Privacy Act Overview
The Privacy Act of 1974,
Title 5, United States Code, Section 552a,
protects against an invasion of privacy through the misuse of personal
information by government agencies. The Act allows citizens to determine
how records are collected, maintained, used, and disseminated by the
federal government. It also provides provisions for an individual to
inspect, copy, and correct personal information the government is
maintaining on them.
The Privacy Act applies to personal information held by agencies in
the executive branch of the federal government, such as the U.S.
Department of Energy (DOE). Agencies subject to the
Freedom of
Information Act are also subject to the Privacy Act. Generally, the Act
does not apply to state and local governments, or private companies,
unless the entities are involved in a computer matching program with the
federal government, or are under contract to operate a Privacy Act
system of records for an agency of the federal government. While any
person may request records under the Freedom of Information Act, only
U.S. citizens and aliens lawfully admitted for permanent residence may
request their personal records under the Privacy Act.
Records subject to the Privacy Act are those records concerning
individuals maintained in a system of records. A record contains
individually identifiable material, such as social security numbers,
medical history, employment history, financial data, criminal history,
etc. A system of records is a group of records under the control of an
agency from which information is retrieved by the name of the
individual, or by some other identifying number or symbol. Records kept
on individuals that are not retrievable in this way are not subject to
the Privacy Act; however, this type of information can be requested
under the Freedom of Information Act.
Under the provisions of the Privacy Act, an agency must allow
individuals to see and copy records about themselves. Individuals must
also have the opportunity to amend any information in the records that
is not timely, accurate, relevant, or complete. Agencies must publish
notices in the
Federal Register describing each system of records they
maintain. This provision prevents the keeping of secret record systems.
Agencies may not maintain information on individuals about how they
exercise their First Amendment rights, unless maintenance of that
information is specifically authorized by statute or relates to a law
enforcement activity.
Disclosures
The Privacy Act limits and defines the disclosure of personal
information by an agency. Agencies may not disclose Privacy Act records
to any person, or to another agency, without the written consent of the
individual to whom the record pertains except if the record is
disclosed:
- to officers and employees of the agency which maintains the record
who have a need for the record in the performance of their duties;
- as required under the Freedom of Information Act;
- in accordance with a "routine use" as defined in subsection (a)(7)
and described in subsection (e)(4)(D) of the Privacy Act;
- to the Census Bureau for the purposes of planning or carrying out
a census or survey in accordance with Title 13;
- to an individual who provides written assurance that the record
will be used only for statistical research, and it is provided in a
way that is not individually identifiable;
- to the National Archives and Records Administration if the record
is historically significant;
- to another agency or governmental instrument within the United
States for a civil or criminal law enforcement activity;
- to a person pursuant to a showing of compelling circumstances
affecting the health or safety of an individual;
- to either House of Congress, or any committee or subcommittee
thereof;
- to the Comptroller General in the course of the performance of the
duties of the General Accounting Office;
- pursuant to the order of a court of competent jurisdiction; or
- to a consumer reporting agency in accordance with section 3711(f) of
Title 31.
Except for disclosures made under (1) and (2) listed above, agencies
must keep an accounting of the date, nature, and purpose of each
disclosure of a Privacy Act record to any person or to another agency,
and the name and address of the person or agency to whom the disclosure
is made.
Privacy Act Statement
Agency forms used to collect Privacy Act information must inform the
individual who is supplying the requested information the following:
- the authority (statute, Executive Order, etc.) which authorizes
the solicitation of the information and whether disclosure of the
information is mandatory or voluntary;
- the principal purpose or purposes for which the information is
intended to be used;
- the routine uses which may be made of the information; and
- the effects on the individual, if any, for failure to provide all
or any part of the requested information.
System Notices
Agencies must publish system notices in the Federal Register. System
notices describe the systems of records agencies have established,
including the following information:
- Name and location of the system;
- the categories of individuals on whom records are maintained;
- the types of records maintained;
- each routine use;
- retrievability, storage, and access controls for the system;
- the title and business address of the agency official who is
responsible for the system;
- how an individual can be notified if the system contains a record
on him/her;
- how an individual can access or amend the record; and
- the categories of sources of records in the system.
At least 30 days prior to the implementation of a new routine use for
a system of records, an agency must publish notice of the proposed
routine use in the Federal Register and allow for public comment.
Violations
Violations of the provisions of the Privacy Act are enforceable
through legal action, and criminal and civil penalties may apply. It is
a crime to knowingly and willfully request or obtain records concerning
an individual from an agency under false pretenses. A request under the
Privacy Act can only be made by the individual who is the subject of the
requested records (except for parents of minors or legal guardians).
Exemptions
Although the Privacy Act does offer exemptions from disclosure, they
are rarely used. There are two general exemptions - one for records
maintained by the Central Intelligence Agency, and the second for
records relating to law enforcement activities. There are seven specific
exemptions listed in the
Privacy Act.
Fees and Time Limits
Fees can be charged under the Privacy Act for the cost of reproducing
records only. Typically, no fee is assessed for a Privacy Act request.
Unlike the Freedom of Information Act, there is no time limit for an
agency to respond to a Privacy Act request. However, the Nevada Site
Office strives to meet a 30-day response time. Many requests can be
fulfilled within 10 days. There is a 10-day time limit when an
individual requests to amend their records.
HOW TO MAKE A PRIVACY ACT REQUEST WITH THE NEVADA SITE
OFFICE
Privacy Act requests can be submitted to the NNSA/Service Center
in writing at the following address:
Ms. Carolyn A. Becknell
Privacy Act Officer
NNSA Service Center
Office of Public Affairs
P.O. Box 5400
Albuquerque, NM 87185-5400
In your letter, cite the Privacy Act and describe the records you are
seeking as clearly as possible. If you were an employee, for example,
providing dates of employment are helpful in locating records. Sign your
letter and provide two copies of identification, one of which shows
your signature (a copy of your driver’s license). Notarized statements
of your identity are also acceptable as proof of your identification.
Also provide the Social Security number, date of birth, and place of birth.
If you are a surviving relative seeking Privacy Act records, you must also
submit a copy of the death certificate and an
Affidavit of Surviving Relative
[ PDF, 43KB ]
For further information on how to submit a Privacy Act request to the
DOE, refer to:
Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations, Section 1008
[ PDF, 83KB ]
RADIATION EXPOSURE HISTORY
Radiation Exposure Histories are available upon request for those
individuals who have worked at the Nevada Test Site or the Pacific
Proving Grounds, including members of the armed services. Requests for
Radiation Exposure Histories can be made by completing form NV-192:
Request for Report of Radiation Exposure
History [ PDF, 81KB ]
Mail the completed form to the following address:
U.S. Department of Energy
Attn: Dosimetry Research Project, M/S 401
NSTec
P.O. Box 98521
Las Vegas, NV 89193-8521
HUMAN RADIATION EXPERIMENTS
The Nuclear Testing Archive maintains the complete DOE Human
Radiation Experiments collection. These documents are available in full
text retrieval through the
DOE
Openness: Human Radiation Experiments site. The online database does
not contain names of individuals experimented on. The Nuclear Testing
Archive has limited name search capability for both the human radiation
experiments and prisoner experimentation documents. Privacy Act requests
for name searches can be requested by writing to the FOIA/PA Officer for
the NNSA/Service Center.
RADIATION EXPOSURE COMPENSATION ACT
Information on the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, Public Law (P.L.)
101-426 dated October 15, 1990; amended by P.L. 101-510 on November 5,
1990; amended by P.L. 102-486 on October 24, 1992, can be obtained by
contacting the following address:
U.S. Department of Justice
Radiation Exposure Compensation Program
P.O. Box 146, Ben Franklin Station
Washington, D.C. 20044-0146
1-800-729-7327 (toll-free call)
RELATED LINKS
^ TOP ^
|