Update on Subtitle B of the Energy Employee Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA)
D.W. Moeller1; R.E. Toohey2; M.P. Moeller1; and D.A. Dooley3 (1Dade Moeller & Associates; 2Oak Ridge Associated Universities; 3MJW Corporation)
During the past six and half decades, hundreds of thousands of people have been employed in nuclear weapons related activities for the Department of Energy or its predecessor agencies. To date, upwards of 40,000 of these employees have developed cancer and filed for compensation under terms of the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000. One of the initial challenges was to develop the necessary infrastructure to ensure that all claims could be processed on an efficient and timely basis. Subsequent challenges included documenting that all assessments are equitable and consistent; and ensuring that each claimant receives "the benefit of the doubt" in any cases in which the required background information and data are not available. Every effort has been made to ensure that the dose assessments have the support of the best available science. The cancer risk models reflect changes in the baseline rates for the various types of cancers among the U.S. population; and they incorporate the latest values of the Dose and Dose Rate Effectiveness Factors, as well as a unique lung cancer model for the evaluation of exposures to radon and its decay products. This presentation will provide a progress update for the EEOICPA and a glimpse of what lies ahead. Work supported by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health under Contract No. 200-2002-00593.
