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ESA-OWCP New Release: [01/02/2008]
Contact Name: Dolline Hatchett
Phone Number: (202) 693-4651
Release Number: 07-1935-NAT (SF-1)
U.S. Department of Labor assists uranium workers
Traveling Resource Center to make stops in Arizona and New Mexico
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor’s Traveling Resource Center will visit Shiprock, N.M., and Kayenta, Ariz., this month. Department representatives will be available to help individuals interested in filing claims under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA), which provides compensation and medical benefits to employees who became ill as a result of working in the nuclear weapons industry. The EEOICPA also offers benefits to survivors of these employees.
On January 14 and 15, the center will be at the Shiprock Chapter of the Navajo Nation, Fourth Mile at Junction 491, State Highway 64, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. MST. On January 16 and 17, the center will be at the Hampton Inn Kayenta, State Highway 160, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. MST.
Under the EEOICPA’s Part E, compensation may be available to uranium miners, millers and ore transporters for illnesses that are linked to toxic substance exposure at workplace facilities covered by the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA).
“The Labor Department wants to make an extra effort to be accessible to the Navajo community, so we’re taking the Traveling Resource Center to Arizona and New Mexico, where a large part of the Navajo Nation extends,” said Shelby Hallmark, director of the department’s Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs. “We had a tremendous response to a recent town hall meeting in Shiprock, and this prompted us to return with more hands-on assistance for residents there and in Kayenta.”
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 Labor Department’s Traveling Resource Center takes these services on the road to assist workers in the EEOICPA claim filing process.
Current and former employees of the U.S. Department of Energy, its contractors and subcontractors, uranium workers who worked at facilities covered under RECA, and eligible survivors of these employees are encouraged to apply for benefits at the Traveling Resource Center.
For additional information about the Traveling Resource Center or to schedule an appointment for claim-filing assistance, call 866-272-3622 toll-free or visit the center in Shiprock or Kayenta.
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