By: Demijon Dicen
Special Exposure Cohort
http://denver.cbslocal.com/video?auto&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=9425620
"All employees of the Department
of Energy, its predecessor agencies, and their contractors and subcontractors
who worked at the Rocky Flats Plant in Golden, Colorado, from April 1, 1952
through December 31, 1983, for a number of work days aggregating at least 250
work days, occurring either solely under this employment or in combination with
work days within the parameters established for one or more other classes of
employees included in the Special Exposure Cohort"
- Rachel Leiton, Director of Division of Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation
http://www.dol.gov/owcp/energy/regs/compliance/PolicyandProcedures/finalcircularhtml/EEOICPACircular14-05.htm
- Rachel Leiton, Director of Division of Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation
http://www.dol.gov/owcp/energy/regs/compliance/PolicyandProcedures/finalcircularhtml/EEOICPACircular14-05.htm
Special Exposure Cohort: Successes
While the EEOICPA may show little indication of justice for all of the affected Rocky Flats workers, there has been some success through the creation and implementation of the Special Exposure Cohort.
1. Workers who qualify under the Special Exposure Cohort (SEC) do not have to show proof of personal histories of radiation doses or other forms of poisoning from exposure to heavy metals and dangerous chemicals (Leiton, Rachel).
http://www.dol.gov/owcp/energy/regs/compliance/PolicyandProcedures/finalcircularhtml/EEOICPACircular14-05.htm
2. Workers under SEC will gain an additional $150,000 on top of the medical compensation, if approved (Draper 2014).
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_25184884/rocky-flats-workers-turn-out-hear-rules-new
3. Claimants under SEC do not have to undergo dosage reconstruction through NIOSH (CDC, 2014).
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/ocas/faqssec.html
4. Workers under SEC will cover 22 types of cancers, which are already presumed to be a work-related illness (CDC, 2014).
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/ocas/ocaseeoi.html
1. Workers who qualify under the Special Exposure Cohort (SEC) do not have to show proof of personal histories of radiation doses or other forms of poisoning from exposure to heavy metals and dangerous chemicals (Leiton, Rachel).
http://www.dol.gov/owcp/energy/regs/compliance/PolicyandProcedures/finalcircularhtml/EEOICPACircular14-05.htm
2. Workers under SEC will gain an additional $150,000 on top of the medical compensation, if approved (Draper 2014).
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_25184884/rocky-flats-workers-turn-out-hear-rules-new
3. Claimants under SEC do not have to undergo dosage reconstruction through NIOSH (CDC, 2014).
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/ocas/faqssec.html
4. Workers under SEC will cover 22 types of cancers, which are already presumed to be a work-related illness (CDC, 2014).
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/ocas/ocaseeoi.html
U.S. Senator Mark Udall's Commentary on SEC
"After years of trying to get numerous presidents and Cabinet secretaries to address the workers' concerns, the Obama administration heeded our calls and is taking steps to ensure more Rocky Flats workers are able to secure the care they earned under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness and Compensation Program Act. A federal advisory board recommended in October that Rocky Flats workers who helped produce our nation's nuclear weapons arsenal between 1952 and 1983 be granted a "special cohort" status, meaning they can access a fast-tracked approval process to secure health services.
While this represents important progress, we are far from done. Those who worked at Rocky Flats after 1983 still face unreasonable burdens to prove that their illnesses are related to their work with the nation's nuclear stockpile — and many more workers exposed to toxic substances still face uncertainty as the Labor Department reviews their claims. We are working on a bipartisan proposal in Congress to eliminate this uncertainty and improve care for all of the Coloradans who became sick because of their work at Rocky Flats.
Just as Rocky Flats workers' tenacity helped our nation win the Cold War, we will keep fighting until all of our brave nuclear workers obtain the benefits our nation owes them." (Udall, 2014).
http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_25201489/flats-workers-earned-justice
While this represents important progress, we are far from done. Those who worked at Rocky Flats after 1983 still face unreasonable burdens to prove that their illnesses are related to their work with the nation's nuclear stockpile — and many more workers exposed to toxic substances still face uncertainty as the Labor Department reviews their claims. We are working on a bipartisan proposal in Congress to eliminate this uncertainty and improve care for all of the Coloradans who became sick because of their work at Rocky Flats.
Just as Rocky Flats workers' tenacity helped our nation win the Cold War, we will keep fighting until all of our brave nuclear workers obtain the benefits our nation owes them." (Udall, 2014).
http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_25201489/flats-workers-earned-justice
Special Exposure Cohort: Limitations
1. Why is the Special Exposure Cohort not covered until 1989?
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"The reason that NIOSH recommended the SEC class be extended to through
1983 is because they admitted they did not have enough bioassay data to
reconstruct dose for neptunium, thorium and U 233. They deferred
judgment on the later years until they could investigate further." - Terrie Barrie, February 9th, 2015
evaluation_of_the_potential_for_internal_dose_from_np-237_after_1983.pdf | |
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"Yet they recently issued this paper on neptunium (shown above), which admits that they don't have the bioassay data to reconstruct dose for neptunium, so they will simply use the bioassay information for plutonium exposure. For some strange reason, using plutonium data was not permissible for the pre-1984 years, but it is for 1/1/1984 forward." -Terrie Barrie, February 9th, 2015
2. Why does the Special Exposure Cohort not include classes from 1983 to 2005 (end Rocky Flats cleanup)?
2. Why does the Special Exposure Cohort not include classes from 1983 to 2005 (end Rocky Flats cleanup)?
"The SEC petitioner and I will not be satisfied with the class ending in 1989. Procedures and policies did not change the day the FBI raided Rocky Flats. In fact many of the problems the FBI encountered existed right up to the day the plant closed. I have attached a photo purportedly from building 865 which was taken in 2000. You will note the lack of protective equipment. You will also note that the only thing that prevents the worker in the blue coveralls is a rope and the radioactive area warning sign." - Terrie Barrie, February 9th, 2015
1. Draper, Electra. "Rocky Flats Workers' Burden Still Heavy Even with New Legal Status." The Denver Post. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2014.
2. "Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act." U.S. Department of Labor. DOL, n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2014.
3. Leiton, Rachel. "EEOICPA CIRCULAR NO. 14-05." Department of Labor. DOL, 11 Jan. 2014. Web. 05 Mar. 2015.
4. "List of Qualifying Cancer for the SEC." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2014.
5. "NIOSH Program Area: Radiation Dosage." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2014.
6 ."Rocky Flats Workers Earned Justice." The Denver Post. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2014.
7. Udall, Mark. "Rocky Flats Workers Earned Justice." The Denver Post. Denver Post, n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2014.
8. "U.S. Department of Labor - Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP) - Key Personnel in OWCP." U.S. Department of Labor. DOL, n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2011
2. "Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act." U.S. Department of Labor. DOL, n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2014.
3. Leiton, Rachel. "EEOICPA CIRCULAR NO. 14-05." Department of Labor. DOL, 11 Jan. 2014. Web. 05 Mar. 2015.
4. "List of Qualifying Cancer for the SEC." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2014.
5. "NIOSH Program Area: Radiation Dosage." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2014.
6 ."Rocky Flats Workers Earned Justice." The Denver Post. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2014.
7. Udall, Mark. "Rocky Flats Workers Earned Justice." The Denver Post. Denver Post, n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2014.
8. "U.S. Department of Labor - Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP) - Key Personnel in OWCP." U.S. Department of Labor. DOL, n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2011