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National Radiation Exposure Screening & Education Program

The Radiation Exposure Screening & Education Program (RESEP) helps individuals who live (or lived) in areas where U.S. nuclear weapons testing occurred.

RESEP was created by the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) Amendments of 2000 to help thousands of individuals diagnosed with cancer and other diseases caused by exposure to nuclear fallout or nuclear materials such as uranium.

The program awards grants to health care providers in the 12 states most affected by the Cold War's nuclear weapons industry. The grantees serve radiation-exposed individuals and help them establish eligibility for the Radiation Exposure Compensation Program.

About Radiation Exposure

The United States conducted 227 above-ground and 828 below-ground nuclear weapons tests between July 1945 and November 1962. Many of the above-ground tests released radioactive material into the atmosphere that reached the ground as nuclear fallout.

Because the dangers of radiation exposure were unknown at the time, workers were not protected and people who lived near the test sites were not warned or evacuated.

Workers and residents may have been exposed to radiation externally -- touching fallout on the ground -- or internally -- breathing contaminated air, eating contaminated foods and drinking contaminated water.

People exposed to radiation, particularly the significant amounts of radiation generated by the nuclear weapons tests, are at risk for certain cancers and other serious health problems.

High-Impact States: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wyoming
Clinics in: Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah