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NIOSH Program Area:

Office of Compensation Analysis and Support (OCAS)

 

Program Evaluation Reports (PERs) and Program Evaluation Plans (PEPs)

NIOSH is committed to applying the best available science in dose reconstructions. In keeping with this commitment, completed cases with probabilities of causation less than 50% are reviewed as relevant new information becomes available. The results of these reviews are described in a Program Evaluation Report (PER). The PER details the effect, if any, of the new information on the completed dose reconstruction. If it appears that the compensability of a completed dose reconstruction may be effected, NIOSH is committed to working with the Department of Labor to reopen and rework the dose reconstruction, as appropriate. A Program Evaluation Plan (PEP) describes plans for evaluating specific program details or issues.

Program Evaluation Reports

PER 1

Program Evaluation Report: Misinterpreted Dosimetry Records Resulting in an Underestimate of Missed Dose in Savannah River Site Dose Reconstructions
this document in PDF PDF 958 KB (4 pages)

Document Number: OCAS-PER-0001 Rev-00

About this Document: Describes the evaluation of the programmatic effect of the misinterpreted dosimetry records resulting in an underestimate of the missed dose for Savannah River Site dose reconstructions.

Approved: September 8, 2003

Summary: While the underestimated missed dose resulted in a non-claimant favorable estimate of missed dose, the overestimated onsite ambient dose offset this underestimate. As a result, no further evaluation is necessary because the offset still resulted in a slight claimant favorable bias in the dose estimate and resulting probability of causation.


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PER 2

Program Evaluation Report: Error in Surrogate Organ Assignment Resulting in an Underestimate of X-ray Dose in Savannah River Site Dose Reconstructions
this document in PDF PDF 482 KB (4 pages)

Document Number: OCAS-PER-0002 Rev-00

About this Document: Describes the evaluation of the programmatic effect of an error in surrogate organ assignment resulting in a potential underestimate of the X-ray dose for certain Savannah River Site dose reconstructions.

Approved: December 15, 2003

Summary: An error in surrogate organ assignment for the liver, gall bladder and spleen (ovaries was assigned instead of lung) resulted in the underestimation of X-ray organ doses in three completed dose reconstructions. The impact on the probability of causation in these three cases has been evaluated and found to be minimal (<0.5%), and the probable compensability status of these claims was unaffected. No revision of any completed dose reconstructions is warranted; however, to preclude future occurrences of this error, revisions of several Technical Basis Documents has been initiated.


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PER 3

Program Evaluation Report: Evaluation of the Effect of Adding Ingestion Intakes to Bethlehem Steel Cases
this document in PDF PDF 31 KB (3 pages)

Document Number: OCAS-PER-0003 Rev-00

About this Document: Describes the evaluation of the programmatic effect of the effect of adding ingestion intakes to Bethlehem Steel cases.

Approved: January 28, 2005

Summary: As a result of adding ingestion intakes, the probability of causation of none of the previously completed Bethlehem Steel claims would increase to greater than 50%.


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PER 4

Program Evaluation Report: Application of Photofluorography at the Pinellas Plant
this document in PDF PDF 373 KB (3 pages)

Document Number: OCAS-PER-0004 Rev-00

About this Document: Describes the evaluation of the programmatic effect of the discovery of photofluorographic examinations on dose reconstructions for employees of the Pinellas Plant.

Approved: February 15, 2005

Summary: Evidence of photofluorography as discovered in a claimant's medical records from the Pinellas Plant. As a result, photofluorography use at Pinellas is now assumed through 1959. This assumption will not change the likely compensability of any completed dose reconstruction. The relevant ORAU procedure will be modified, and photofluorography use will be assumed in the Pinellas Plant site profile.


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PER 5

Program Evaluation Report: Misinterpreted Application of the External Dose Factor for Hanford Dose Reconstructions
this document in PDF PDF 85 KB (6 pages)

Document Number: OCAS-PER-0005 Rev-00

About this Document: Describes the evaluation of the programmatic effect of the misinterpreted application of the bias factor for Hanford Dose Reconstructions.

Approved: June 9, 2006

Summary: An error in interpretation and application of the bias factor information in the Hanford External Dose Reconstruction Technical Basis Document (1) resulted in an underestimate of the external dose for certain Hanford claims. Claims that were potentially affected by this error were identified and those that had not already been submitted to the Department of Labor were returned to the ORAU team for rework. The cases that had been submitted to DOL were reevaluated by removing the bias factor, thus developing a revised external dose. The probability of causation for each of the affected claims was recalculated. This evaluation found that although this error appeared upon discovery to be rather significant, there was no impact on compensation decisions made by the Department of Labor.


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PER 6

Program Evaluation Report: External Dosimetry Target Organ for Prostate Cancer
this document in PDF PDF 42 KB (3 pages)

Document Number: OCAS-PER-0006 Rev-00

About this Document: Describes the evaluation of the programmatic effect to change external dosimetry target organ for prostate cancer from testes to bladder.

Approved: September 15, 2006

Summary: Changes the external dosimetry target organ for prostate cancer from testes to urinary bladder. This change will result in lower organ doses and consequently, lower probability of causation values. Therefore, this change will not result in an increase in probability value for any completed claims, and no cases need to be re-evaluated.


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PER 7

Program Evaluation Report: Evaluation of the Effect of Revision 2 of the Site Profile on Previously Completed Bethlehem Steel Cases
this document in PDF PDF 42 KB (7 pages)

Document Number: OCAS-PER-0007 Rev-00

About this Document: New document to evaluate the effect of revision 2 of the site profile on previously completed dose reconstructions from Bethlehem Steel.

Approved: November 9, 2006

Summary: The Bethlehem Steel Technical Basis Document was revised on July 27, 2006. The revision changed the estimated quantity of uranium inhaled and ingested as well as external dose to the skin. As a result of revisions to the Bethlehem Steel Technical Basis Document, three claims that were previously determined to have a PC of less than 50% will now have a PC greater than 50%. Eight cases that previously had a PC greater than 50% now have a PC less than 50%. This report, along with detailed information on the specific cases and calculations, has been provided to DOL for determination of further action.


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PER 8

Program Evaluation Report: Modification of NIOSH-IREP Lung Cancer Risk Model: Effect of "Combined" Lung Model on Non-compensable Lung Cancer Claims
this document in PDF PDF 143 KB (4 pages)

Document Number: OCAS-PER-0008 Rev-00

About this Document: New document to report the impact of the NIOSH-IREP lung cancer model on non-compensable cases completed before February 28, 2006.

Approved: April 12, 2007

Summary: The "combined" lung cancer risk model was introduced on 02/28/06 via the release of NIOSH-IREP Version 5.5, followed by v5.5.1 on 05/16/06. The combined lung model is programmed with two different lung cancer risk models: the NIOSH-IREP model, plus an alternative risk model created by the National Cancer Institute for use in NIH-IREP, another version of IREP (referred to hereafter as the "NIH" model). For each cancer of the lung, trachea, or bronchus, NIOSH-IREP now calculates separately the probability of causation (PC) produced by each of the two risk models and reports the higher PC at the upper 99th percentile credibility limit as the PC value of record for the claim. NIOSH-IREP v5.5 and v5.5.1 also incorporate a bias correction factor for random errors in dosimetry for "never smokers" exposed to radon. Due to a programming oversight, this correction had been omitted for "never smokers" and was applied only to smokers in earlier versions of NIOSH-IREP. NIOSH-IREP v5.5 corrected this error.

This "combined" lung cancer risk model was endorsed by the Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health, and can result in no lower PC value for the same set of claim inputs than had been calculated under previous versions of NIOSH-IREP (versions 5.4 and earlier).

For a more detailed description of the new combined model, including the background of and rationale for the modification, please refer to OCAS-PEP-008, dated 12/07/06.


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PER 9

Target Organs for Lymphoma
this document in PDF PDF 17 KB (2 pages)

Document Number: OCAS-PER-009 Rev-00

About this Document: New document to change target organs for lymphoma.

Approved: March 8, 2007

Summary: In February, 2006, OCAS determined that the internal and external dosimetry target organs used for several forms of lymphoma should be changed. The detailed rationale for this decision is described in OCAS-TIB-012. The change resulted from a detailed investigation by OCAS of the etiology of lymphoma.


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PER 10

Program Evaluation Report: The Effect of Rocky Flats Neutron Dose Reconstruction Project Data
this document in PDF PDF 21 KB (2 pages)

Document Number: OCAS-PER-0010 Rev-00

About this Document: New document to report the impact of data received from the Rocky Flats Plant Neutron Dose Reconstruction Project.

Approved: April 13, 2007

Summary: Neutron doses at Rocky Flats were re-evaluated as part of the Rocky Flats Neutron Dose Reconstruction Project (NDRP). These records were provided to OCAS as part of the individual dosimetry records. The application of the NDRP data to dose reconstructions is described in ORAUT-OTIB-0050, Rev. 00.


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PER 11

Program Evaluation Report: K-25 TBD and TIB Revisions
this document in PDF PDF 17 KB (2 pages)

Document Number: OCAS-PER-0011 Rev-00

About this Document: New document to determine which previously completed claims require a new dose reconstruction as a result of changes to the K-25 dose reconstruction methods.

Approved: September 26, 2007

Summary: There were 432 claims completed by NIOSH between 11/24/2004 and 8/31/2006 that resulted in a POC less than 50%. This does not include claims that may have been submitted in that time frame but subsequently returned to NIOSH for any reason. All these claims will be reviewed by NIOSH to determine if external co-worker data was used. NIOSH will request that DOL return those claims completed before 5/21/2005 determined to have been completed using external co-worker data. NIOSH will also request the return of those claims completed with external co-worker data between 5/21/2005 and 8/31/2006 if they are deemed a Construction Trades worker. DOL will be provided with documentation for the remaining claims indicating the claim did not meet these criteria.


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PER 12

Program Evaluation Report: Evaluation of Highly Insoluble Plutonium Compounds
this document in PDF PDF 45 KB (6 pages)

Document Number: OCAS-PER-0012 Rev-00

About this Document: New document to determine which previously completed claims require evaluation for the affect of OTIB-0049, Highly Insoluble Plutonium Compounds.

Approved: August 6, 2007

Summary: DOL will be provided a list of the entire population of potentially affected claims (4,865 claims). NIOSH has determined that 1,757 of these claims required a new dose estimate to determine the affect of this change. NIOSH is requesting that DOL return these claims to NIOSH for a new Dose Reconstruction. NIOSH will review the remaining 3,108 claims to determine if any other changes also affect the claim. For each of these claims, NIOSH will either request the claim be returned for a new Dose Reconstruction, or provide DOL with documentation indicating why the changes will not cause the Probability of Causation to increase above 45%.


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PER 13

Program Evaluation Report: Evaluation of the Impact of Changes to the Isotopic Ratios in for the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant
this document in PDF PDF 23 KB (3 pages)

Document Number: OCAS-PER-0013 Rev-00

About this Document: This document provides a list of previously completed claims that are potentially affected by a revision to the Paducah isotopic ratios.

Approved: August 13, 2007

Summary: An initial selection of claims was based on the following search criteria:

1. Probability of Causation (POC) less than 50%
2. Dose Reconstructions completed prior to November 7, 2006.

These criteria were used to produce a list of 734 potentially affected claims. NIOSH will provide this list to DOL and request these claims be returned for a new dose reconstruction. The new dose reconstruction will be completed using all the current methodology which will account for any other changes affecting these claims.


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PER 14

Program Evaluation Report: Construction Trades Workers
this document in PDF PDF 74 KB (7 pages)

Document Number: OCAS-PER-0014 Rev-00

About this Document: This document determines which previously completed claims require evaluation for the effect of TIB 52 on the completed dose reconstruction.

Approved: November 27, 2007

Summary: A search of the claims was conducted to determine which claims may be those of Construction Trades Workers. Only those claims with a probability of causation (PC) less than 50%, that are currently at the Department of Labor, and whose dose reconstruction was approved prior to August 31, 2007, were included. The search resulted in 977 potentially affected claims being selected. NIOSH will provide DOL with the list of 977 claims, as well as a determination on each claim as to whether a new dose estimate is required. Documentation, that includes a dispositive statement which explains the basis as to why each claim was or was not determined to require a new dose reconstruction, will be provided to DOL and included in each case file.


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PER 15

Program Evaluation Report: Mallinckrodt TBD Revision
this document in PDF PDF 16 KB (2 pages)

Document Number: OCAS-PER-0015 Rev-00

About this Document: New document to determine which previously completed claims require evaluation for the effect of revising the Mallinckrodt TBD.

Approved: July 31, 2007

Summary: It is not possible to determine the magnitude of the change to dose without a new dose estimate. Since (as of issuance of this PER) no Mallinckrodt claims have yet been completed with the newest revision to the TBD, NIOSH is requesting that all Mallinckrodt claims with a dose reconstruction performed using Revision 1 of ORAUT-TKBS-0005 that have a Probability of Causation less than 50% be returned for a new estimate. A list of the population of 16 potentially affected claims is attached. A new dose reconstruction will be completed for each of the claims using the latest revision to the Mallinckrodt TBD.


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PER 16

Program Evaluation Report: Implementation of IREP Procedure for Claims near 50% Probability of Causation
this document in PDF PDF 17 KB (4 pages)

Document Number: OCAS-PER-0016 Rev-00

About this Document: New document to evaluate the effect of implementing a new IREP procedure on previously completed claims.

Approved: September 25, 2007

Summary: A total of 109 previously non-compensable claims with PC values of 45% or greater were evaluated. The average PC value remained below the 50% compensation threshold for each of the 109 claims. An itemized list of claims was provided to DOL containing the final evaluation result for each of the 109 claims.


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PER 17

Program Evaluation Report: Evaluation of Incomplete Internal Dosimetry Records from Idaho, Argonne – East and Argonne – West National Laboratories
this document in PDF PDF 21 KB (3 pages)

Document Number: OCAS-PER-017 Rev-00

About this Document: New document to determine which previously completed claims require revisions as a result of new dosimetry data at INL, ANL-E, and ANL-W.

Approved: September 11, 2007

Summary: Additional requests were sent in August/September 2006. By April of 2007 a response was received for each of the request. These requests resulted in receiving internal dose data for 83 claims, 62 from INL, 14 from ANL-W, 6 from ANL-E and one with additional records from both INL and ANL-W.

Some of these claims have already been returned to NIOSH for new dose reconstruction for various reasons. The new dose reconstructions will consider the new data received. NIOSH is requesting the remaining claims be returned for a new dose reconstruction. This consists of 68 individual claims. A list of these claims will be forwarded to the Department of Labor. A new dose reconstruction will be completed for each of the claims using the new data.


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PER 18

Program Evaluation Report: Los Alamos National Laboratory TBD Revision
this document in PDF PDF 18 KB (2 pages)

Document Number: OCAS-PER-0018 Rev-00

About this Document: New document to determine which previously completed claims require evaluation for the effect of revising the LANL TBD.

Approved: July 31, 2007

Summary: It is not possible to precisely determine the effect of the change to LAMPF dose estimates on Probability of Causation without a new Dose Estimate. However, it is possible to determine if the LAMPF energy distribution was used in the original dose estimate. It is also possible to determine if an individual was assigned unmonitored neutron dose based on neutron to photon ratios and whether the ratio used will increase or decrease under the new revision to the TBD.

In order to determine the effect of these factors, the individual cases must be re-examined. Since the unmonitored neutron dose has the potential of affecting every claim, all claims completed prior to May 30, 2007 from Los Alamos National Laboratory with a Probability of Causation less than 50% will require a review. NIOSH will request claims be returned in which the LAMPF energy distributions were originally assigned using Revision 0 for a new dose estimate. NIOSH will also request the return of claims in which the original dose estimate utilized a neutron to photon ratio that has now increased. For all other claims, NIOSH will review the claim against any other revisions to other technical documents that may affect the claim. DOL will be provided with a statement for each claim indicating what changes the claim was reviewed against and why the change did not affect the particular dose estimate or the Probability of Causation calculation. For any claims where it is not possible to provide this statement without a new Dose Estimate, NIOSH will request that DOL return the claim for a new Dose Estimate.

NIOSH has determined that 300 claims meet the criteria for further review. The remaining cases with a probability of causation less than 50% (1 claim) were completed using revision 1 of the TBD. NIOSH will provide DOL with the list of 300 claims as well as a determination on each claim as to whether a new Dose Estimate is required.


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PER 19

Program Evaluation Report: The Effect of Additional Neutron Dose Data from the Savannah River Site
this document in PDF PDF 20 KB (2 pages)

Document Number: OCAS-PER-0019 Rev-00

About this Document: New document to report the impact of additional neutron dose data received from the Savannah River Site.

Approved: May 18, 2007

Summary: Dosimetry records are requested from the Savannah River Site for each claim received from the Department of Labor with Savannah River employment. This data is used in reconstructing the individuals' radiation dose. The Savannah River site notified NIOSH that additional data pertaining to neutron dosimetry was not sent for several claims. The additional data has since been received and added to the original dosimetry data.

Previously completed claims were re-evaluated to determine the affect of this new data on the individual claims. This Program Evaluation Report (PER) was prepared to report the results of that evaluation.


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PER 20

Program Evaluation Report: Blockson TBD Revision
this document in PDF PDF 14 KB (1 page)

Document Number: OCAS-PER-0020 Rev-00

About this Document: New document to determine which previously completed claims require evaluation for the effect of revising the Blockson TBD.

Approved: July 31, 2007

Summary: It is not possible to determine the magnitude of the change to dose without a new dose estimate. Since (as of issuance of this PER) no Blockson Chemical Company claims have yet been completed with the newest revision to the TBD, NIOSH is requesting that all Blockson Chemical Company claims with a Probability of Causation less than 50% be returned for a new estimate. A list of the entire population of the ninety-one potentially affected claims is attached. A new dose reconstruction will be completed for each of the claims using the latest revision to the Blockson TBD.


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PER 21

Program Evaluation Report: Rocky Flats Plant Dose Reconstruction Method Modifications
this document in PDF PDF 14 KB (1 page)

Document Number: OCAS-PER-0021 Rev-00

About this Document: New document to determine which previously completed claims require evaluation for the effect of revising Rocky Flats Plant TBDs and TIBs.

Approved: September 20, 2007

Summary: The Department of Labor indicated they will return all claims to NIOSH that were not determined to be a member of the SEC. Therefore, no evaluation of the modifications to dose reconstruction methodology is necessary. NIOSH will complete a new dose reconstruction for all claims returned by DOL using the current methodology. It should be noted that some of these claims will be unaffected by these modifications and some dose reconstructions may decrease as a result of removing dose associated with the SEC basis.

The last document to be revised to incorporate changes as a result of the SEC deliberation and designation was the external dose section of the Rocky Flats Technical Basis Document. This document was revised on August 17, 2007. Therefore, the returned claims should consist only of those approved prior to that date. This totals 590 claims, some of which NIOSH previously requested a return based on other PERs.


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PER 22

Chapman Valve TBD Revision
this document in PDF PDF 15 KB (1 page)

Document Number: OCAS-PER-0022 Rev-00

About this Document: New document to determine which previously completed claims require evaluation for the effect of revising the Chapman Valve TBD.

Approved: September 20, 2007

Summary: There were 31 Chapman Valve claims completed with a probability of causation below 50% prior to the revision to the TBD. Twenty one of these were completed using TIB 4. Because that document describes a higher dose estimate than the revision to the Chapman Valve TBD, no further evaluation is necessary for those claims. The remaining 10 Chapman Valve claims were completed using revision 0 of the Technical Basis Document. NIOSH is requesting that these claims be returned for a new dose estimate. A new dose reconstruction will be completed for each of the claims using the latest revision to the Chapman Valve TBD.


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PER 23

Argonne National Lab-West TBD Revision
this document in PDF PDF 15 KB (1 page)

Document Number: OCAS-PER-0023 Rev-00

About this Document: New document to determine which previously completed claims require evaluation for the effect of revising the ANL-W TBD.

Approved: September 20, 2007

Summary: There were 22 ANL-W completed with a probability of causation below 50% prior to the change in default frequency. NIOSH will review the records of each claim to determine if an x-ray frequency less than annually was used to complete the dose reconstruction for claims in which no medical records were received from DOE. NIOSH will provide DOL with the list of 22 claims as well as a determination on each claim as to whether a new dose estimate is required.


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PER 24

Program Evaluation Report: General Steel Industries TBD Approval
this document in PDF PDF 14 KB (1 page)

Document Number: OCAS-PER-0024 Rev-00

About this Document: New document to determine which previously completed claims require evaluation for the effect of approving a GSI TBD.

Approved: September 25, 2007

Summary: There were 4 General Steel Industries claims completed with a probability of causation below 50% prior to the approval of the TBD. These were completed using ORAUT-OTIB-0004. Since the new document describes a higher dose for some of the dose estimate, it is necessary to revise these dose estimates to determine the effect. NIOSH is requesting that these claims be returned for a new dose estimate. A new dose reconstruction will be completed for each of the claims using the latest revision to the General Steel Industries TBD.


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PER 25

Program Evaluation Report: Huntington Pilot Plant TBD Revision
this document in PDF PDF 14 KB (1 page)

Document Number: OCAS-PER-0025 Rev-00

About this Document: New document to determine which previously completed claims require evaluation for the effect of revising the Huntington Pilot Plant TBD.

Approved: September 28, 2007

Summary: There was one Huntington Pilot Plant claims completed for the above target organs with a probability of causation below 50% prior to 1/16/2004. NIOSH is requesting that this claim be returned for a new dose estimate. A new dose reconstruction will be completed using the latest revision to the Huntington Pilot Plant TBD.


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PER 26

Program Evaluation Report: Pantex TBD Revision – ORAUT-TKBS-0013
this document in PDF PDF 16 KB (2 pages)

Document Number: OCAS-PER-026 Rev-00

About this Document: New document to determine which previously completed claims require evaluation for the effect of revising the Pantex TBD.

Approved: October 31, 2007

Summary: There were 50 Pantex claims meeting the employment dates and target organ criteria above that were completed with a probability of causation below 50% prior to February 1, 2007. NIOSH will review the records of each claim to determine if the dose assigned in the revised TBD is higher than that assigned in the dose reconstruction. NIOSH will provide DOL with the list of 50 claims as well as a determination on each claim as to whether a new Dose Estimate is required. Documentation for each claim not requiring a new dose reconstruction will provide the basis for that determination.


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PER 27

Program Evaluation Report: Clarksville and Medina Site Profile – ORAU TBKS-0039
this document in PDF PDF 15 KB (1 page)

Document Number: OCAS-PER-027 Rev-00

About this Document: New document to determine which previously completed claims require evaluation for the effect of issuing a revision to the Clarksville TBD.

Approved: October 30, 2007

Summary: Prior to November 4, 2006, there were 65 Clarksville and Medina claims completed which had a probability of causation below 50%. NIOSH will review these dose reconstructions to determine if the dose assigned in consistent or higher than the issued TBD. NIOSH will provide DOL with the list of 65 claims as well as a determination on each claim as to whether a new Dose Estimate is required. Documentation for each claim not requiring a new dose reconstruction will provide the basis for that determination.


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PER 28

Program Evaluation Report: Pinellas TBD Revision
this document in PDF PDF 14 KB (1 page)

Document Number: OCAS-PER-028 Rev-00

About this Document: New document to determine which previously completed claims require evaluation for the effect of revising the Pinellas TBD.

Approved: October 30, 2007

Summary: There were 24 Pinellas dose reconstructions completed with a probability of causation below 50% between August 3, 2006, and November 8, 2006. NIOSH will review these dose reconstructions to determine if missed photon dose was included when appropriate. NIOSH will provide DOL with the list of 24 claims as well as a determination on each claim as to whether a new Dose Estimate is required. Documentation for each claim not requiring a new dose reconstruction will provide the basis for that determination.


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PER 29

Program Evaluation Report: Hanford TBD Revisions
this document in PDF PDF 30 KB (4 pages)

Document Number: OCAS-PER-0029 Rev-00

About this Document: Document to determine which previously completed claims require evaluation for the effect of revising the Hanford TBD.

Approved: December 18, 2007

Summary: There were 1190 Hanford or PNNL claims completed prior to June 22, 2007, with a probability of Causation below 50%. The dose reconstruction methodology of each will be reviewed to determine if a new dose reconstruction is necessary to determine if the revisions increase the dose estimate. NIOSH will review these dose reconstructions to determine if they meet any of the criteria listed in the PER. NIOSH will provide DOL with the list of 1190 claims as well as a determination on each claim as to whether a new dose estimate is required. Documentation for each claim not requiring a new dose reconstruction will provide the basis for that determination.


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PER 30

Program Evaluation Report: Savannah River Site TBD Revisions
this document in PDF PDF 31 KB (3 pages)

Document Number: OCAS-PER-0030 Rev-00

About this Document: Document to determine which previously completed claims require evaluation for the effect of revising the Savannah River Site TBD.

Approved: December 18, 2007

Summary: There were 54 Savannah River Site claims completed prior to August 21, 2003, (issue date of revision 1) with a probability of Causation below 50%. The dose reconstruction methodology of each will be reviewed to determine if a new dose reconstruction is necessary to determine if the revisions increase the dose estimate. NIOSH will review these dose reconstructions to determine if they meet any of the criteria listed in this PER. NIOSH will provide DOL with the list of 54 claims as well as a determination on each claim as to whether a new dose estimate is required. Documentation for each claim not requiring a new dose reconstruction will provide the basis for that determination.


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PER 31

Program Evaluation Report: Y-12 TBD Revisions
this document in PDF PDF 17 KB (2 pages)

Document Number: OCAS-PER-0031 Rev-00

About this Document: Document to determine which previously completed claims require evaluation for the effect of revising the Y-12 Plant TBD.

Approved: December 18, 2007

Summary: There were 693 Y-12 claims completed prior to January 12, 2006, with a probability of causation below 50%. The dose reconstruction methodology of each will be reviewed to determine if a new dose reconstruction is necessary to determine if the revisions increase the dose estimate. NIOSH will review these dose reconstructions to determine if they meet the criterion listed in this PER. NIOSH will provide DOL with the list of 693 claims as well as a determination on each claim as to whether a new dose estimate is required. Documentation for each claim not requiring a new dose reconstruction will provide the basis for that determination.


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PER 32

Program Evaluation Report: Nevada Test Site TBD Revisions
this document in PDF PDF 17 KB (2 pages)

Document Number: OCAS-PER-0032 Rev-00

About this Document: Document to determine which previously completed claims require evaluation for the effect of revising the Nevada Test Site TBD.

Approved: December 18, 2007

Summary: There were 481 Nevada Test Site claims completed prior to July 30, 2007, (issue date of revision 1) with a probability of Causation below 50% that meet the criteria above. The dose reconstruction methodology of each will be reviewed to determine if a new dose reconstruction is necessary to determine if the revisions increase the dose estimate. NIOSH will review these dose reconstructions to determine if they meet any of the criteria listed in this PER. NIOSH will provide DOL with the list of 481 claims as well as a determination on each claim as to whether a new dose estimate is required. Documentation for each claim not requiring a new dose reconstruction will provide the basis for that determination.


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Program Evaluation Plans



PEP 8

Program Evaluation Plan: Modification of NIOSH-IREP Lung Cancer Risk Model: Impact of "Combined" Lung Model on Non-Compensable Lung Cancer Claims
this document in PDF PDF 132 KB (5 pages)

Document Number: OCAS-PEP-008 Rev-00

About this Document: New document to evaluate the modification of the NIOSH-IREP lung cancer model on previously competed cases.

Approved: December 7, 2006


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PEP 9

Program Evaluation Plan: Evaluation of the Change in Target Organs for Dose Reconstruction Involving Lymphoma
this document in PDF PDF 62 KB (3 pages)

Document Number: OCAS-PEP-009 Rev-00

About this Document: This document provides a plan to evaluate the change in target organ selection for previously completed dose reconstruction involving lymphomas.

Approved: December 8, 2006


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PEP 12

Program Evaluation Plan: Evaluation of Highly Insoluble Plutonium Compounds
this document in PDF PDF 101 KB (6 pages)

Document Number: OCAS-PEP-012 Rev-00

About this Document: In the first version of the Rocky Flats Plant (RFP) Internal TBD (Jan 2004), it was noted that highly insoluble forms of plutonium were generated during the Rocky Flats fires. In response to the need to assess claims with potential exposure to this material, ORAUT-OTIB-0049 was developed. ORAUT-OTIB-0049 delineates the methods for assessing potential exposure to highly insoluble forms of plutonium, not only from the RFP fires, but at other sites in the complex that may have worked with this material.

Approved: March 29, 2007


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PEP 13

Program Evaluation Plan: Evaluation of the Impact of Changes to the Isotopic Ratios in for the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant
this document in PDF PDF 20 KB (2 pages)

Document Number: OCAS-PEP-0013 Rev-00

About this Document: October 25, 2006, Revision 01 of ORAUT-TKBS-0019-5, Occupational Internal Dose was issued as part of the biennial review process. During the biennial revision of this TBD section, the information provided in existing document was evaluated to ensure that the published isotopic ratios for transuranic (TRU) radionuclides meet the criteria of providing either an accurate or maximum dose estimate. The results of the evaluation indicated that the current ratios did not meet that goal. Information provided in existing references (particularly PACE and the University of Utah, 2000; BJC, 2000), as well as that found in a new reference was assessed with the result that new TRU isotopic ratios were developed and are included in the TBD as Tables 5-2 and 5-2a in the revised document.

On November 7, 2006 Revision 01 of ORAUT-TKBS-0019-4, Occupational Environmental Dose was issued. A revaluation of the source data for ORAUT-TKBS-0019-5 led to a revision to the TRU isotopic ratios (relative to uranium) for estimating dose from these radionuclides. In addition, the authors have been able to categorize these ratios according to specific processes and periods as described below in conjunction with ORAUT-TKBS-0019-5.

Approved: March 21, 2007


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PEP 14

Program Evaluation Plan: Evaluation of the Impact of OTIB-0052, Construction Trade Workers
this document in PDF PDF 90 KB (5 pages)

Document Number: OCAS-PEP-0014 Rev-00

About this Document: In 2004, it was noted that some Construction Trades Workers (CTW) at various sites were unmonitored during the early years of the complex. It was believed that these workers may have been exposed to external radiation and/or internal contamination above ambient and environmental levels without adequate monitoring. To address this issue, ORAUT-OTIB-0052 (Technical Information Bulletin: Parameters to Consider When Processing Claims for Construction Trade Workers) was developed to provide guidance on assessing CTWs with inadequate monitoring (either internal or external).

Approved: March 29, 2007


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PEP 17

Program Evaluation Plan: Evaluation of Incomplete Internal Dosimetry Records from Idaho, Argonne - East and Argonne - West National Laboratories
this document in PDF PDF 17 KB (3 pages)

Document Number: OCAS-PEP-0017 Rev-00

About this Document: In April/May 2006, while reviewing dose reconstructions (DR) for an Idaho National Laboratory (INL) case and an Argonne National Laboratory - East (ANL-E) case, a particular notation ("no recordable dose") in the INL dosimetry response, as well as a similar notation ("no internal dose") in the ANL-E dosimetry response, was questioned. Both the INL and ANL-E points of contact (POC) were contacted and asked if this notation meant that the energy employee (EE) was not monitored. The INL POC responded that this notation meant that this particular EE may have been monitored but no internal dose was assigned. The ANL-E POC provided information that the EE had internal dose records for most years of his employment. [Although Argonne National Laboratory - West (ANL-W) requests are sent thru the Chicago Operations Office, the dosimetry records are provided by INL.]

In May/June 2006, it was determined that INL/ANL-W/ANL-E did not consistently include internal dose data in all of their individual dosimetry responses and that additional requests were needed for submitted cases with a POC less than 50%. For a particular EE, INL/ANL-W/ANL-E either provided all or none of the EE's internal dosimetry records. A good indicator that there may be internal dosimetry data is that the OCAS-INT-004 (check-box form) may have a hand-written note next to the internal dosimetry status section that says - "no internal dose" or "no recordable dose."

Approved: March 21, 2007


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Comments on Program Evaluation Reports and Plans

How to Submit Comments
Comments on Ames Laboratory documents can be submitted to the NIOSH Docket Officer electronically by e-mail at NIOCINDOCKET@cdc.gov or printed comments can be mailed to NIOSH Docket Office, Robert A. Taft Laboratories, MS-C34, 4676 Columbia Parkway, Cincinnati, OH 45226.

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Page last updated: September 24, 2008
Page last reviewed: May 30, 2008
Content Source: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)

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