I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2573 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to revise the eligibility criteria 

for presumption of service-connection of certain diseases and disabilities 

for veterans exposed to ionizing radiation during military service, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 21, 2009 

Mr. ABERCROMBIE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to revise the eligibility criteria for presumption of service-connection of 

certain diseases and disabilities for veterans exposed to 

ionizing radiation during military service, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Atomic Veterans Relief 

5 Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR PRESUMPTION OF 

2 SERVICE-CONNECTION RESULTING FROM EX3 POSURE TO IONIZING RADIATION DUE TO 

4 OPEN-AIR NUCLEAR TESTING. 

5 Section 1112(c)(3)(B) of title 38, United States 

6 Code, is amended by inserting before the period at the 

7 end of clause (i) the following: ‘‘or exposure occurring at 

8 any time to ionizing radiation from undetonated weapons 

9 or residual contamination resulting from such a detona10 tion’’. 

11 SEC. 3. MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR THE PERFORMANCE 

12 OF DOSE RECONSTRUCTIONS. 

13 Section 1154 of title 38, United States Code, is 

14 amended by adding at the end the following new sub15 section: 

16 ‘‘(c)(1) The Secretary shall include in the regulations 

17 pertaining to service-connection of disabilities referred to 

18 in subsection (a) additional provisions to ensure, in the 

19 case of a claim by a radiation-exposed veteran for service20 connection of a nonpresumptive disability, that the proce21 dures for establishment of whether the disability is service22 connected that require the mathematical calculation of the 

23 level of exposure of the veteran to ionizing radiation re24 quire the Secretary to carry out each of the following: 

25 ‘‘(A) To determine the specific facts and cir26 cumstances of the claimed exposure based on the 


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1 evidence in the record while presuming the veteran’s 

2 recitation of the event is correct except where clear 

3 and convincing evidence establishes otherwise. 

4 ‘‘(B) To obtain a reconstructed dose based on 

5 the specific facts and circumstances established by 

6 the evidence ensuring that no assumptions, bases, or 

7 other processes conflict with the evidence provided 

8 by the Secretary. 

9 ‘‘(C) To require that each dose reconstruction 

10 required under subparagraph (B) include— 

11 ‘‘(i) the calculated dose for each relevant 

12 radiation and organ; 

13 ‘‘(ii) a description of the dose reconstruc14 tion process in sufficient detail to allow a rea15 sonable person with appropriate experience and 

16 training to assess the methodology used to 

17 produce the reported doses;. 

18 ‘‘(iii) a listing of each assumption used in 

19 the dose reconstruction and the basis or bases 

20 for each such assumption; 

21 ‘‘(iv) a listing of each deviation from the 

22 factual scenario established by the evidence, the 

23 reason for the deviation, and an explanation of 

24 the impact on the reconstructed dose, including 


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1 whether the deviation increased or decreased 

2 the final calculated dose; and 

3 ‘‘(v) any other information that would fur4 ther clarify the bases of the reconstructed dose 

5 or aid the determination of its probative value. 

6 ‘‘(2)(A) The Secretary shall provide to a radiation7 exposed veteran the veteran’s dose that is reconstructed 

8 by the Secretary under paragraph (1), and the informa9 tion required under subparagraph (C) of that paragraph 

10 to be included with the dose reconstruction. 

11 ‘‘(B) Failure to provide the information required by 

12 subparagraph (A) shall be considered a prejudicial error 

13 requiring the Secretary to readjudicate the prejudiced 

14 claim based on a dose reconstruction compliant with this 

15 section. 

16 ‘‘(3) For purposes of this subsection: 

17 ‘‘(A) The term ‘radiation-exposed veteran’ has 

18 the meaning given that term in section 

19 1112(c)(3)(A) of this title. 

20 ‘‘(B) The term ‘nonpresumptive disability’ 

21 means a disability not specified in section 1112(c)(2) 

22 of this title.’’. 

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