I 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5119 

To amend the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act to improve compensation 

for workers involved in uranium mining, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 22, 2010 

Mr. LUJA ́N (for himself, Ms. BORDALLO, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. HEINRICH, Mrs. 

KIRKPATRICK of Arizona, Mr. MATHESON, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. 

SALAZAR, and Mr. TEAGUE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 

as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To amend the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act to improve compensation for workers involved in uranium mining, 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 ‘‘Radiation Exposure 

5 Compensation Act Amendments of 2010’’. 


hsrobinson on DSK69SOYB1PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 5119 IH

1 SEC. 2. REFERENCES. 

2 Except as otherwise specifically provided, whenever in 

3 this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms 

4 of an amendment to or repeal of a section or other provi5 sion of law, the reference shall be considered to be made 

6 to a section or other provision of the Radiation Exposure 

7 Compensation Act (Public Law 101–426; 42 U.S.C. 2210 

8 note). 

9 SEC. 3. EXTENSION OF FUND. 

10 Section 3(d) is amended— 

11 (1) by striking the first sentence and inserting 

12 ‘‘The Fund shall terminate 19 years after the date 

13 of the enactment of the Radiation Exposure Com14 pensation Act Amendments of 2010.’’; and 

15 (2) by striking ‘‘22-year’’ and inserting ‘‘19- 

16 year’’. 

17 SEC. 4. CLAIMS RELATING TO ATMOSPHERIC TESTING. 

18 (a) LEUKEMIA CLAIMS RELATING TO TRINITY TEST

19 IN NEW MEXICO AND TESTS IN THE PACIFIC.—Section 

20 4(a)(1)(A) is amended— 

21 (1) in clause (i)— 

22 (A) in subclause (II)— 

23 (i) by striking ‘‘in the affected area’’ 

24 and inserting ‘‘in an affected area’’; and 

25 (ii) by striking ‘‘or’’ after the semi26 colon; 


hsrobinson on DSK69SOYB1PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 5119 IH

1 (B) by redesignating subclause (III) as 

2 subclause (V); and 

3 (C) by inserting after subclause (II) the 

4 following: 

5 ‘‘(III) was physically present in 

6 an affected area for the period begin7 ning on June 30, 1945, and ending on 

8 July 31, 1945; or 

9 ‘‘(IV) was physically present in 

10 an affected area— 

11 ‘‘(aa) for a period of at least 

12 1 year during the period begin13 ning on June 30, 1946, and end14 ing on August 19, 1958; or 

15 ‘‘(bb) for the period begin16 ning on April 25, 1962, and end17 ing on November 5, 1962; or’’; or 

18 (2) in clause (ii)(I), by striking ‘‘physical pres19 ence described in subclause (I) or (II) of clause (i) 

20 or onsite participation described in clause (i)(III)’’ 

21 and inserting ‘‘physical presence described in sub22 clause (I), (II), (III), or (IV) of clause (i) or onsite 

23 participation described in clause (i)(V)’’. 

24 (b) AMOUNTS FOR CLAIMS RELATED TO LEU25 KEMIA.—Section 4(a)(1) is amended— 


hsrobinson on DSK69SOYB1PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 5119 IH

1 (1) in subparagraph (A) by striking ‘‘an 

2 amount’’ and inserting ‘‘the amount’’; and 

3 (2) by striking subparagraph (B) and inserting 

4 the following: 

5 ‘‘(B) AMOUNT.—If the conditions de6 scribed in subparagraph (C) are met, an indi7 vidual who is described in subparagraph (A)(i) 

8 shall receive $150,000.’’. 

9 (c) SPECIFIED DISEASES CLAIMS RELATING TO

10 TRINITY TEST IN NEW MEXICO AND TESTS IN THE PA11 CIFIC.—Section 4(a)(2) is amended— 

12 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘in the af13 fected area’’ and inserting ‘‘in an affected area’’; 

14 (2) in subparagraph (B)— 

15 (A) by striking ‘‘in the affected area’’ and 

16 inserting ‘‘in an affected area’’; and 

17 (B) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end; 

18 (3) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as sub19 paragraph (E); and 

20 (4) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(C) was physically present in an affected 

23 area for the period beginning on June 30, 

24 1945, and ending on July 31, 1945; 


hsrobinson on DSK69SOYB1PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 5119 IH

1 ‘‘(D) was physically present in an affected 

2 area— 

3 ‘‘(i) for a period of at least 2 years 

4 during the period beginning on June 30, 

5 1946, and ending on August 19, 1958; or 

6 ‘‘(ii) for the period beginning on April 

7 25, 1962, and ending on November 5, 

8 1962; or’’. 

9 (d) AMOUNTS FOR CLAIMS RELATED TO SPECIFIED

10 DISEASES.—Section 4(a)(2) is amended in the matter fol11 lowing subparagraph (D) (as redesignated by subsection 

12 (c) of this section) by striking ‘‘$50,000 (in the case of 

13 an individual described in subparagraph (A) or (B)) or 

14 $75,000 (in the case of an individual described in subpara15 graph (C)),’’ and inserting ‘‘$150,000’’. 

16 (e) MEDICAL BENEFITS.—Section 4(a) is amended 

17 by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(5) MEDICAL BENEFITS.—An individual re19 ceiving a payment under this section shall be eligible 

20 to receive medical benefits in the same manner and 

21 to the same extent as an individual eligible to receive 

22 medical benefits under section 3629 of the Energy 

23 Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Pro24 gram Act (as enacted into law by Public Law 106– 

25 398; 114 Stat. 165A–507).’’. 


hsrobinson on DSK69SOYB1PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 5119 IH

1 (f) DOWNWIND STATES.—Section 4(b)(1) is amended 

2 to read as follows: 

3 ‘‘(1) ‘affected area’ means— 

4 ‘‘(A) except as provided under subpara5 graphs (B) and (C), Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, 

6 Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah; 

7 ‘‘(B) with respect to a claim by an indi8 vidual under subsection (a)(1)(A)(i)(III) or 

9 (2)(C), only New Mexico; and 

10 ‘‘(C) with respect to a claim by an indi11 vidual under subsection (a)(1)(A)(i)(IV) or 

12 (2)(D), only Guam.’’. 

13 SEC. 5. CLAIMS RELATING TO URANIUM MINING. 

14 (a) EMPLOYEES OF MINES AND MILLS.—Section 

15 5(a)(1)(A)(i) is amended— 

16 (1) by inserting ‘‘(I)’’ after ‘‘(i)’’; 

17 (2) by striking ‘‘December 31, 1971; and’’ and 

18 inserting ‘‘December 31, 1990; or’’; and 

19 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(II) was employed as a core driller in 

21 a State referred to in subclause (I) during 

22 the period described in such subclause; 

23 and’’. 

24 (b) MINERS.—Section 5(a)(1)(A)(ii)(I) is amended 

25 by inserting ‘‘or renal cancer or any other chronic renal 


hsrobinson on DSK69SOYB1PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 5119 IH

1 disease, including nephritis and kidney tubal tissue in2 jury’’ after ‘‘nonmalignant respiratory disease’’. 

3 (c) MILLERS, CORE DRILLERS, AND ORE TRANS4 PORTERS.—Section 5(a)(1)(A)(ii)(II) is amended— 

5 (1) by inserting ‘‘, core driller,’’ after ‘‘was a 

6 miller’’; 

7 (2) by inserting ‘‘(I)’’ after ‘‘ clause (i)’’; and 

8 (3) by striking all that follows ‘‘nonmalignant 

9 respiratory disease’’ and inserting ‘‘or renal cancer 

10 or any other chronic renal disease, including nephri11 tis and kidney tubal tissue injury; or’’. 

12 (d) COMBINED WORK HISTORIES.—Section 

13 5(a)(1)(A)(ii) is further amended— 

14 (1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subclause (I); 

15 and 

16 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(III)(aa) does not meet the con18 ditions of subclause (I) or (II); 

19 ‘‘(bb) worked, during the period 

20 described in clause (i)(I), in two or 

21 more of the following positions: miner, 

22 miller, core driller, and ore trans23 porter; 

24 ‘‘(cc) meets the requirements of 

25 paragraph (4) or (5), or both; and 


hsrobinson on DSK69SOYB1PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 5119 IH

1 ‘‘(dd) submits written medical 

2 documentation that the individual de3 veloped lung cancer or a nonmalig4 nant respiratory disease or renal can5 cer or any other chronic renal disease, 

6 including nephritis and kidney tubal 

7 tissue injury after exposure to radi8 ation through work in one or more of 

9 the positions referred to in item 

10 (aa);’’. 

11 (e) DATES OF OPERATION OF URANIUM MINE.—Sec12 tion 5(a)(2)(A) is amended by striking ‘‘December 31, 

13 1971’’ and inserting ‘‘December 31, 1990’’. 

14 (f) SPECIAL RULES RELATING TO COMBINED WORK

15 HISTORIES.—Section 5(a) is amended by adding at the 

16 end the following: 

17 ‘‘(4) SPECIAL RULE RELATING TO COMBINED

18 WORK HISTORIES FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH AT LEAST

19 ONE YEAR OF EXPERIENCE.—An individual meets 

20 the requirements of this paragraph if the individual 

21 worked in one or more of the positions referred to 

22 in paragraph (1)(A)(ii)(III)(bb) for a period of at 

23 least one year during the period described in para24 graph (1)(A)(i)(I). 


hsrobinson on DSK69SOYB1PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 5119 IH

1 ‘‘(5) SPECIAL RULE RELATING TO COMBINED

2 WORK HISTORIES FOR MINERS.—An individual 

3 meets the requirements of this paragraph if the indi4 vidual, during the period described in paragraph 

5 (1)(A)(i)(I), worked as a miner and was exposed to 

6 such number of working level months that the Attor7 ney General determines, when combined with the ex8 posure of such individual to radiation through work 

9 as a miller, core driller, or ore transporter during 

10 the period described in paragraph (1)(A)(i)(I), re11 sults in such individual being exposed to a total level 

12 of radiation that is greater or equal to the level of 

13 exposure of an individual described in paragraph 

14 (4).’’. 

15 (g) DEFINITION OF CORE DRILLER.—Section 5(b) is 

16 amended— 

17 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 

18 (7); 

19 (2) by striking the period at the end of para20 graph (8) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

21 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(9) the term ‘core driller’ means any indi23 vidual employed to engage in the act or process of 

24 obtaining cylindrical rock samples of uranium or vaVerDate Nov 24 2008 19:14 Apr 23, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5119.IH H5119

hsrobinson on DSK69SOYB1PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 5119 IH

1 nadium by means of a borehole drilling machine for 

2 the purpose of mining uranium or vanadium.’’. 

3 SEC. 6. EXPANSION OF USE OF AFFIDAVITS IN DETERMINA4 TION OF CLAIMS; REGULATIONS. 

5 (a) AFFIDAVITS.—Section 6(b) is amended by adding 

6 at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(3) AFFIDAVITS.— 

8 ‘‘(A) EMPLOYMENT HISTORY.—For pur9 poses of this Act, the Attorney General shall ac10 cept a written affidavit or declaration as evi11 dence to substantiate the employment history of 

12 an individual as a miner, miller, core driller, or 

13 ore transporter if the affidavit— 

14 ‘‘(i) is provided in addition to other 

15 material that may be used to substantiate 

16 the employment history of the individual; 

17 ‘‘(ii) attests to the employment history 

18 of the individual; 

19 ‘‘(iii) is made subject to penalty for 

20 perjury; and 

21 ‘‘(iv) is made by a person other than 

22 the individual filing the claim. 

23 ‘‘(B) PHYSICAL PRESENCE IN AFFECTED

24 AREA.—For purposes of this Act, the Attorney 

25 General shall accept a written affidavit or decVerDate Nov 24 2008 19:14 Apr 23, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5119.IH H5119

hsrobinson on DSK69SOYB1PROD with BILLS
11 

•HR 5119 IH

1 laration as evidence to substantiate an individ2 ual’s physical presence in an affected area dur3 ing a period described in section 4(a)(1)(A)(i) 

4 or section 4(a)(2) if the affidavit— 

5 ‘‘(i) is provided in addition to other 

6 material that may be used to substantiate 

7 the individual’s presence in an affected 

8 area during that time period; 

9 ‘‘(ii) attests to the individual’s pres10 ence in an affected area during that pe11 riod; 

12 ‘‘(iii) is made subject to penalty for 

13 perjury; and 

14 ‘‘(iv) is made by a person other than 

15 the individual filing the claim. 

16 ‘‘(C) PARTICIPATION AT TESTING SITE.— 

17 For purposes of this Act, the Attorney General 

18 shall accept a written affidavit or declaration as 

19 evidence to substantiate an individual’s partici20 pation onsite in a test involving the atmospheric 

21 detonation of a nuclear device if the affidavit— 

22 ‘‘(i) is provided in addition to other 

23 material that may be used to substantiate 

24 the individual’s participation onsite in a 


hsrobinson on DSK69SOYB1PROD with BILLS
12 

•HR 5119 IH

1 test involving the atmospheric detonation 

2 of a nuclear device; 

3 ‘‘(ii) attests to the individual’s partici4 pation onsite in a test involving the atmos5 pheric detonation of a nuclear device; 

6 ‘‘(iii) is made subject to penalty for 

7 perjury; and 

8 ‘‘(iv) is made by a person other than 

9 the individual filing the claim.’’. 

10 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

11 Section 6 is amended— 

12 (1) in subsection (b)(2)(C), by striking ‘‘section 

13 4(a)(2)(C)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 4(a)(2)(E)’’; 

14 (2) in subsection (c)(2)— 

15 (A) in subparagraph (A)— 

16 (i) in the first sentence, by striking 

17 ‘‘subsection (a)(1), (a)(2)(A), or (a)(2)(B) 

18 of section 4’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection 

19 (a)(1), (a)(2)(A), (a)(2)(B), (a)(2)(C), or 

20 (a)(2)(D) of section 4’’; and 

21 (ii) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘sub22 section (a)(1), (a)(2)(A), or (a)(2)(B) of 

23 section 4’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection 

24 (a)(1), (a)(2)(A), (a)(2)(B), (a)(2)(C), or 

25 (a)(2)(D) of section 4’’; and 


hsrobinson on DSK69SOYB1PROD with BILLS
13 

•HR 5119 IH

1 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘sec2 tion 4(a)(2)(C)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

3 4(a)(2)(E)’’; and 

4 (3) in subsection (e), by striking ‘‘subsection 

5 (a)(1), (a)(2)(A), or (a)(2)(B) of section 4’’ and in6 serting ‘‘subsection (a)(1), (a)(2)(A), (a)(2)(B), or 

7 (a)(2)(C) of section 4’’. 

8 (c) REGULATIONS.—Section 6(k) is amended by add9 ing at the end the following: ‘‘Not later than 180 days 

10 after the date of enactment of the Radiation Exposure 

11 Compensation Act Amendments of 2010, the Attorney 

12 General shall issue revised regulations to carry out this 

13 Act.’’. 

14 SEC. 7. LIMITATION ON CLAIMS. 

15 (a) EXTENSION OF FILING TIME.—Section 8(a) is 

16 amended— 

17 (1) by striking ‘‘22 years’’ and inserting ‘‘19 

18 years’’; and 

19 (2) by striking ‘‘2000’’ and inserting ‘‘2010’’. 

20 (b) RESUBMITTAL OF CLAIMS.—Section 8(b) is 

21 amended to read as follows: 

22 ‘‘(b) RESUBMITTAL OF CLAIMS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) DENIED CLAIMS.—After the date of enact24 ment of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act 

25 Amendments of 2010, any claimant who has been 


hsrobinson on DSK69SOYB1PROD with BILLS
14 

•HR 5119 IH

1 denied compensation under this Act may resubmit a 

2 claim for consideration by the Attorney General in 

3 accordance with this Act not more than three times. 

4 Any resubmittal made before the date of the enact5 ment of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act 

6 Amendments of 2010 shall not be applied to the lim7 itation under the preceding sentence. 

8 ‘‘(2) PREVIOUSLY SUCCESSFUL CLAIMS.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—After the date of en10 actment of the Radiation Exposure Compensa11 tion Act Amendments of 2010, any claimant 

12 who received compensation under this Act may 

13 submit a request to the Attorney General for 

14 additional compensation and benefits. Such re15 quest shall contain— 

16 ‘‘(i) the claimant’s name, social secu17 rity number, and date of birth; 

18 ‘‘(ii) the amount of award received 

19 under this Act before the date of enact20 ment of the Radiation Exposure Com21 pensation Act Amendments of 2010; 

22 ‘‘(iii) any additional benefits and com23 pensation sought through such request; 

24 and 


hsrobinson on DSK69SOYB1PROD with BILLS
15 

•HR 5119 IH

1 ‘‘(iv) any additional information re2 quired by the Attorney General. 

3 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL COMPENSATION.—If the 

4 claimant received compensation under this Act 

5 before the date of enactment of the Radiation 

6 Exposure Compensation Act Amendments of 

7 2010 and submits a request under subpara8 graph (A), the Attorney General shall— 

9 ‘‘(i) pay the claimant the amount that 

10 is equal to any excess of— 

11 ‘‘(I) the amount the claimant is 

12 eligible to receive under this Act (as 

13 amended by the Radiation Exposure 

14 Compensation Act Amendments of 

15 2010); minus 

16 ‘‘(II) the aggregate amount paid 

17 to the claimant under this Act before 

18 the date of enactment of the Radi19 ation Exposure Compensation Act 

20 Amendments of 2010; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) in any case in which the claimant 

22 was compensated under section 4, provide 

23 the claimant with medical benefits under 

24 section 4(a)(5).’’. 


hsrobinson on DSK69SOYB1PROD with BILLS
16 

•HR 5119 IH

1 SEC. 8. ATTORNEY FEES. 

2 Section 9(b)(1) is amended by striking ‘‘2 percent’’ 

3 and inserting ‘‘10 percent’’. 

4 SEC. 9. GRANT PROGRAM ON EPIDEMIOLOGICAL IMPACTS 

5 OF URANIUM MINING AND MILLING. 

6 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

7 (1) the term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ 

8 has the meaning given under section 101 of the 

9 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001); 

10 (2) the term ‘‘program’’ means the grant pro11 gram established under subsection (b); and 

12 (3) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 

13 of Health and Human Services. 

14 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish 

15 a grant program relating to the epidemiological impacts 

16 of uranium mining and milling. Grants awarded under the 

17 program shall be used for the study of the epidemiological 

18 impacts of uranium mining and milling among non-occu19 pationally exposed individuals, including family members 

20 of uranium miners and millers. 

21 (c) ADMINISTRATION.—The Secretary shall admin22 ister the program through the National Institute of Envi23 ronmental Health Sciences. 

24 (d) ELIGIBILITY AND APPLICATION.—Any institution 

25 of higher education or nonprofit private entity shall be eli26 gible to apply for a grant. To apply for a grant an eligible 


hsrobinson on DSK69SOYB1PROD with BILLS
17 

•HR 5119 IH

1 institution or entity shall submit to the Secretary an appli2 cation at such time, in such manner, and containing or 

3 accompanied by such information as the Secretary may 

4 reasonably require. 

5 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

6 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

7 $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2011 through 2016. 

Æ 


hsrobinson on DSK69SOYB1PROD with BILLS