Expansions may give former workers at two Idaho laboratories easier access to EEOICPA compensation for illnesses

Who: Former Argonne National Laboratory-West and Idaho National Laboratory employees in Scoville, Idaho, may qualify for a presumption of causation if they are included in a designated Special Exposure Cohort class of employees, and have a diagnosis of one of 22 specified cancers. For nuclear weapons workers applying for compensation under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act, a presumption of causation can simplify the process. The change comes after the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services amended its Special Exposure Cohort in June 2016.

Affected employees: All employees of the U.S. Department of Energy, its predecessor agencies, and their contractors and subcontractors who worked at the Argonne National Laboratory-West or Idaho National Laboratory sites in Scoville, Idaho.

Qualifying dates of employment: Qualifying employees must have worked at least 250 days total, either solely under this employment, or in combination with workdays within the parameters established for one or more classes of employees included in the SEC. 

• Argonne National Laboratory-West site: April 10, 1951 through Dec. 31, 1957
• Idaho National Laboratory site: Employees monitored for external radiation at the Idaho National Laboratory (e.g., having a film badge or TLD dosimeter) from March 1, 1970 through Dec. 31, 1974.

Effective date:  July 3, 2016

Background: The EEOICPA provides compensation and medical benefits to employees whose work in the nuclear weapons industry made them ill. The act provides benefits also to survivors of qualified workers. To date, the U.S. Department of Labor has paid $45.9 million in EEOICPA compensation and medical benefits to 309 Argonne National Laboratory-West claimants, and $218.5 million in EEOICPA compensation and medical benefits to 1,533 Idaho National Laboratory claimants. The department has paid more than $12.6 billion in compensation and benefits nationwide.

For additional information about the new cohorts, or to schedule an appointment for claim-filing assistance, contact the department’s Idaho Resource Center toll-free at (800) 861-8608.