US Department of Labor adds new information to Site Exposure Matrices website about toxic substances at nuclear weapons facilities

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor today announced its continued expansion of the Site Exposure Matrices website with the release of information on an additional 23 U.S. Department of Energy nuclear weapons facilities, including Rocky Flats in Colorado. The information for these facilities was made available online to the public at http://www.sem.dol.gov this month, bringing the total number of facilities in the enhanced version of the website to 92 of the 116 DOE facilities covered under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act.

The enhancements to the SEM website began in May of this year with an initial release of information on 48 sites, followed by an additional 21 sites released in July. The more robust public version of the SEM website provides additional ways to look for information regarding toxic substances at DOE nuclear weapons facilities covered under Part E of the EEOICPA. The enhanced SEM website contains more data and allows users to more easily identify interrelationships among DOE buildings, work processes, labor categories and exposure to toxic substances. In addition to exposure data, the SEM database contains information documenting confirmed causal relationships between certain toxic substances and diagnosed medical conditions.

"We appreciate the Department of Energy's agreement to make 92 of its sites fully accessible," said Shelby Hallmark, director of the Labor Department's Office of Workers' Compensation Programs. "We'll keep working with that department until all our claimants are able to access the same type of data examiners use when evaluating Part E claims."

Initially, the full SEM database was only available internally within the Labor Department due to DOE's concerns with national security. Through extensive discussions and collaboration between the two departments, the public now has access to a granular level SEM database.

Part E of the EEOICPA provides federal compensation and medical benefits to DOE contractors and subcontractors who worked at certain DOE facilities and sustained an occupational illness as a result of exposure to toxic substances. Certain survivors of these workers are also eligible for benefits. Following the enactment of Part E in 2004, the Labor Department launched an effort to create the SEM database to assist claimants in substantiating their Part E claims. The Labor Department continues to expand the database as new information is received and is always interested in obtaining new information to supplement and enhance the SEM database. Individuals can send information or comments regarding the SEM by completing a form provided on the website, sending an e-mail to info@dol-sem-public.com or writing by regular mail to the Site Exposure Matrices Administrator, P.O. Box 1375, Hilliard, OH 43026-1375.

Editor's note: A chart listing the facilities added to the enhanced version of the SEM website follows this news release.

Sites added to expanded Site Exposure Matrices website October 2010