About the Program

Background

On October 5, 1990, Congress passed the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act ("RECA" or "the Act"), 42 U.S.C. § 2210 note, providing for compassionate payments to individuals who contracted certain cancers and other serious diseases as a result of their exposure to radiation released during above-ground nuclear weapons tests or as a result of their exposure to radiation during employment in underground uranium mines. The 1990 Act provided fixed payments in the following amounts: $50,000 to individuals residing or working "downwind" of The Nevada Test Site; $75,000 for workers participating in above-ground nuclear weapons tests; and $100,000 for uranium miners.

Implementing regulations were issued by the Department of Justice and published in the Federal Register on April 10, 1992, establishing procedures to resolve claims in a reliable, objective, and non-adversarial manner, with little administrative cost to the United States or to the person filing the claim. Revisions to the regulations, published in the Federal Register on March 22, 1999, served to greater assist claimants in establishing entitlement to an award.

On July 10, 2000, Pub. L. 106-245, the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act Amendments of 2000 ("the 2000 Amendments") was passed. Introduced by Senator Hatch on August 5, 1999, the Amendments were one of many bills introduced in the 106th Congress with the intent to amend the existing law. Most significantly, the 2000 Amendments added two new claimant categories (uranium mill workers and ore transporters), provided additional compensable illnesses, lowered the radiation exposure threshold for uranium miners, included above-ground miners within the definition of "uranium miner," modified medical documentation requirements, and removed certain lifestyle restrictions. It also added additional geographic areas to the downwinder claimant category.

On November 2, 2002, the President signed the "21st Century Department of Justice Appropriation Authorization Act" (P.L. 107-273). Contained in the law were several provisions relating to RECA. While most of these amendments are "technical" in nature, some affect eligibility criteria and revise claims adjudication procedures. The following points describe the major impact of the "technical amendments":

• the "technical amendments" reinserted a previously covered geographical area for downwinder claimants that had erroneously been removed by the 2000 Amendments;

• clarifies requirement that lung cancer must be "primary" for all claimant categories;

• uranium miners provided the option of establishing exposure to 40 working level months of radiation or establishing employment in a mine for one year;

• all uranium workers diagnosed with lung cancer no longer required to submit evidence of a non-malignant respiratory disease; (Seemingly a draftsmanship error in the 2000 Amendments, the "technical amendments" eliminated the requirement that in cases where the claimant is living, a claimant with lung cancer must submit the medical documentation required for proof of a “non-malignant respiratory disease.” This requirement had the unintended effect of precluding most lung cancer claimants -- who may not suffer from a non-malignant respiratory disease -- from establishing eligibility for compensation.)

RECA Claimant Categories

Uranium Miners. A payment of $100,000 is available to eligible individuals employed in aboveground or underground uranium mines located in Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Wyoming, South Dakota, Washington, Utah, Idaho, North Dakota, Oregon, and Texas at any time during the period beginning on January 1, 1942, and ending on December 31, 1971. Additional mining states may be included for compensation upon application.

A. Exposure. The claimant must have been exposed to 40 or more working level months (WLMs) of radiation while employed in a uranium mine or worked for at least one year in a uranium mine during the relevant time period.

B. Disease. Compensable diseases include primary lung
cancer and certain nonmalignant respiratory diseases.

Uranium Mill Workers. A payment of $100,000 is available to eligible individuals employed in uranium mills located in Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Wyoming, South Dakota, Washington, Utah, Idaho, North Dakota, Oregon, and Texas at any time during the period beginning on January 1, 1942, and ending on December 31, 1971.

A. Exposure. The claimant must have worked in a uranium mill for at least one year during the relevant time period.

B. Disease. Compensable diseases include primary lung cancer, certain nonmalignant respiratory diseases, renal cancer, and other chronic renal disease including nephritis and kidney tubal tissue injury.

Ore Transporters. A payment of $100,000 is available to eligible individuals employed in the transport of uranium ore or vanadium-uranium ore from mines or mills located in Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Wyoming, South Dakota, Washington, Utah, Idaho, North Dakota, Oregon, and Texas at any time during the period beginning on January 1, 1942, and ending on December 31, 1971.

A. Exposure. The claimant must have transported ore for at least one year during the relevant time period.

B. Disease. Compensable diseases include primary lung cancer, certain nonmalignant respiratory diseases, renal cancer, and other chronic renal disease including nephritis and kidney tubal tissue injury.

Downwinders. A payment of $50,000 is available to an eligible individual who was physically present in one of the affected areas downwind of the Nevada Test Site during a period of atmospheric nuclear testing, and later contracted a specified compensable disease.

A. Exposure. The claimant must have lived or worked downwind of atmospheric nuclear tests in certain counties in Utah, Nevada and Arizona for a period of at least two years during the period beginning on January 21, 1951, and ending on October 31, 1958, or, for the period beginning on June 30, 1962, and ending on July 31, 1962. The designated affected areas are: in the State of Utah, the counties of Beaver, Garfield, Iron, Kane, Millard, Piute, San Juan, Sevier, Washington, and Wayne; in the State of Nevada, the counties of Eureka, Lander, Lincoln, Nye, White Pine, and that portion of Clark County that consists of townships 13 through 16 at ranges 63 through 71; and in the State of Arizona, the counties of Apache, Coconino, Gila, Navajo, Yavapai, and that part of Arizona that is north of the Grand Canyon.

B. Disease. After such period of physical presence, the claimant contracted one of the following specified diseases: leukemia (other than chronic lymphocytic leukemia), multiple myeloma, lymphomas (other than Hodgkin's disease), and primary cancer of the thyroid, male or female breast, esophagus, stomach, pharynx, small intestine, pancreas, bile ducts, gall bladder, salivary gland, urinary bladder, brain, colon, ovary, or liver (except if cirrhosis or hepatitis B is indicated), or lung.

Onsite Participants. A payment of $75,000 is available to eligible individuals who participated onsite in a test involving the atmospheric detonation of a nuclear device, and later developed a specified compensable disease.

A. Exposure. The claimant must have been present "onsite" above or within the official boundaries of the Nevada, Pacific, Trinity, or South Atlantic Test Sites at any time during a period of atmospheric nuclear testing and must have "participated" during that time in the atmospheric detonation of a nuclear device.

B. Disease. After the onsite participation, the claimant contracted one of the following specified diseases: leukemia (other than chronic lymphocytic leukemia), lung cancer, multiple myeloma, lymphomas (other than Hodgkin's disease), and primary cancer of the thyroid, male or female breast, esophagus, stomach, pharynx, small intestine, pancreas, bile ducts, gall bladder, salivary gland, urinary bladder, brain, colon, ovary, or liver (except if cirrhosis or hepatitis B is indicated), or lung.