|
 Printer-Friendly Version
ESA News Release: [10/31/2004]
Office of Workers' Compensation Programs
Contact Name: Deanne Amaden
Phone Number: 415-975-4741
Release Number: 106
Labor, Energy Departments Open Benefits Assistance Center for Nuclear Weapons Workers
SAN FRANCISCO — The U.S. Departments of Labor (DOL) and Energy (DOE) will open the new Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA) Resource Center in Livermore, Calif., on August 31. An opening ceremony will be held at 2600 Kitty Hawk Road, Suite 101 in Livermore at 10 a.m.
The resource center will assist current and former DOE employees, contractors, subcontractors, employees of atomic weapons companies and employees of designated Beryllium Vendors, as well as eligible survivors of employees filing for benefits under the EEOICPA.
The EEOICPA became effective July 31, 2001, and provides two different types of assistance. Part B, which is administered by DOL, provides a lump sum payment of up to $150,000 and medical benefits to current and former DOE employees, DOE contractors and subcontractors, atomic weapons employees, and employees of designated beryllium vendors. Qualified survivors of covered employees may be eligible for the lump sum compensation. Specific illnesses covered by Part B of the EEOICPA are radiogenic cancers, beryllium diseases and chronic silicosis.
Part D of the EEOICPA, which is administered by the DOE, helps DOE contractor employees or their survivors apply for state worker compensation benefits for job-related illnesses. Under this program, an independent physician's panel will determine if a workers illness arose out of exposure to a toxic substance during the course of employment at a DOE facility. Beryllium vendor employees, atomic weapons employees and DOE federal employees are not covered under Part D.
Workers or survivors who need information or assistance in applying for benefits, call, toll-free, (866) 606-6302, or visit the new resource center at 2600 Kitty Hawk Road, Suite 101, Livermore, Calif., 94551.
The resource center serves claimants throughout California, which is home to several covered facilities including: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories in Livermore, and Stanford Linear and Accelerator Center, in addition to 12 beryllium vendor facilities in the Northern California area. Facilities in the Southern California area include: Atomics International, Energy Technology Engineering Center (ETEC), General Atomics, Hunter Douglas Aluminum Corp., Laboratory of Biomedical and Environmental Sciences, and Electro Circuits, Inc.
Other EEOICPA resource center locations include: Anchorage, Alaska; Espanola, N.M.; Hanford, Wash; Idaho Falls, Idaho; Las Vegas, Nev.; Oak Ridge, Tenn.; Paducah, Ky.; Portsmouth, Ohio; Rocky Flats, Colo.; and Savannah River, S.C.
| |
|
