Department of Energy Support to the 

Energy Employees Occupational Illness 

Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA)

Office of Health, Safety and Security

June 2012
2

DOE’s Core Mandate

Work on behalf of the program claimants to 

ensure that all available worker and facility 

records and data are provided to DOL, NIOSH, 

and the Advisory Board.
3

DOE Responsibilities

1.Respond to DOL and NIOSH requests for information 

related to individual claims. (employment verification, 

exposure records).

2.Provide support and assistance to DOL, NIOSH, and 

Advisory Board on large-scale research and site 

characterization projects through records research 

and retrieval efforts at various DOE sites. 

3.Conduct research, in coordination with DOL and 

NIOSH, on issues related to covered facilities 

designations. 
4

EEOICPA 

Site Contacts

• DOE EEOICPA Site POCs: 

– Coordinate all research activities with NIOSH, Advisory Board, 

DOL and various contractors

– Set up site visits and tours for NIOSH and DOL staff as well as 

other groups

– Work with both DOL and NIOSH to identify site subject matter 

experts and to facilitate interviews with current and former 

workers

– Manage site’s response to individual records requests. Ensure 

DOE responses are complete and timely

– Onsite source of EEOICPA information to workers
5

Individual 

Records

Fund and coordinate records retrieval activities at DOE 

sites in support of individual claims. 

 Employment verifications for DOL (~6,000/year) 

 Dose records for NIOSH (~4,500/year) 

 Document Acquisition Requests (DAR) employee 

work history/exposures for DOL

(~5,500/year)
6

Individual 

Records

Total number of EEOICPA records requests completed:

– FY 2010: ~16,000

– FY 2011: ~16,000

– FY 2012: Anticipate approximately 16,000
7

Individual 

Records

• Claimants often worked at multiple DOE sites, for 

multiple contractors and subcontractors, and in 

different jobs or divisions over a career. 

• Records packages that DOE provides to DOL and 

NIOSH can be hundreds of pages long. 
8

Individual 

Records

• For a typical request for a worker’s records, DOE will 

have to go to many different site departments and 

within those departments many different records 

sources or databases. 

• For example, one DOE site routinely checks 

approximately 40 different sources for responsive 

records, including hard copy paper records, microfilm, 

microfiche, databases and scanned electronic records. 
9

Large Scale

Research Projects

• Large scale research projects are driven by the needs of 

DOL and NIOSH. 

– DOE must react and accommodate the requests within existing 

funding. 

• These projects can take years and can cost hundreds of 

thousands of dollars to support. 
10

Large Scale

Research Projects

• DOE must review many of the requested records due to 

classification concerns. 

– Millions of pages have been reviewed so far and this can be a 

time consuming and costly process. 

• DOE is often supporting 4-5 projects at once, although at 

various stages of the process (start up, research, wrap 

up, etc.)
11

Large Scale

Research Projects

• Hanford

• Savannah River

• Pantex

• Medina

• Brookhaven

• Sandia

• Los Alamos

• Clarksville
Document 

Reviews

• DOE committed to providing documents to 

NIOSH, DOL, and the Advisory Board, but must 

do so in a responsible manner.

• The DOE EEOICPA Security Plan link: 

http://www.hss.energy.gov/HealthSafety/FWSP/Advocacy/HSS_Security_Plan

_EEOICPA.pdf

12
13

Document 

Reviews (cont.)

• NIOSH, the Advisory Board and their contractors 

have submitted 52 documents for DOE 

classification review since February 2012.

• The average turn around time for review and 

released documents was 8 work days. 

• In certain cases where an expedited review is 

necessary, DOE has returned documents in one 

to two days.

13
14

Facility Research

Research and maintain the Covered Facilities Database

• Database of over 300 facilities covered under 

EEOICPA. This includes DOE facilities, AWEs and 

Beryllium Vendors whose employees are eligible for 

benefits under EEOICP.

• Full listing on the DOE HSS website:

– http://www.hss.energy.gov/healthsafety/FWSP/Advocacy/faclist/findfacility.cfm

14
DOE Initiatives

• Ongoing effort to identify additional records 

collections useful for EEOICPA. 

– Collections are evaluated, indexed and cross 

referenced against previous claims. 

– Ex. Working with Brookhaven now on developing a 

more comprehensive list of subcontractor 

companies. 

15
Secure Electronic Records 

Transfer (SERT) System

• The SERT is an HSS-hosted environment where DOL and NIOSH 

can send and receive records and data in a secure manner. 

• To effectively securing large volumes of PII information, the 

system will reduce the time to complete EEOICPA claims and 

improve transparency between Agencies. 

• Currently, working to finalize the web based platform for SERT, 

which will streamline the logon process for the close to 400 users 

that will ultimately use the system. 

16
17

Former Worker Medical 

Screening Program
18

FWP Background

History:

 Established following the issuance of the National Defense Authorization 

Act of Fiscal Year 1993 (P.L. 102-484), authorizing DOE to:

“...establish and carry out a program for the identification and

on-going medical evaluation of...former DOE employees

who are subject to significant health risks as a result of the

exposure of such employees to hazardous or radioactive

substances during such employment....”

 First former worker projects initiated in 1996.

 Program now serves all former Federal, contractor, and subcontractor 

workers from all DOE sites in locations close to their residences.
19

FWP Background 

(cont.)

Mission:

 Identify and notify former workers at risk for occupational 

disease. 

 Offer them medical screening that can lead to treatment.

 Over 68,000 individuals have received an initial screening exam

 Over 17,500 have received a rescreening exam 

 Provide information and assistance about medical followup and compensation.

 Use findings to strengthen safety and health protection 

for current and future workers.

Further information on the FWP can be found at: 

http://www.hss.energy.gov/HealthSafety/FWSP/formerworkermed/
20

FWP Background

(cont.)

 To ensure objective evaluation of former workers’ health, DOE offers 

exams by third-party providers through cooperative agreements.

 There are 2 national projects and 5 regional projects.

 Each team focuses on a distinct subset of the former worker 

population to:

 Obtain rosters of former employees and their updated addresses;

 Advertise the program through union and DOE newsletters, TV and 

newspaper, public meetings, and individual mailings;

 Provide medical screening to interested individuals

 Projects follow standardized medical screening protocol

 Customize screening according to individual’s work history and likely 

exposures

 Refer individuals with suspicious findings for follow-up medical testing 

and, if applicable, to the DOL-run EEOICP.
21

FWP Background

(cont.)

Organizations administering the FWP:

 CPWR – The Center for Construction Research and 

Training

 Drexel University School of Public Health

 Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public 

Health

 Oak Ridge Associated Universities

 Queens College City University of New York

 United Steelworkers

 University of Iowa College of Public Health
22

Medical Screening

 Medical and occupational exposure history

 Comprehensive physical examination (includes general 

health assessments), may consist of the following:

 Physical exam

 Chest x-ray with B read

 Spirometry (breathing test)

 Blood chemistry

 Urinalysis

 Audiometry (hearing test)

 Other tests based on exposures (e.g., BeLPT)
23

Former Worker Medical

Screening Program

Local Screening Programs for LANL and SNL

– Principal Investigator: Brian S. Schwartz, MD, MS

– Local Outreach:1-877-500-8615
24

Program Benefits

 Resulted in the identification of conditions at an early

stage, allowing for more successful treatment.

 Ongoing medical screening exams, similar to a 

“wellness” type exam.

 Identified non-occupational health conditions, such as: 

high blood pressure, diabetes & highly elevated 

cholesterol levels. (Added benefit but NOT

compensable).

 Medical results from these screenings serve useful 

purpose in supporting claims filed under EEOICP and/or 

workers’ compensation.
25

Participants Screened by

State of Residence

(as of September 30, 2011)

```

Alaska Puerto Rico

Hawaii

Quebec, Canada

1460

2152

1316

3314

930

43

2

268

147

551

2873 1795

37-CT

8-D.C.

21-DE

2269

1718

4282

892 494

521 4193

133

66-MA

125-MD

25

174

153

91

169

350

23

54

17

85-NJ

2535

3661

673

7702

164

435

161

7-RI

4856

43

11648

379

4

228

10

110

137

119

ALABAMA 268

ALASKA 930

ARIZONA 551

ARKANSAS 147

CALIFORNIA 2873

COLORADO 1795

CONNECTICUT 37

DELAWARE 21

DISTRICT OF

 COLUMBIA 8

FLORIDA 1316

GEORGIA 2269

HAWAII 43

IDAHO 4282

ILLINOIS 892

INDIANA 494

IOWA 1718

KANSAS 521

KENTUCKY 4193

LOUISIANA 133

MAINE 25

MARYLAND 125

MASSACHUSETTS 66

MICHIGAN 174

MINNESOTA 153

MISSISSIPPI 91

MISSOURI 2152

MONTANA 169

NEBRASKA 54

NEVADA 3661

NEW HAMPSHIRE 17

NEW JERSEY 85

NEW MEXICO 2535

NEW YORK 673

NORTH CAROLINA 350

NORTH DAKOTA 23

OHIO 7702

OKLAHOMA 164

OREGON 435

PENNSYLVANIA 161

RHODE ISLAND 7

SOUTH CAROLINA 4856

SOUTH DAKOTA 43

TENNESSEE 11648

TEXAS 1460

UTAH 379

VERMONT 10

VIRGINIA 228

WASHINGTON 3314

WEST VIRGINIA 137

WISCONSIN 110

WYOMING 119

PHILIPPINES 2

PUERTO RICO 4

QUEBEC, CANADA 2

NOT DISPLAYED:

CANADA

 ALBERTA 3

 ONTARIO 2

 NOVA SCOTIA 2

 PRINCE EDWARD ISL. 1

GREECE 1

HONG KONG 1

IRELAND 2

NORWAY 1

UNITED ARAB

 EMIRATES 1

VIRGIN ISLANDS 1

Philippines

2

States with

no DOE Site(s)

States with

DOE Site(s)

LEGEND
26

FWP Informational

Resources

 FWP Brochure

http://www.hss.energy.gov/HealthSafety/FWSP/formerworkermed/FWP_pamphlet.pdf
27

FWP Informational

Resources

(cont.) FWP Annual Report

http://www.hss.energy.gov/HealthSafety/FWSP/formerworkermed/FWP_Annual_Report.pdf
28

Questions?