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Background:
The Former Worker Medical Screening Program (FWP)
supports the Office of Health and Safety's mission
and strategic response by funding external teams of
health experts to independently offer medical screening
to former workers who may be at significant risk for
occupational diseases.
The FWP teams collect available site and deidentified
worker health information from these projects, which
is made available to DOE and other interested parties.
Individual project final reports will also be made
available to DOE workers and communities.
The FWP was first established in 1994, following
the issuance of the 1993
Defense Authorization Act (PL 102-484)", which
called for DOE to assist workers with determining
whether they had health issues related to their prior
work with DOE. Site- and population-specific medical
screening efforts were initiated in 1996. The FWP
has been conducted using cooperative agreements held
by consortia of universities, labor unions, and commercial
organizations with expertise in administration of
medical programs.
These medical screening projects provide notification
to members of the at-risk groups and medical screening
examinations for interested individuals. These examinations
have been designed to check for adverse health outcomes
related to occupational exposures (such as beryllium,
asbestos, silica, welding fumes, lead, cadmium, chromium,
and solvents).
Workers eligible for this program include all former
DOE federal and contractor employees from all DOE
sites.
In FY 2005, DOE also initiated a separate beryllium
sensitization screening effort for employees of defunct
DOE beryllium vendors who were employed with these
companies while they performed work for DOE. These
individuals typically have no other access to the
beryllium sensitization screening, because their employers
are no longer in business.
Most participants of the FWP and the beryllium vendor
screening program have been reassured that they were
not harmed, and those with medical findings have been
assisted with referral for medical follow-up and/or
to the Department of Labor's Energy
Employee Occupational Illness Compensation Program
(EEOICP).
Program Manager: Mary
Fields
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