U.S. Department of Labor notifies Metallurgical Laboratory workers of new Special Exposure Cohort designation

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor today announced its notification to former Metallurgical Laboratory workers about a new class of employees added to the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act's (EEOICPA) Special Exposure Cohort (SEC). The EEOICPA provides compensation and medical benefits to employees who became ill as a result of working in the nuclear weapons industry. Survivors of qualified employees may also be entitled to benefits.

A worker who is included in a designated SEC class of employees, and who is diagnosed with one of 22 specified cancers, may receive a presumption of causation under the act. The new SEC class includes all Atomic Weapons Employer employees who worked at the Metallurgical Laboratory in Chicago, Ill., from Aug. 13, 1942, through June 30, 1946, for at least 250 workdays, occurring either solely under this employment or in combination with workdays within one or more other classes of employees in the SEC.

To date, more than $3.8 million in compensation and medical benefits has been paid to Metallurgical Laboratory employees, and more than $4.6 billion in compensation and medical benefits has been paid to eligible claimants nationwide under the act.

All potentially eligible Metallurgical Laboratory employees are urged to contact the department's Paducah Resource Center toll-free at 866-534-0599 to schedule an appointment for claim-filing assistance.

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