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Press Release
VA Programs for Veterans Exposed to Radiation
January 1999
VA provides special priority for enrollment for health-care services to any veteran exposed to ionizing radiation in connection with nuclear device tests or with the American occupation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, during the period beginning Sept. 11, 1945, and ending July 1, 1946. In addition, these "atomic veterans" are eligible to participate in the VA ionizing radiation registry examination program. VA also pays compensation to veterans and their survivors if the veteran is determined to have a disability due to radiation exposure while in service.
Radiation Statistics
Some 195,000 servicemembers have been identified as participants in the post-World War II occupation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. In addition, approximately 210,000 mostly military members are confirmed as participants in U.S. atmospheric nuclear tests between 1945 and 1962 in the United States and the Pacific and Atlantic oceans prior to the 1963 Limited Test Ban Treaty. The Defense Threat Reduction Agency's Nuclear Test Personnel Review program since 1978 has maintained a database of participants in atmospheric nuclear test activities. About one-fourth of the participants received no measurable dose of ionizing radiation, with fewer than one per cent of the nuclear test participants identified as having a dose of 5 rem or higher. (The current federal guideline for U.S. workplace exposure is 5 rem per year.)
Determination of Service-Connected Diseases
VA may pay compensation for radiogenic diseases under two programs specific to radiation-exposed veterans and their survivors:
Statutory List. Veterans who participated in nuclear tests by the U.S. or its allies, who served with the U.S. occupation forces in Hiroshima or Nagasaki, Japan, between August 1945 and July 1946, or who were similarly exposed to ionizing radiation while a prisoner of war in Japan, are eligible for compensation for cancers specified in legislation. The 15 types of cancer covered by these laws are: all forms of leukemia except chronic lymphocytic leukemia; cancer of the thyroid, breast, pharynx, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, pancreas, bile ducts, gall bladder, salivary gland and urinary tract; lymphomas (except Hodgkin's disease); multiple myeloma; and primary liver cancer.
Regulatory List. Disability compensation claims of veterans who were exposed to radiation in service and who develop a disease within specified time periods not specified in the statutory list are governed by regulation. Under the regulations, various additional factors must be considered in determining service-connection, including amount of radiation exposure, duration of exposure, and elapsed time between exposure and onset of the disease. VA regulations identify all cancers as potentially radiogenic, as well as certain other non-malignant conditions: posterior subcapsular cataracts; non-malignant thyroid nodular disease; parathyroid adenoma; and tumors of the brain and central nervous system.
A final rule that expanded the regulatory list from more than a dozen specific cancers to add "any other cancer" (any malignancy) was published Sept. 24, 1998. The rulemaking began following a 1995 review of the radiogenicity of cancer generally by the Veterans Advisory Committee on Environmental Hazards. It concluded that, on the basis of current scientific knowledge, exposure to ionizing radiation can be a contributing factor in the development of any malignancy. VA also will consider evidence that diseases other those specified in regulation may be caused by radiation exposure.
Claims for compensation may be filed at the nearest VA regional office. Veterans or their survivors can reach the nearest regional office by calling 1-800-827-1000. The Defense Department maintains a helpline at 1-800-462-3683 to provide veterans information about their test participation.
Rates of Disability Compensation
Rates of compensation depend upon the degree of disability and follow a payment schedule that is adjusted annually and applies to all veterans. Current rates at increments of 10 percent disability are listed in VA's handbook, Federal Benefits for Veterans and Dependents, available on the Web at http://www.va.gov/benefits.htm. Additional amounts may be awarded for certain severe disabilities.
For deaths in 1993 and after, compensation to survivors is paid based on a flat rate to all eligible claimants. An additional amount may be paid if the veteran had been rated 100-percent disabled for service-connected disabilities, including individual unemployability, for at least eight years prior to death and had been married to the surviving spouse during the same period. Additional amounts also may be payable to the surviving spouse for dependent minor children.
Ionizing Radiation Registry Program
In addition to special eligibility to enroll for VA health care for radiation-related conditions, atomic veterans are eligible to participate in VA's Ionizing Radiation Registry examination. Under the Ionizing Radiation Registry program, VA will perform a complete physical examination, including all necessary tests, for each veteran who requests it if the veteran was exposed to ionizing radiation while participating in the nuclear weapons testing program, or if he or she served with the U.S. occupation forces in Hiroshima or Nagasaki. Veterans need not be enrolled for general VA care to be eligible for the Ionizing Radiation Registry.
Medical Care Enrollment (FY1999)
VA has announced that its fiscal year 1999 appropriations are expected to be sufficient to provide virtually all needed medical services for any veteran who comes to VA for care, including atomic veterans. Veterans are encouraged to complete a brief form to apply for enrollment in the VA health-care system. This can be requested toll-free from the VA at 1-877-222-VETS. Veterans are encouraged to pre-establish a record and apply for enrollment before they become ill, which will simplify access at the time of illness and will also aid VA in its planning.
In any future year in which appropriations are deemed insufficient to meet projected demand, VA will use a priority system established in Public Law 104-262, "The Veterans Health Reform Act," to allocate health-care resources using seven priority groups. Group 1 is the highest-eligibility group, while Group 7 (or one or more of its subgroups) would be the first to be dis-enrolled or denied new enrollments in the VA health-care system. According to priorities established in the law, veterans only seeking care associated with exposure to ionizing radiation are included in priority Group 6. Veterans enrolled in Group 6 are eligible for care of exposure-related conditions only. If a veteran with a radiation-related claim has been granted service-connection with compensation, his or her priority would be even higher -- in Groups 1 to 3 -- depending on the rated severity of the illness. However, in fiscal 1999, VA expects that all groups will receive care, rendering the prioritization moot.
More information about VA health-care eligibility and enrollment is available on the Internet at http://www.va.gov/pubaff/enroll.htm.
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