§ 83.9 What information must a petition include? ( a ) All petitions must provide identifying and contact information on the petitioner(s). The information required to justify a petition differs, depending on the basis of the petition. If the petition is by a claimant in response to a finding by NIOSH that the dose reconstruction for the claimant cannot be completed, then the petition must provide only the justification specified under paragraph (b) of this section. All other petitions must provide only the information specified under paragraph (c) of this section. The informational requirements for petitions are also summarized in Table 1 at the end of this section.
( b ) The petition must notify NIOSH that the claimant is petitioning on the basis that NIOSH found, under 42 CFR 82.12, that the dose reconstruction for the claimant could not be completed due to insufficient records and information.
( c ) The petition must include the following: ( 1 ) A proposed class definition[1] specifying: ( i ) The DOE facility or AWE facility[2] at which the class worked;
( ii ) The location or locations at the facility covered by the petition (e.g., building, technical area);
( iii ) The job titles and/or job duties of the class members;
( iv ) The period of employment relevant to the petition;
( v ) Identification of any exposure incident that was unmonitored, unrecorded, or inadequately monitored or recorded, if such incident comprises the basis of the petition; and
( 2 ) A description of the petitioner's (petitioners”) basis for believing records and information available are inadequate to estimate the radiation doses incurred by members of the proposed class of employees with sufficient accuracy. This description must include one of the following elements: ( i ) Documentation or statements provided by affidavit indicating that radiation exposures and doses to members of the proposed class were not monitored, either through personal or area monitoring; or
( ii ) Documentation or statements provided by affidavit indicating that radiation monitoring records for members of the proposed class have been lost, falsified, or destroyed; or
( iii ) A report from a health physicist or other individual with expertise in dose reconstruction documenting the limitations of existing DOE or AWE records on radiation exposures at the facility, as relevant to the petition. This report should specify the basis for believing these documented limitations might prevent the completion of dose reconstructions for members of the class under 42 CFR part 82 and related NIOSH technical implementation guidelines; or
( iv ) A scientific or technical report, published or issued by a government agency of the Executive Branch of government or the General Accounting Office, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, or the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, or published in a peer-reviewed journal, that identifies dosimetry and related information that are unavailable (due to either a lack of monitoring or the destruction or loss of records) for estimating the radiation doses of employees covered by the petition.
( 3 ) If the petition is based on an exposure incident as described under paragraph (c)(1)(v) of this section, the petitioner(s) might be required to provide evidence that the incident occurred, but only if NIOSH is unable to obtain records or confirmation of the occurrence of such an incident from sources independent of the petitioner(s). Such evidence would not be required at the time the petition is submitted and the petitioner(s) would be directly informed of the need for this supplemental information. In such cases, either of the following may qualify as evidence: ( i ) Medical evidence that one or more members of the class may have incurred a high level radiation dose from the incident, such as a depressed white blood cell count associated with radiation exposure or the application of chelation therapy; or
( ii ) NIOSH will consider evidence provided by affidavit from one or more employees who witnessed the incident. If the petitioner cannot provide such affidavits because such employees are deceased, prevented by reasons of poor health or impairment, or cannot be identified or located, then the requirement for evidence provided by affidavit can be met by providing such an affidavit from one or more individuals who did not witness the incident, provided the individual was directly informed by one or more employees who witnessed the incident.[3]
( 4 ) The provision of any evidence under this section or other provisions of this part, including one or more affidavits, would not, in and of itself, be sufficient to confirm the facts presented by that evidence. NIOSH will consider the adequacy and credibility of any evidence provided.
( 5 ) If, under § 83.15(a), NIOSH has already issued a Federal Register notice scheduling a Board meeting to consider a petition concerning a class of employees, then any petitions for such a class of employees submitted following this notice must, under paragraph (c)(2) of this section, present substantially new information that has not already been considered by NIOSH. For this purpose, NIOSH would find that information has been already considered by NIOSH if it were included in the petition(s) that were already considered by NIOSH or if it were addressed either in the report(s) by NIOSH evaluating such a petition or petitions under § 83.13(c) or in a proposed decision by NIOSH responding to such a petition or petitions under § 83.16(a).
Table 1 for § 83.9: Summary of Informational Requirements for All Petitions
[Petitioner(s) must submit identifying and contact information and either A. or B. of this table.]
A. The claimant's authorization of the petition, based on NIOSH having found it could not complete a dose reconstrucitn for the claimant submitting the petition; or
B. (1) A proposed class definition identifying: (i) Facility, (ii) relevant locations at the facility; (iii) job titles/duties, (iv) period of employment, and if relevant, (v) exposure incident.(2) The basis for infeasibility of dose reconstruction; either: (i) lack of monitoring; or (ii) destruction, falsification, or loss of records; or (iii) expert report; or (iv) scientific or technical report.
Footnotes -
83.9
[1] HHS will determine the final class definition(s) for each petition (see § 83.16).
[2] Depending on the factual circumstances present, a facility that meets the definition of an AWE facility or DOE facility covered under EEOICPA (42 U.S.C. 7384l(5) and (12)) could, among other possibilities, constitute a single building or structure, including the grounds upon which it is located, or a site encompassing numerous buildings or structures, including the grounds upon which it is located.
[3] An affidavit may be from a petitioner but HHS does not require that an affidavit be from a petitioner.