HHS Special Exposure Cohort Determination:

Linde Ceramics Plant, Tonawanda, New York

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 

Linde Ceramics Plant 

Tonawanda, New York
HHS Special Exposure Cohort Determination:

Linde Ceramics Plant, Tonawanda, New York

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.

___April 21, 2011_____ __[Signature on file]______________

Date Kathleen Sebelius

II. Employee Class Definition

All Department of Energy employees and Atomic Weapons Employees who worked 

at the Linde Ceramics Plant in Tonawanda, New York, during the period from 

January 1, 1954 through July 31, 2006.

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 22, 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 Linde Ceramics 

Plant employees in accordance with provisions of EEOICPA and the SEC final rule.
HHS Special Exposure Cohort Determination:

Linde Ceramics Plant, Tonawanda, New York

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 may have received internal 

and external exposure to residual uranium contamination generated by uranium 

processing (Buildings 14, 30, 31, 37, and 38). 

• NIOSH has obtained source term information for onsite uranium and uranium progeny 

during the operational period, survey data, including air monitoring data, for both the 

decontamination activities at Linde and several distinct, major investigations during the 

residual radiation period. The residual period surveys include soil characterizations, 

building surveys, and air sampling results.

• Although NIOSH and the Board identified issues impacting its ability to bound internal 

exposure doses during the renovation period from January 1, 1954 through December 

31, 1969, NIOSH determined that based on the available survey data, sufficient 

information and data exist to support bounding internal exposures for uranium, uranium 

progeny, and radon for the class of employees covered by this report (January 1, 1970 

through July 31, 2006). 

• NIOSH located limited personnel external dosimetry data for Linde workers during the 

residual period. Area monitoring data and contamination surveys performed as part of 

the FUSRAP and remediation surveys are available and provide information regarding 

potential external exposures to workers who worked at the site during the residual 

contamination period. 

• NIOSH determined that sufficient information and data exist to support bounding 

external exposure doses for the class of employees covered by this report (January 1, 

1970 to July 31, 2006). 

• X-rays are not considered for the residual contamination period. Because the site was 

not considered a radiological worksite by the employer during the residual contamination 

period, no medical exams would be conducted for purposes of screening radiological 

workers.

• NIOSH determined that it has access to sufficient Linde Ceramics Plant information to 

either (1) estimate the maximum external and internal 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 and internal radiation doses to members of the evaluated class more precisely 

than a maximum dose estimate.

• The Board concurred with the NIOSH findings.
HHS Special Exposure Cohort Determination:

Linde Ceramics Plant, Tonawanda, New York

Health Endangerment

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

radiation doses encountered by Linde Ceramics Plant 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.