The U.S. Department of Labor will no longer assume that applicants to Part E of the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program were not exposed to unsafe levels of toxins after 1995 at the Hanford Site and other locations.
A search will be conducted to find denied claims in which that assumption may have been made so the claims can be re-evaluated, said Rachel Leiton, director of the Department of Energy’s Division of Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation, after a town hall meeting Thursday night in the Tri-Cities near the Hanford Site.
A new policy approved in February requires that an industrial hygienist evaluate the potential for toxic substance exposure for all claims. For the last two years, the policy has been to conduct an evaluation only if evidence of exposure above regulatory limits was presented with a claim. The department’s Advisory Board on Toxic Substances and Worker Health recommended the new policy, outlined in Circular No. 17-04. It is the first recommendation of the year-old advisory board to be adopted, but others may be considered when President Donald Trump has a labor secretary in place, Leiton said.
Nominee Alexander Acosta is waiting for a confirmation vote by the full Senate.
Part E of the program pays compensation of up to $250,000 for wage and loss and impairment of workers because of an illness caused by exposure to radiation or toxic substances, such as chemicals, solvents, acids and metals. Survivors of Department of Energy contractors and subcontractors also may be eligible.
