Radiation Dose Reconstruction

The NIOSH Division of Compensation Analysis and Support (DCAS)* conducts activities to assist claimants and support the role of the Secretary of Health and Human Services under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 (The Act).

Our Web site changes frequently as we update and add new information. We encourage you to use the "refresh" or "reload" feature on your Web browser to ensure that you are viewing the current version of our Web site.

National Day of Remembrance

Honoring Quiet Sacrifice

This month, our country recognizes a group of workers who quietly made personal sacrifices to protect our country and our freedom. October 30, 2012, will be the fourth National Day of Remembrance for American nuclear weapons program workers and uranium miners, millers, and ore transporters.

These workers did not just do a job. During a time when our country was at war, and later, during the Cold War, they discreetly built a nuclear weapons program to protect and defend their families, neighbors, and fellow citizens across the country. In doing so, some of these workers were exposed, often unknowingly, to the types of workplace risks that NIOSH now strives every day to prevent. Some of these workers sacrificed their health. Some lost their lives as a result of these exposures.

From the beginning of our involvement in this compensation program, NIOSH's core values have been an integral part of our activities. In particular, the core values of quality of science, transparency, and accountability are at the heart of the actions, decisions, and communications in this program.

As NIOSH continues to fulfill its role under EEOICPA, we would like to again recognize our debt of gratitude owed to these workers. They quietly made sacrifices to protect our country. NIOSH honors that debt with our commitment to quality of science, transparency, and accountability in our work.

We invite you to join NIOSH in honoring these workers on the fourth National Day of Remembrance, October 30, 2012.

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FAQ for October

Each month we feature a FAQ that captures comments and concerns that we sometimes receive from claimants. Additional FAQs on a variety of topics similar to the one listed below can be found on our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) page.

• How will NIOSH complete a dose reconstruction for a case when there is little or no exposure monitoring information available?
  
  

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DCAS News

• Notice of Revision of Guidelines on Non-Radiogenic Cancers
  
  In a notice of proposed rulemaking published in the Federal Register on March 21, 2011, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) proposed to treat chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) as a radiogenic cancer under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 (EEOICPA) (76 FR 15268). On February 6, 2012, the final rule was published. Under the final rule, CLL will now be treated as being potentially caused by radiation and as potentially compensable under EEOICPA. This reverses the earlier decision by HHS to exclude this cancer from consideration. This change will become effective on March 7, 2012.
  
  
  • Notice of Proposed Rulemaking:
    Guidelines for Determining Probability of Causation Under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000; Revision of Guidelines on Non-Radiogenic Cancers
    (March 21, 2011)
     PDF 270 KB (8 pages)
    
    
  • Final Rule:
    Guidelines for Determining Probability of Causation Under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 (The Act); Revision of Guidelines on Non-Radiogenic Cancers
    (February 6, 2012)
    PDF 145 KB (1 pages)
    
    Please Note: The Final Rule does not add CLL to the list of "specified cancers" or qualifying cancers for the Special Exposure Cohort.
    
    
• NIOSH Announces Intention to Review Scientific and Administrative Issues Pertaining to EEOICPA Program Responsibilities
  
  NIOSH announced that as the tenth anniversary of The Act approaches, it is an appropriate time to evaluate our progress in carrying out our responsibilities under The Act. In addition, NIOSH intends to evaluate how we are poised to meet ongoing and potential future needs.
  
  NIOSH will:
  
  
  • Begin a scientific and administrative review of responsibilities under EEOICPA. This review will include:
    
    
    • The performance of the three regulations adopted by NIOSH to carry out the purposes of The Act
      
      
    • The scientific issues that have arisen during the past 10 years that have impacted
      
      
      • The process for dose reconstruction
        
        
      • The process for adding new members to the SEC
        
        
    • The administrative processes used by NIOSH to carry out its responsibilities under The Act
      
      
    • Other issues that have been brought to the attention of NIOSH by stakeholders
      
      
  • Initiate a national search for a new director of DCAS.
    
    
    • Stuart Hinnefeld, Technical Program Manager in DCAS, will assume the duties of Interim DCAS Director effective November 2, 2009, pending the selection of a new permanent director.
      
      
  Note: The six reports posted below resulted from this review. Please visit the Ten-Year Review of the NIOSH Radiation Dose Reconstruction Program (NIOSH Docket 194) page of the NIOSH Web site for copies of these reports. Comments were accepted through 5:00 p.m. EDT on July 31, 2011. The public comment period is now closed.
  
  
  1. NIOSH Dose Reconstruction Program Ten Year Review - Phase I Report on Quality of Science
     
     
  2. NIOSH Dose Reconstruction Program Ten Year Review - Phase I Report on Timeliness of Task Accomplishments
     
     
  3. NIOSH Dose Reconstruction Program Ten Year Review - Phase I Report on Special Exposure Cohort (SEC)
     
     
  4. NIOSH Dose Reconstruction Program Ten Year Review - Phase I Report on Dose Reconstruction
     
     
  5. NIOSH Dose Reconstruction Program Ten Year Review - Phase I Report on Quality of Service
     
     
  6. NIOSH Radiation Dose Reconstruction Program Ten Year Review - Phase I Report on Recommendations Excerpted from the Five Sections Phase I Report
  
  
The document below contains a list of the action items NIOSH is currently working on in response to the Ten Year Review:

Draft: NIOSH Dose Reconstruction Program Ten Year Review - NIOSH Follow Up Action Items Concerning Dose Reconstruction
PDF 100 KB (5 pages)

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About Our Web Site

DCAS expects a wide variety of people to visit this Web site. Therefore, we have included as much information as possible on DCAS, our activities, and The Act. Our Web site changes frequently as we update and add new information. We encourage you to use the "refresh" or "reload" feature on your Web browser to ensure that you are viewing the current version of our Web site.

If you are having difficulty navigating our Web site, the Web SIte Navigation Help page provides information on our site layout, navigation and viewing tips, how to search our site, and how to get help and submit feedback on the site. If you have any questions or still have problems finding the information you need, please contact us at 513-533-6800 (toll-free at 1-877-222-7570) or by email at dcas@cdc.gov or ocas@cdc.gov.

If you would like to receive email messages notifying you of when an update to our Web site has occurred, please email us at ocaswebupdates@cdc.gov with your request.

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