduced this year could prevent problems Paul Bell, and many other former Iowa Army Ammunition Plant workers have had over the years trying to get compensation through the EEOICPA. Advertisement The Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act was passed in 2000. While amendments have been made -- and responsibility for the program has shifted from the Department of Energy to the Department of Labor -- still fewer than a third of applicants receive compensation. That's why the presidents of construction and metal trades unions and the University of Iowa Atomic Energy Commission Plant-Former Workers Program are supporting the Charlie Wolf Nuclear Employees Compensation Act that can help former workers get the payment they're due.

All four Senators representing Idaho and Montana are sponsoring new legislation that would make residents of the two states eligible for a federal government program that compensates people who lived in affected areas downwind of the Nevada Test Site during periods of atmospheric nuclear testing during the 1950s and 60s. Under the legislation, those victims would be compensated if they contracted cancer or other specified compensable diseases following the testing. The bipartisan legislation introduced today, S. 1342, would amend the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) to include all of Idaho and Montana.

Paris - An appeals court in Paris Friday rejected a demand for compensation by 12 former soldiers who said they had contracted fatal cancers when they took part in French atomic weapons testing between 1960 and 1996, French media reported. The court ruled the cases of 11 of the soldiers were invalid because their alleged radiation contamination took place before January 1, 1976, the threshold year fixed by law. Regarding the case of the twelfth soldier, which dated from 1983, the judge ruled that the appeals court was not the correct venue. The case should have been heard by court competent to rule on workplace accidents, the judge said. Only five of the 12 soldiers were on hand to hear the verdict. The other seven had died of their ailments, which included cancer of the skin, thyroid and kidney and leukemia. An estimated 150,000 civilians and ex-soldiers who took part in the 210 above-ground nuclear weapons tests France carried out in Algeria and Polynesia were potentially affected by Friday's ruling. Defence Minister Herve Morin admitted in March that several hundred people may have developed cancers as a result of radiation from the tests. He proposed a compensation plan offering 10 million euros to the victims in 2009.

The head of a group representing the victims of nuclear testing in French Polynesia says a law to provide them compensation is a public relations exercise. France's Minister of Defence recently outlined the main points of a proposed Bill to compensate, for the first time, victims of nuclear testing it conducted both in Algeria and later in French Polynesia, between 1966 and 1996. The compensation announcement precedes a court hearing in which the French government will answer to charges it failed to protect its French Polynesian workers from nuclear fallout during that time.

THE federal government long ago recognized that men and women had risked their lives on Cold War and space race research and were owed compensation for illnesses they developed while working with radioactive and toxic materials. Yet, too many Santa Susana Field Lab workers are still waiting for recompense. The Energy Employee Occupational Illness Compensation Program enacted by former President Bill Clinton in 2000 pledged billions of dollars to government employees who got sick from their Cold War-era jobs. But the law was narrowly written and program managers have been legalistic in reviewing claims. As a result, hundreds of men and women who worked at the hilltop lab on the western edge of the San Fernando Valley and became sick, potentially as a result of their work, have been denied compensation worth $150,000 to $250,000.

"The Department of Labor has done the initial screening of about 1,200 cases that may be newly eligible for compensation because of illnesses caused by exposure to radiation at Hanford. Those include cases that had previously been denied in the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program and claims that were pending, said Rachel Leiton, director of the program division at the Department of Labor on Tuesday. "We want to make sure if (a claim) can be accepted, it's accepted as quickly as possible," she said. She spoke at the first of three meetings Tuesday and today in Kennewick to provide information about the compensation program, including new eased rules for workers with cancer or their survivors. About 125 people attended."