EEOICPA CIRCULAR NO. 12-05

EEOICPA CIRCULAR NO. 12-05 December 2, 2011

SUBJECT: Employment at 17 new facilities is now covered under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA) and additional years of employment have been added at three facilities.

The purpose of this Circular is to announce that 17 additional facilities associated with the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act (UMTRCA) are Department of Energy (DOE) facilities under EEOICPA and three facilities already covered under EEOICPA have additional covered time periods associated with environmental remediation at those facilities.

In EEOICPA Circular No. 11-01, the Division of Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation (DEEOIC) determined that the Uranium Mill at Shiprock was a Department of Energy (DOE) facility, for the purposes of EEOICPA. The Uranium Mill at Shiprock, however, is only one of the facilities associated with UMTRCA. Since the release of that earlier Circular, DEEOIC has considered whether additional facilities meet the statutory definition of a DOE facility. As a result of this review, and for the same reasons given in EEOICPA Circular No. 11-01, DEEOIC has determined that the following facilities meet the DOE facility definition based upon DOE-funded environmental remediation efforts for the years noted in parenthesis:

1. Uranium Mill in Monument Valley (AZ) (May 1989 -Febraury 1990; September 1992 – May 1994)

2. Uranium Mill in Tuba City (AZ) (January 1985 – February 1986; January 1988 – April 1990)

3. Climax Uranium Mill in Grand Junction (CO) (December 1988 – August 1994)

4. Uranium Mill in Gunnison (CO) (September 1991 – December 1995)

5. Uranium Mill in Maybell (CO) (May 1995 – September 1998)

6. Uranium Mill in Naturita (CO) (May – November 1994 and June 1996 - September 1998)

7. New Uranium Mill in Rifle (CO) (September 1988 – September 1989 and April 1992 - October 1996)

8. Old Uranium Mill in Rifle (CO) (September 1988 – September 1989 and April 1992 - October 1996)

9. Uranium Mill No. 1 in Slick Rock (East) (CO) (1995 -1996)

10. Uranium Mill No. 2 in Slick Rock (West) (CO) (1995 -1996)

11. Uranium Mill in Lowman (ID) (1992; 1994 - present)

12. Uranium Mill in Ambrosia Lake (NM) (July 1987- April 1989 and October 1992 – July 1995)

13. Uranium Mill and Disposal Cell in Lakeview (OR) (1986 - 1989)

14. Uranium Mill in Falls City (TX) (January 1992 - June 1994)

15. Uranium Mill in Mexican Hat (UT) (July – October 1987 and then from September 1992 – February 1995)

16. Uranium Mill in Riverton (WY) (May 1988- September 1990)

17. Uranium Mill in Converse County (Spook Site) (WY) (April – September 1989)

Additionally, while each of the following facilities is already covered under EEOICPA, additional years of coverage correlating to periods of environmental remediation performed under contract to DOE are also being added under this Circular. This remediation was performed as part of UMTRCA for all locations noted in this Circular, except for the remediation at the Uranium Mill in Monticello for which the remediation was performed or under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). The years added to these facilities are as follows:

1. Uranium Mill in Durango (CO), currently covered for 1948 – 1953, is now also covered for remediation under UMTRCA for the period October 1986 - May 1991.

2. Vitro Manufacturing in Canonsburg, PA, currently covered as a beryllium vendor facility for 1948, and as an atomic weapons employer facility for 1942-1959 (with residual radiation coverage for 1958-1985), is now also covered as a DOE facility for remediation under UMTRCA for 1983-1985 and 1996.

3. Uranium Mill in Monticello (UT), currently covered for 1948-1960, is now also covered for remediation performed by DOE and DOE contractors under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) for the period 1983-2000.

Coverage for the Uranium Mill at Shiprock, NM is unchanged by this Circular.

In making determinations on whether the facilities in this Circular are covered under EEOICPA and for which years, DEEOIC relied upon documentation from DOE, including their reports entitled, “A Report to Congress on Long-Term Stewardship,” and “Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action Surface Project 1979-1999, End of Project Report,” as well as a September 28, 2011 letter from Dr. Patricia R. Worthington, Director of DOE’s Office of Health and Safety and its attachment entitled, “Subcontractors on UMTRCA Contracts by UMTRCA Site.” For each period newly identified above, the documentation establishes that DOE was responsible for remediation and funded contractors to accomplish this work.

To aid DEEOIC staff in understanding the names of DOE contractors and subcontractors that performed the work identified in this Circular, a document entitled, “UMTRCA remediation subcontracts” will be made available for claims adjudication purposes.

Given the findings of DEEOIC, each of the facilities identified in this Circular is a DOE facility for purposes of the EEOICPA for the period noted, and staff should handle claims in a manner consistent with this guidance.

Rachel P. Leiton

Director, Division of Energy Employees

Occupational Illness Compensation

Distribution List No. 1: Claims Examiners, Supervisory Claims Examiners, Technical Assistants, Customer Service Representatives, Fiscal Officers, FAB District Managers, Operation Chiefs, Hearing Representatives, District Office Mail & File Section