HHS Determination Concerning a Petition to Add Members to the 

Special Exposure Cohort 

under the 

Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 

Determination Concerning a Petition for Employees from 

Baker-Perkins Company 

Saginaw, Michigan

HHS Special Exposure Cohort Determination: 

Baker–Perkins Company 
I. Determination 

I, Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services (Secretary), have determined 

that the employees defined in Section II of this report do not meet the statutory criteria for 

addition to the Special Exposure Cohort (SEC), as authorized under the Energy Employees 

Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 (EEOICPA), 42 U.S.C. § 7384q. 

 __________________ ______________________________ 

 Date Kathleen Sebelius 

II. Employee Class Definition 

All AWE employees who performed Atomic Energy Commission work at Baker 

Perkins Company, in Saginaw Michigan, from May 14, 1956 through May 18, 1956. 

III. Decision Criteria and Recommendations 

Pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 7384q, to designate a class for addition to the SEC, the Secretary 

must determine, upon recommendation of the Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker 

Health (Board), that 

(1) it is not feasible to estimate with sufficient accuracy the radiation dose that the class 

received; and 

(2) there is a reasonable likelihood that such radiation dose may have endangered the 

health of members of the class. 

The SEC final rule states in 42 C.F.R. § 83.13(c)(1) that it is feasible in two situations to 

estimate the radiation dose that the class received with sufficient accuracy. First, the rule 

states that radiation doses may be estimated with sufficient accuracy if NIOSH has 

established that it has access to sufficient information to estimate the maximum radiation 

dose for every type of cancer for which radiation doses are reconstructed that could have 

been incurred under plausible circumstances by any member of the class. Alternatively, 

radiation doses may be estimated with sufficient accuracy if NIOSH has established that it 

has access to sufficient information to estimate the radiation doses of members of the class 

more precisely than a maximum dose estimate. 

In a letter received by the Secretary on August 31, 2009, the Board, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 

7384q, agreed with the following NIOSH findings, effectively advising the Secretary that 

radiation dose can be reconstructed with sufficient accuracy for certain Baker-Perkins 

Company employees in accordance with provisions of EEOICPA and the SEC final rule. 

HHS Special Exposure Cohort Determination: 

Baker–Perkins Company 
IV. Designation Findings 

Feasibility of Estimating Radiation Doses with Sufficient Accuracy

The Secretary established the feasibility determination for the class of employees covered 

by this report based upon the findings summarized below. 

 NIOSH found that the available monitoring records, process descriptions, and sourceterm data are adequate to complete dose reconstruction with sufficient accuracy for the 

evaluated class of employees. 

 NIOSH determined that actual air sample data, which includes breathing zone data 

collected during the test operations with the Ko-Kneaders, can be used to bound internal 

dose from uranium. 

 NIOSH determined that it has access to sufficient information to bound external dose for 

all members of the evaluated class. 

 Although no medical records have been identified specific to the Baker-Perkins 

Company, the dose associated with medical X-ray exams, required as a condition of 

employment, can be assessed, and therefore NIOSH determined that it can bound 

occupational medical dose for the evaluated class. 

 NIOSH determined that it has access to sufficient Baker-Perkins Company information to 

either (1) estimate the maximum external radiation dose for every type of cancer for 

which radiation doses are reconstructed that could have been incurred under plausible 

circumstances by any member of the evaluated class; or (2) estimate the external 

radiation doses to members of the evaluated class more precisely than a maximum dose 

estimate. 

In its letter to the Secretary, the Board concurred with these NIOSH findings. 

Health Endangerment

Because the Secretary established that it is feasible to estimate with sufficient accuracy the 

radiation doses encountered by Baker-Perkins Company employees as specified in this 

class, a determination of health endangerment is not required. 

V. Effect of the Determination 

Members of the class of employees covered by this determination and their survivors 

continue to be eligible to submit claims for compensation under EEOICPA. As required for 

cancer claims covering other DOE and Atomic Weapons Employer employees not included 

in the SEC, qualified cancer claims under Part B of EEOICPA for members of this class will 

be adjudicated by the Department of Labor, in part on the basis of radiation dose 

reconstructions which will be conducted by NIOSH. 

HHS Special Exposure Cohort Determination: 

Baker–Perkins Company 
HHS Special Exposure Cohort Determination: 

Baker–Perkins Company 

VI. Administrative Review of Designation 

The determination provided in this report may be subject to an administrative review within 

HHS, pursuant to 42 C.F.R. § 83.18(a). On the basis of such a review, if the Secretary 

decides to designate the class of employees covered by this determination, in part or in 

whole, as an addition to the SEC, the Secretary would transmit a new report to Congress 

providing the designation and the criteria and findings on which the decision was based.