Town hall meetings in Amherst, NY, on Sept. 23 and Rochester, NY, on Sept. 25 to assist nuclear weapons workers to be hosted by US Labor Department

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor will host two town hall meetings: the first on Tuesday, Sept. 23, in Amherst, New York, and the second on Thursday, Sept. 25, in Rochester, New York, to notify current and former nuclear weapons employees who worked at 39 covered facilities in New York about the benefits available to them under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act. These meetings are open to the public and preregistration is not required.

"We believe there are many current and former nuclear weapons workers living in New York who have yet to file a claim under the EEOICPA and obtain the compensation they are entitled to," said Division of Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Director Rachel P. Leiton. "We urge all current and former workers and their survivors to come to these meetings or contact our New York resource center at 800-941-3943 to learn more about the EEOICPA and file a claim under the program."

The program, which is administered by DEEOIC, part of the Labor Department's Office of Workers' Compensation Programs, provides lump-sum compensation and medical benefits to current and former nuclear weapons workers. Survivors of qualified workers may also be entitled to benefits.

At the 9:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. EDT presentations on Tuesday, Sept. 23, in Amherst and the 11 a.m. EDT presentation on Thursday, Sept. 25, in Rochester, DEEOIC staff will present information about the medical benefits provided to claimants who have been approved under the EEOICPA, including home health care services and how to better serve EEOICPA claimants.

During the 9:30 a.m. EDT meeting on Thursday, Sept. 25, in Rochester, DEEOIC staff will present an overview of Parts B and E of the EEOICPA. Staff from DEEOIC's Cleveland, Ohio, district office and New York resource center will be available for extended hours on both Sept. 23 and 25 to assist individuals with the filing of new claims under the EEOICPA and to provide claimants with updates on their existing claims.

To date, $399.2 million in EEOICPA compensation and medical benefits has been paid to 4,607 claimants living in New York, while more than $10.7 billion has been paid nationwide.

Covered facilities in New York include: Allegheny-Ludlum Steel, Watervliet; American Machine and Foundry, Brooklyn; Ashland Oil, Tonawanda; Baker and Williams Warehouses, New York; Bethlehem Steel, Lackawanna; Bliss & Laughlin Steel, Buffalo; Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton; Burns & Roe Inc., Maspeth; Carborundum Co., Niagara Falls; Colonie Interim Storage Site (also known as National Lead Co.), Colonie (Albany); Crucible Steel Co., Syracuse; Electro Metallurgical, Niagara Falls; Environmental Measurements Laboratory, New York; Fairchild Hiller Corp., Farmingdale, Long Island; General Astrometals, Yonkers; Hooker Electrochemical, Niagara Falls; International Rare Metals Refinery Inc., Mt. Kisco; Ithaca Gun Co., Ithaca; Lake Ontario Ordnance Works, Niagara Falls; Linde Air Products, Buffalo; Linde Ceramics Plant, Tonawanda; New York University, New York; Peek Street Facility, Schenectady; Radium Chemical Co., New York; Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy; Sacandaga Facility, Glenville; SAM Laboratories — Columbia University, New York City; Seaway Industrial Park, Tonawanda; Separations Process Research Unit at Knolls Lab, Schenectady; Simonds Saw and Steel Co., Lockport; Staten Island Warehouse, New York; Sylvania Corning Nuclear Corp. — Bayside Laboratories, Bayside; Sylvania Corning Nuclear Corp. — Hicksville Plant, Hicksville; Titanium Alloys Manufacturing, Niagara Falls; Trudeau Foundation, Saranac Lake; University of Rochester Atomic Energy Project, Rochester; Utica St. Warehouse, Buffalo; West Valley Demonstration Project, West Valley; and Wolff-Alport Chemical Corp., Brooklyn. A searchable list of covered facilities is available at https://hsspublic.energy.gov/search/facility/findfacility.aspx.

On July 31, 2001, the Labor Department began administering Part B of the EEOICPA. Part B covers current and former workers who have been diagnosed with cancer, beryllium disease or silicosis, and whose illness was caused by exposure to radiation, beryllium or silica while working directly for either the U.S. Department of Energy or for a contractor or subcontractor of that department or working as a designated Atomic Weapons Employer or a beryllium vendor. Part E, created by an amendment to the EEOICPA on Oct. 28, 2004, provides federal compensation and medical benefits to Department of Energy contractors and subcontractors who worked at covered facilities and sustained an illness because of exposure to toxic substances.

Amherst town hall meeting details: Meeting Date and Location: Tuesday, Sept. 23 Holiday Inn Buffalo-Amherst 1881 Niagara Falls Blvd. Amherst, NY 14228

Medical Benefits Presentations: 9:30 a.m. EDT 1:30 p.m. EDT (Note: the same presentation will be given during each session)

District Office and 9 a.m. to noon EDTResource Center Staff Hours: 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. EDT

Rochester town hall meetings details:Meeting Date & Location: Thursday, Sept. 25 Courtyard by Marriott Rochester Brighton 33 Corporate Woods Drive Rochester, NY 14623

Program Overview Presentation: 9:30 a.m. EDT

Medical Benefits Presentation: 11 a.m. EDT

District Office and

Resource Center Staff Hours: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. EDT