The Residual Contamination Report evaluates whether significant residual radioactive and beryllium contamination
remained at Atomic Weapons Employer (AWE) and Beryllium Vendor facilities after such facilities had concluded work
for the Department of Energy (DOE) or its predecessor agencies. The original report was submitted to Congress in
November 2002 and revised in June 2004. NIOSH submitted an updated report in December 2006 per the
Ronald W. Reagan National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005 (H.R. 4200),
which amended EEOICPA (The Act).
To answer questions about residual contamination and the 2006 Residual Contamination Report, NIOSH developed a
list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) below. Links to other program FAQs are located on the "Find It!"
navigation box under "On this page . . . "
Select the question you are interested in below by clicking its link. You will be taken to the answer located on this page. Links throughout the FAQs will guide you to further information.
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Residual Contamination FAQs
- What is residual contamination?
Radioactive material or beryllium that remains at a facility after activities related to nuclear weapons
production has stopped.
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- How will NIOSH determine whether or not significant residual contamination caused
an employee that was employed during the residual contamination period to contract a cancer or beryllium illness
compensable under Subtitle B?
NIOSH will complete a dose reconstruction based on the amount and type of radioactive materials present during the
period of residual contamination. The Department of Labor (DOL) will make determinations relative to beryllium.
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- How does NIOSH define "significant contamination"?
NIOSH defines significant contamination as contamination in excess of those found in current occupational radiation
protection, surface contamination values.
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- How do I know if I was exposed to residual contamination?
NIOSH evaluated AWE/DOE facilities and beryllium vendors that processed materials in support of nuclear weapons production for potential residual radioactive or beryllium contamination. NIOSH submitted a report to Congress in December of 2006 summarizing their findings. You can look up the facility in this report located on our Web site on the General Activities on AWE Cases page to see if there was a potential for residual contamination at that facility.
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- How would exposure to residual contamination affect my dose reconstruction?
If NIOSH determined that residual contamination existed at your work site during your employment, exposure levels will
be included in your dose reconstruction. However, please keep in mind that exposures from residual contamination will
likely be low. The highest exposure to radioactive material occurs during the actual handling and processing of radioactive materials.
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- Will already completed dose reconstructions be reviewed if NIOSH determines that residual
contamination exists?
NIOSH will review the dose reconstructions to see if exposure from residual contamination is likely to result in a
significant increase of probability of causation. If it does, NIOSH will re-work the dose reconstruction to include that
information. NIOSH has already included the dose from residual radioactive contamination in most cases.
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- What is the Residual Contamination Report?
The Residual Contamination Report evaluates whether significant residual radioactive and beryllium contamination
remained at Atomic Weapons Employer (AWE) and Beryllium Vendor facilities after such facilities had concluded work
for the Department of Energy (DOE) or its predecessor agencies. The original report was submitted to Congress in
November 2002 and revised in June 2004. NIOSH submitted an updated report in December 2006 in accordance with the
Ronald W. Reagan National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005 (H.R. 4200), which amended The Act.
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- Where can I find a copy of the updated Residual Contamination Report?
A copy of the updated 2006 Residual Contamination Report is located on our Web site on the General
Activities on AWE Cases page under the Residual Contamination Report section.
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- Who provided NIOSH with the list of facilities to be included in the evaluation?
DOE provided NIOSH a list of all facilities to be included in the evaluation. The list included all facilities DOE
identified as covered facilities under The Act. Findings were based on the information posted on the DOE Office
of of Environment, Safety, and Health (ES&H) Web site as of December 2006. Data searches were also performed to obtain additional data used in these evaluations.
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- Where can I find a listing of these facilities?
A listing of these facilities is located on our Web site on the General Activities
on AWE Cases page under the Residual Contamination Report section.
A full list of covered facilities can be found on DOE's Web site.
External Link: http://www.hss.energy.gov/healthsafety/fwsp/advocacy/faclist/findfacility.cfm
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- Who determines the period of covered employment (periods in which weapons-related
production occurred) for these facilities?
DOL is responsible for determining actual periods of covered employment based upon DOE's findings as well as information
from claimants and other sources. DOE provides worker and facility records and data to DOL to help in their decision-making
and in support of the administration of The Act. In determining these periods, DOE applies the definitions of The Act to
the known facts about the time and conditions of weapons-related processing at each facility. Keep in mind, periods of
covered employment can change if additional information becomes available demonstrating that weapons-related processing
was conducted outside of the current covered period.
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- Where did NIOSH get the information to evaluate the facilities for residual
contamination?
This study consisted primarily of an evaluation of documents pertaining to AWEs. These include documents compiled
by DOE ES&H, documents obtained through NIOSH data capture efforts, interviews with current and past employees,
and documents located on the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Web sites. In all cases, the individual facility finding is based on the available information. The finding on any
single facility was based on the quantity and completeness of the information available regarding that facility and
professional judgment as necessary.
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- What type of information was reviewed?
Examples of documentation reviewed included, but were not limited to:
- Radiological surveys
- Production operations descriptions
- Contractual agreements
- Interoffice correspondence
- Interviews with current and past employees
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- What if limited or no documentation was available for a facility?
In the case of residual radioactive contamination, if limited or no documentation was available, NIOSH made a professional
judgment about the level of residual contamination. If NIOSH determined there was "potential for significant
contamination", then it was determined that the contamination "could have caused or substantially contributed to the cancer
of a covered employee." This determination does not imply or guarantee compensation under The Act.
In the case of residual beryllium contamination, if there was no evidence that the beryllium areas had been decontaminated,
it was determined that this material could have caused or substantially contributed to the beryllium illness of an employee.
Because beryllium sensitization can occur at very low levels of exposure, the level of residual beryllium contamination
remaining was not included in the determination.
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- How does NIOSH define "could have caused or substantially contributed to the cancer
of a covered employee"?
Facilities having "significant contamination" had quantities of radioactive material that "could have caused or
substantially contributed to the cancer of a covered employee". Therefore, if a facility was determined to have significant
contamination, NIOSH also determined that the residual contamination could have caused or substantially contributed
to the cancer of a covered employee. Dose reconstructions will be completed to determine the probability of causation.
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- How does NIOSH define "could have caused or substantially contributed to the beryllium
illness of a covered employee"?
NIOSH determined that beryllium "could have caused or substantially contributed to the beryllium illness of a covered
employee" if there was no documented evidence that the beryllium areas were decontaminated because beryllium sensitization
can occur from very low exposure.
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- If an end date could not be determined for sites that had a potential for significant
residual radioactive contamination outside of the periods in which weapons-relate production occurred, what date did
NIOSH use?
NIOSH assumed that the residual contamination was present and the end date for contamination was determined as follows:
- If the building(s) in which nuclear weapons-related activities occurred has been demolished, then the end date will be the date of demolition.
- If the building(s) in which nuclear weapons-related activities occurred has not been demolished, then the end date will be
listed as "present" (defined as December 2006 - the date the report was written).
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- Some facilities processed radioactive materials for commercial, non-DOE contracts in
addition to that processed for nuclear weapons production. How did NIOSH evaluate facilities where residual
contamination from DOE production is indistinguishable from the commercial production?
When residual contamination is indistinguishable from non-weapons related radioactive material, NIOSH assumed that the contamination was a result of DOE weapons
production activities and determined that the potential for significant residual contamination existed outside of the
periods when weapons-related production occurred. However, exact dates cannot always be identified.
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- Was non-DOE related exposure addressed in any of the AWE dose reconstructions that
NIOSH has completed before this report was issued?
When the Defense Authorization Act was passed, NIOSH had not completed DOE dose reconstructions that addressed non-DOE
related exposure.
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- Will NIOSH review those dose reconstructions to address the non-DOE related exposures?
Yes. If NIOSH determines that non-DOE related exposure is present at an AWE facility, then those cases will be evaluated to
determine the effect that this additional dose may have on the assigned dose. NIOSH will provide written notification to
DOL for those cases determined to have significant increased dose.
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- What were the results of the residual radioactive contamination evaluation?
The results of this study indicate that there are AWE facilities for which the potential for significant residual radiological
contamination exists outside of the periods in which weapons-related production occurred as listed on the DOE ES&H Web site.
Individual results for the 94 AWEs evaluated are as follows:
- 18 of the 94 AWE facilities have little potential for significant residual contamination outside of the periods in which weapons-related production occurred.
- 72 of the 94 atomic weapons employer facilities have the potential for significant residual contamination outside of the periods in which weapons-related production occurred.
- 4 of the 94 previously listed AWE facilities are no longer listed as AWE on the DOE ES&H Web site.
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- What were the results of the residual beryllium contamination evaluation?
The results indicate that there are Beryllium Vendor facilities for which the potential for significant residual beryllium
contamination exists outside of the periods in which weapons-related production occurred as listed on the DOE ES&H Web
site.
Individual results for the 65 Beryllium Vendor facilities evaluated as required by the NDAA are as follows:
- 7 of the 65 Beryllium Vendor facilities have little potential for significant residual
contamination outside of the periods in which weapons-related production occurred.
- 58 of the 65 Beryllium Vendor facilities evaluated have the potential for significant
residual contamination outside of the periods in which weapons-related production occurred.
The finding on any single facility was based on the quantity and completeness of the information
available regarding that facility and professional judgment as necessary.
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- What was NIOSH's final conclusion?
NIOSH concluded that:
- Some AWE facilities and Beryllium Vendor facilities have the potential for significant
residual radiological and beryllium contamination outside of the periods in which weapons-related production
occurred.
- Facilities having "significant contamination" had quantities of radioactive
material that "could have caused or substantially contributed to the cancer of a covered employee with
cancer."
- The documents reviewed did not indicate the existence of a current, unrecognized
occupational or public health threat.
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Page last updated: November 3, 2008
Page last reviewed: May 30, 2008
Content Source: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
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