Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensations Program

The Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA) provides compensation and medical benefits to current and former employees, contractors and subcontractors who may have become ill as a result of workplace exposures to radiation or other toxic substances while they were employees of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) or its predecessor agencies. EEOICPA also provides benefits to their survivors. Employees of DOE designated Atomic Weapons Employers and beryllium vendors are also eligible for compensation. The Act was enacted by Congress in 2000.

There are two different compensation programs - Part B and Part E. In some cases, employees or their survivors are eligible for compensation from both programs:

Part B - covers current or former workers who have been diagnosed with one of 22 cancers, beryllium disease, or silicosis whose illness(es) was caused by exposure to radiation, beryllium or silica while working directly for DOE, DOE contractors or subcontractors. An important part of Part B claim decisions is a dose reconstruction that is calculated by the National Institute on Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). NIOSH requests claimants' exposure records via DOE's Chicago office who then forwards them to the corresponding site office. In order for a claim to be approved, the claimant's probability of causation must be greater than 50%.

Part E - Provides coverage to DOE contractor and subcontractor employees who developed any illness, including cancer, beryllium disease, and silicosis, as a result of occupational exposure to any toxic substances at a DOE facility.

Special Exposure Cohort - If adequate records cannot be located for claimants and NIOSH feels they are unable to complete adequate dose reconstructions to determine probability for certain time periods, a Special Exposure Cohort (SEC) will be considered. If an SEC is established, it allows eligible claims to be compensated without the completion of a radiation dose reconstruction or determination of the probability of causation.

Brookhaven National Lab had a class designated as a Special Exposure Cohort (SEC) on December 30, 2009. The class includes all employees of the DOE, its predecessor agencies, and its contractors and subcontractors who worked at BNL from January 1, 1947 through December 31, 1979, for a number of work days aggregating at least 250, occurring either solely under this employment, or in combination with work days within the parameters established for one or more other classes of employees in the Special Exposure Cohort.

On June 10, 2012 an additional class was added to BNL's SEC. The new class covers all employees of the DOE, its predecessor agencies, and its contractors and subcontractors who worked at BNL from January 1, 1980 through December 31, 1993. All potential claimants must meet the same requirements listed above.