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PADUCAH, Ky.-At a ribbon-cutting ceremony in
Paducah, Ky. today Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao opened the first of 10
Resource Centers designed to help injured energy workers receive compensation
from the federal government.
"Today is a major step forward in America's commitment to
the well-being of our nuclear industry workers and their families," Chao said.
"It is a tragedy that more was not done to care for these injured workers
sooner. But I'm proud to be here today to open this Resource Center so we can
start processing these claims as quickly as possible. These injured workers are
American heroes, and they deserve to be treated as such."
The Resource Centers will offer personal assistance in
filing claim forms for the Energy Employees Occupational Injury Compensation
Program Act (EEOICPA), passed by Congress in October 2000.
EEOICPA pays $150,000 lump-sum compensation and related
medical expenses to workers who became seriously ill from exposure to
radiation, beryllium or silica while working in the nuclear weapons industry
for the Department of Energy, including its contractors and subcontractors.
Compensation will also be available to some survivors and to uranium employees
who are eligible for benefits under Section Five of the Radiation Exposure
Compensation Act.
The Departments of Labor and Energy, which jointly operate
the centers, will also open Resource Centers in Las Vegas, Nev.; Richland,
Wash.; Rocky Flats, Colo.; Espanola, N.M.; Idaho Falls, Idaho; North Augusta,
S.C.; Oak Ridge, Tenn.; Anchorage, Alaska; and Portsmouth, Ohio. Claimants can
also receive assistance at the Labor Department District Offices in Seattle,
Wash.; Denver, Colo.; Cleveland, Ohio; and Jacksonville, Fla.
The Department of Labor is also conducting town hall
meetings in 25 locations across the country through the end of July 2001 to
explain EEOICPA to nuclear weapons industry employees.
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