DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES Public Health Service
NIOSH Tracking Number: NIOSH Claim ID National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
Energy Employee: Energy Employee Name Robert A. Taft Laboratories
4676 Columbia Parkway
Cincinnati, OH 45226-1998
Phone: 513-533-8423
Fax: 513-533-6840
Claimant Name Date
Address
City, Street, Zip, Country
Dear Claimant Name:
As you may know, a petition to add a class of former employees at the Hanford site in Richland, Washington, to the Special Exposure Cohort (SEC) under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA) was received by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). This letter is to provide you with information about the status of this petition and the effect this petition may have on your claim.
On December 10, 2009, in a report to Congress, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Kathleen Sebelius designated the following class for addition to the SEC:
All employees of the Department of Energy, its predecessor agencies, and its contractors and subcontractors who worked at the Hanford site in Richland, Washington, from October 1, 1943 through June 30, 1972, for a number of work days aggregating at least 250 work days, occurring either solely under this employment or in combination with work days within the parameters established for one or more other classes of employees included in the Special Exposure Cohort.
Since Congress did not take any action within 30 days of the submission of this report, this designation became effective on January 9, 2010.
Because our records indicate that you, or the energy employee on the claim, worked at the Hanford site in Richland, Washington, from October 1, 1943 through June 30, 1972, and were diagnosed with an SEC-specified cancer, your case will be reviewed to make a determination on whether it meets the criteria for inclusion in this new SEC class.
Since it is the Department of Labor (DOL) that determines eligibility into new classes in the SEC, your case is being returned to DOL for it to review the case and make a determination on eligibility in the new class. Qualification for SEC membership requires certain medical and employment criteria be met. You will be informed of the result of this review when it is complete. If you do not meet the criteria for inclusion in the new class, DOL will advise NIOSH and we will resume the dose reconstruction process.
I hope this information is helpful. Should you have any questions about the SEC process, or about eligibility requirements for the new class of employees that has been added to the SEC, you should contact OCAS toll-free at 1-877-222-7570, directly at 513-533-6800, or by email at ocas@cdc.gov. Additional information about OCAS and the SEC procedures can be found on the OCAS Web site at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/ocas.
Sincerely,
[Signature on File ]
Stuart L. Hinnefeld, Interim Director
Office of Compensation Analysis and Support
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
Representatives