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The
U.S. Department of Labor announced that it has paid more than $1
billion in compensation and medical benefits to 9,134 Tennessee
residents under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation
Program Act (EEOICPA). The act was created to assist those individuals
who became ill as a result of working in the atomic weapons industry.
Survivors of such individuals may also be eligible for benefits. Since
the implementation of the act, the Labor Department has paid 51,331
claimants more than $4.8 billion in compensation and medical benefits
nationwide.
"Many covered facilities, including the Oak Ridge
National Laboratory, the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant (K-25) and
the Y-12 Plant, are located in the state of Tennessee. Individuals who
worked at these and other covered facilities located throughout the
state sacrificed their health to build this nation's nuclear defense
programs. Therefore, I am proud to be able to announce that the
department has paid more than $1 billion in benefits to deserving
Tennessee residents," said Rachel P. Leiton, director of the
department's Division of Energy Employees Occupational Illness
Compensation, which administers the EEOICPA. "But we also believe that
there may be others eligible in Tennessee who have not yet filed for
these benefits." These individuals are encouraged to contact the Labor
Department toll-free at 866-481-0411."
The EEOICPA is divided
into two parts, B and E, each having unique criteria for awarding
benefits. Part B of the act was implemented in July 2001, and covers
current or former workers who have been diagnosed with cancers,
beryllium disease or silicosis, and whose illness was caused by
exposure to radiation, beryllium or silica while working directly for
the U.S. Department of Energy, that department's contractors or
subcontractors, a designated Atomic Weapons Employer or a beryllium
vendor. Individuals or their survivors found eligible under Part B may
receive a lump sum compensation payment of $150,000 and medical
expenses for their covered condition.
Part E of the act was
created as an amendment to the EEOICPA in October 2004, transferring
the old Part D from DOE to the Labor Department. Part E provides
coverage to Department of Energy contractor or subcontractor employees
who developed any illness, including cancer, beryllium disease and
silicosis, as a result of occupational exposure to a toxic substance at
a covered Department of Energy facility. Workers found eligible under
Part E of the EEOICPA receive payment of their medical expenses for
their covered illness and may also be eligible for impairment and/or
wage loss compensation. Survivors found eligible under Part E receive a
lump sum compensation payment of $125,000 and may also be eligible to
receive additional compensation if the worker experienced wage loss due
to the accepted condition.
The Department of Labor's record of
administering the EEOICPA demonstrates that our nation's promises made
to Cold War veterans are being kept. The Labor Department continues to
strengthen its processes and procedures, maintain its outreach efforts,
improve services to claimants, and adjudicate and pay eligible claims
as promptly and accurately as possible.
The Labor Department
maintains 11 resource centers nationwide that provide in-person and
telephone-based assistance to service individuals regardless of where
they live. Tennessee residents needing additional information or who
want to file a claim under the EEOICPA may call the Oak Ridge Resource
Center toll-free at 866-481-0411.
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