HHS Special Exposure Cohort Determination:

Dow Chemical Company, Madison, Illinois

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 

Dow Chemical Company

Madison, Illinois
HHS Special Exposure Cohort Determination:

Dow Chemical Company, Madison, Illinois

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.

___June 3, 2011______ __[Signature on file]_______________

Date Kathleen Sebelius

II. Employee Class Definition

All Atomic Weapons Employees who worked at the Dow Chemical Company in 

Madison, Illinois, from January 1, 1961 through November 30, 2007.

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 March 30, 2011, 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 Dow Chemical 

Company (Dow Madison) employees in accordance with provisions of EEOICPA and the 

SEC final rule.
HHS Special Exposure Cohort Determination:

Dow Chemical Company, Madison, Illinois

IV. Determination 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 determined that workers during the residual period (January 1, 1961 through 

November 30, 2007) may have received internal and external exposure to residual 

uranium, thorium, and progeny contamination that was generated during the operational 

period (1957 through 1960). 

• NIOSH has access to sufficient information to estimate the maximum internal radiation 

dose that could have been incurred from exposure to uranium during the residual period. 

Potential internal doses received from inhalation and/or ingestion of re-suspended 

uranium during the residual period can be reconstructed using the airborne 

concentration due to resuspension that was observed at other facilities performing 

similar operations (Battelle-TBD-6000, Rev. 0, December 13, 2006).

• NIOSH has access to sufficient information to estimate the maximum external radiation 

dose that could have been incurred from exposure to uranium during the residual period. 

Potential external doses received from surface contamination of uranium during the 

residual period can be reconstructed using the estimated levels that were observed at 

other facilities performing similar operations (Battelle-TBD-6000, Rev. 0, December 13, 

2006).

• NIOSH found it has sufficient source term information, workplace monitoring data for 

thorium radionuclides, and process descriptions to allow adequate bounding of the total 

potential Atomic Energy Commission-related internal and external exposures to residual 

thorium during the residual period.

• Internal doses received from potential exposures to thorium and thoron can be bounded 

based on the available information on the Dow Madison alloy process, and on available 

workplace monitoring results. Potential annual inhalation intakes of thorium and thorium 

daughters for the January 1, 1961 through November 30, 2007 residual period can be 

bounded using air monitoring data obtained from 1957 through 1960 and data obtained 

at Dow Madison in 2006.

• External doses received from potential exposures to thorium can also be bounded; the 

analysis of available data and bounding methodology is contained in NIOSH ER SEC00079 Addendum 2, Reconstruction of Dose Resulting from Intake of Residual Thorium 

at Dow Chemical from 1961 through 2006. This methodology is based on a detailed 

review of the external exposure measurements reported by Dow Madison.

In its letter to the Secretary, the Board concurred with these NIOSH findings.
HHS Special Exposure Cohort Determination:

Dow Chemical Company, Madison, Illinois

Health Endangerment

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

radiation doses encountered by Dow Madison 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 (or Atomic 

Weapons 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.

VI. Administrative Review of Determination 

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.