Division of Compensation Analysis and 

Support (DCAS)

Document No. DCAS-IG-005

Effective Date: 01/07/2011

Revision No. 0

USE OF CLASSIFIED INFORMATION Page 1 of 10

Approval: _Signature on file___ Date: 01/07/2011 

 J. W. Neton, Assoc. Dir. for Science

Concurrence: _ Signature on file Date: 01/07/2011 

 Stuart L. Hinnefeld, Interim Director 

Supersedes:

None

Table of Contents

Section Title Page

1.0 Introduction................................................................................. 3

2.0 Criteria for the Use of Classified Information......................................... 4

2.1 When Use of Classified Information is Necessary and Appropriate....... 4

2.2 Data Capture....................................................................... 6

2.3 Dose Reconstruction.............................................................. 6

2.3.1 Hierarchy of Data Sources.............................................. 7

2.3.2 The Advisory Board’s Dose Reconstruction Review Process..... 7

2.4 SEC Petition Evaluation......................................................... 7

2.4.1 Qualifying a Petition..................................................... 7

2.4.2 Evaluating the Petition................................................. 8

2.4.3 Disseminating Unclassified Information to the Advisory Board

and the Public............................................................ 9

3.0 Submitting the NIOSH SEC Petition Evaluation Report....................... 9

4.0 Submitting Proposed Decision on a SEC Petition to the Secretary of the 

Department of Health and Human Services...................................... 10
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Record of Issue/Revisions

Issue 

Authorization 

Date

Effective Date Revision

No.

Description

01/07/2011 01/07/2011 0 Guidelines for the use of classified 

information relevant to EEOICPA 
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1.0 INTRODUCTION

The Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 

(EEOICPA) expressly addresses the need for certain employees of the Department of 

Health and Human Services (HHS) and members of the Advisory Board on Radiation 

and Worker Health (the Advisory Board) to have access to relevant classified 

information1from the Department of Energy (DOE) in order to fulfill their duties under 

the program.2 Specifically, Congress anticipated the need for classified information in 

the estimation of occupational radiation exposures and required the Secretary of Energy 

to provide the Secretary of HHS and the members of the Advisory Board access to 

classified information that is relevant to worker exposures.3 Furthermore, EEOICPA 

mandates that DOE ensure that the members and staff of the Advisory Board and its 

supporting contractors are afforded the opportunity to apply for security clearances.4 

Consequently, HHS (specifically, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and 

Health (NIOSH), Division of Compensation Analysis and Support (DCAS)) should 

review available, relevant classified information in carrying out their responsibilities 

under EEOICPA.

DCAS may acquire classified information relevant to the compensation program through 

its data capture efforts or interviews with energy workers. Classified information 

obtained by DCAS can be useful and beneficial to EEOICPA claimants and Special 

Exposure Cohort (SEC) petitioners because classified information may enable DCAS to 

accurately depict the radiation environment at a facility and describe the occupational 

exposures received by the workers involved.

Nevertheless, DCAS is committed to maintaining transparency in administering Part B of 

EEOICPA and ensuring the free flow of information between DCAS and stakeholders. 

As such, DCAS will make every effort to use as much unclassified information as 

possible in carrying out its duties under the program. For example, DCAS has previously 

worked with DOE to use or develop unclassified information and language that may be 

shared with the public in describing the radiation environment at a DOE site that involved 

classified information. However, such attempts to use unclassified information or 

language may be circumscribed or entirely prohibited due to the sensitive nature of the 

classified information involved.5 In the event that classified information is used, DCAS

 

1 As used in this Implementation Guideline, the term “classified information” applies to information that is 

currently and properly classified at one of the following three levels as delineated in Executive Order 

12,958: (1) “Top Secret,” (2) “Secret,” and (3) “Confidential.” 

2

42 U.S.C. § 7384o(f) and § 7384q(d); Exec. Order No. 13,179, sec. 2(c)(i) (Dec. 7, 2000).

3 This access includes access to restricted data as defined in the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, 

(42 U.S.C. § 2014(y)). 

4

42 U.S.C. § 7384o(e).

5 DOE retains ownership of classified information used in this compensation program and makes all 

decisions about what information is classified and what can be released to the public. Therefore decisions

concerning how the classified information is handled, the unclassified descriptions of the classified 

information, and any public references to the existence of certain classified information must be approved 

by the DOE Authorized Derivative Classification (ADC) Officer reviewing DCAS’s work products. 
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will conduct a case-by-case evaluation of the specific use of the classified information to 

ensure that it is necessary and appropriate. 

To that end, DCAS has created this Implementation Guideline (IG-005) to provide 

direction on its evaluation and use of classified information and to ensure that such 

information is only used when necessary and appropriate. Specifically, DCAS will apply 

IG-005 when it (1) develops methods for arriving at reasonable estimates of the radiation 

doses received by EEOICPA claimants; and (2) evaluates petitions to add classes of 

energy employees to the SEC.6 

2.0 CRITERIA FOR THE USE OF CLASSIFIED INFORMATION

The purpose of this section is to establish criteria to guide the use of classified 

information in dose reconstructions and SEC petition evaluations. Additionally, the 

specific criteria for evaluating the use of classified information in the dose reconstruction 

and SEC petition evaluation processes are outlined in sections 2.3 and 2.4, respectively.

2.1 When Use of Classified Information is Necessary and Appropriate

Generally, there are two types of classified information that may be used by DCAS to 

carry out its duties. The first type of classified information involves sensitive 

radiological materials; and the second type of classified information involves sensitive 

exposure scenarios. 

Throughout the DOE and Atomic Weapons Employers (AWE) complex, information on 

the development and use of certain radiological materials and exposure scenarios are

protected due to national security concerns. Although radiological monitoring data are 

often not classified, discussions surrounding the materials’ form, composition, use, 

amount, radiation characteristics, and locations and time periods, as well as personnel 

involved and engineering controls, may be potentially injurious to national security. This 

is also the case for discussions surrounding certain exposure scenarios (i.e., amount, 

personnel involved, radiation characteristics, etc). In order for DCAS to evaluate

exposure potential or develop models for dose reconstructions, the use of classified 

information may be necessary and appropriate.

 

NIOSH will follow its internal policy and procedural documents, OCAS-PR-011, “DOE Classification 

Review of Documents,” and OCAS-PLCY-0001, “Handling Controlled Unclassified Information.” DCAS 

will also follow the guidelines outlined in the NIOSH/DCAS and DOE/HHS Security Plans that describe 

and establish processes for requesting data, obtaining clearance, accessing the site, and resolving security 

issues as they arise. 

6 The scope of IG-005 is limited to classified information used by DCAS to carry out the specific tasks 

delegated to HHS under Executive Order 13,179, such as (1) estimating the radiation dose received by 

energy employees; and (2) defining a class of energy workers for inclusion in the SEC. IG-005 does not 

apply to, among other things, DOL’s verification of employment or health-related information, claimants’ 

eligibility for compensation pursuant to an SEC class designation, or adjudication by the DOL Final 

Adjudication Branch. IG-005 also does not apply to the working processes of the Advisory Board.
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DCAS will continue to follow guidelines set forth in IG-001 (External Dose 

Reconstruction Implementation Guideline), IG-002 (Internal Dose Reconstruction

Implementation Guideline), and IG-004 (The Use of Data from Other Facilities in the 

Completion of Dose Reconstructions under EEOICPA), to evaluate classified and 

unclassified information alike. However, when classified information is involved, the 

application of IG-005 provides an additional step in the data evaluation process to ensure 

that the use of classified information is necessary and appropriate. 

In addition to following the guidance and processes outlined in IG-001, IG-002, and IG004, DCAS should, upon DOE approval, affirmatively state in a publicly-releasable 

manner why using classified information is necessary and appropriate in a specific 

instance. For example, using classified information may be necessary and appropriate in 

the following circumstances: 

The absence of information—there are no other unclassified sources that would 

provide the information; and/or

Information from unclassified sources is incomplete, unsubstantiated, implausible, 

inadequate, lacks data integrity, or is plainly erroneous.

When DCAS decides to use classified information, such information will be evaluated as 

rigorously as in the case of unclassified information to ensure that the classified 

information is both scientifically sound and possesses an adequate degree of data 

integrity. In other words, DCAS will evaluate monitoring data that are relevant to the 

exposure in question, regardless of the classification status of the data, for the following: 

“(1) the validity of the measurement method for the workplace exposure condition being 

evaluated; (2) the detection limit of the measurement method; and (3) the 

representativeness of the data to the segment of the workforce to which they would be 

applied.”7

When the Advisory Board undertakes the review of a DCAS document that uses 

classified information, DCAS will inform the Advisory Board, upon DOE approval, of 

the specific use and reasons for such use.8 This advance notification provides an 

opportunity for the Advisory Board to prepare for any logistical concerns associated with 

its review of DCAS’ evaluations or dose reconstructions that use classified information. 

DCAS is also committed to producing technical documents that explain the agency’s 

findings and use of classified information in a publicly-releasable manner, without 

disclosing classified information. These documents will be reviewed by DOE to ensure

 

7 OCAS-IG-004 Rev. 0, “The Use of Data from Other Facilities in the Completion of Dose Reconstructions 

Under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act,” p. 3 (Aug. 21, 2008). 

8 DOE may restrict DCAS’ disclosure of a specific use of classified information to those members of the 

Advisory Board who do not have the appropriate security clearance. Prior to the disclosure, DOE will 

review the description, as well as the public notification, of the classified information used. 
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that the assembly of one document from several source documents does not result in 

disclosure of classified information.9

2.2 Data Capture

DCAS will continue to follow its data-capture guidelines in OCAS-PR-010 to capture 

both classified and unclassified information. OCAS-PR-010 requires that DCAS be 

consistent and diligent in its data-capture efforts regardless of the data’s classification 

status. The intent of IG-005 is to require DCAS to use, to the extent possible, 

unclassified information in administering the compensation program; therefore, the 

capture of unclassified information should not automatically cease when DCAS acquires 

access to sufficient classified information enabling it to complete a dose reconstruction or 

SEC petition evaluations.

2.3 Dose Reconstruction

In the dose reconstruction process, personnel monitoring data that are specific to 

individual claimants are given the most weight. Since personnel monitoring data are 

largely unclassified, individual dose reconstructions that rely on personnel monitoring 

data, such as individual dosimetry and bioassay data, tend not to involve the use of 

classified information. 

However, when personnel monitoring data are unavailable or have been shown to be 

incomplete, unsubstantiated, implausible, inadequate, lacking data integrity, or are plainly 

erroneous, workplace measurements such as air samples or area measurements of 

external doses may be used. Lacking the above, information about radiological materials 

and exposure scenarios may be used to construct a model to estimate worker exposures.10

In such cases, DCAS may use classified information concerning radiological materials or 

exposure scenarios to describe the exposure environment and to develop the exposure 

model. Both the underlying information used to develop the exposure model and the 

exposure model may be subject to DOE classification review. 

DCAS will attempt to summarize any classified information used to develop an exposure 

model in an unclassified manner for inclusion in technical basis (or site profile) 

documents. However, if the product resulting from such an attempt is determined to be 

classified by DOE, DCAS will summarize the classified information in a classified 

appendix. The classified appendix shall be reviewed and approved by the Director of 

DCAS or his designee. Subsequently, DCAS dose reconstructors would use the exposure 

model to reconstruct doses with sufficient accuracy. 

 

9

See OCAS-PLCY-0001, “Handling Controlled Unclassified Information,” and OCAS-PR-011, 

“Department of Energy Classified Review of Documents.”

10 OCAS-IG-004 Rev 0, “The Use of Data from Facilities in the Completion of Dose Reconstructions 

Under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act,” p. 3 (Aug. 21, 2008).
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It is possible that a reference or description of the existence or non-existence of certain 

classified information is in itself classified information. Therefore, any references or 

descriptions of information contained in the classified appendix intended for public 

release will undergo DOE classification review. DCAS may be prohibited from 

referencing or describing information in the classified appendix in a publicly-releasable 

manner.

2.3.1 Hierarchy of Data Sources

DCAS will follow the data hierarchy stipulated in 42 C.F.R. § 82.14. In cases where 

unclassified information is unavailable or where unclassified information is incomplete, 

unsubstantiated, implausible, inadequate, lacks data integrity, or is plainly erroneous, 

DCAS may use classified information to supplement or substitute for unclassified 

information. Consequently, if DCAS demonstrates that certain classified information 

provides a more adequate and reliable characterization of the radiation environment, 

DCAS may use such classified information in accordance with the hierarchy of data set 

forth in 42 C.F.R. § 82.14.

2.3.2 The Advisory Board’s Dose Reconstruction Review Process

The Advisory Board advises the Secretary of HHS on the scientific validity and quality of 

dose reconstruction efforts performed by DCAS. To carry out this duty, the Advisory 

Board, through the Subcommittee on Dose Reconstruction Reviews, selects and reviews 

a subset of EEOIPCA Part B claims with completed dose reconstructions. If the 

Advisory Board selects a claim for which the dose reconstruction used classified 

information, DCAS will notify the Advisory Board (or the Subcommittee on Dose 

Reconstruction Reviews) of the selection and, upon the Advisory Board’s request, 

distribute the relevant, classified information to those Advisory Board members who 

have the requisite security clearance to conduct the review. 11

2.4 SEC Petition Evaluation

The SEC petition evaluation process includes the following: (1) qualifying the petition; 

(2) evaluating the petition; (3) reporting DCAS’s findings to the Advisory Board and 

petitioners; and (4) disseminating the evaluation report to the public. DCAS will evaluate 

SEC petitions in accordance with HHS regulation 42 C.F.R. pt. 83, “Procedures for 

Designating Classes of Employees as Members of the Special Exposure Cohort under the 

Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000,” and the 

DCAS procedure OCAS-PR-004, “Internal Procedures for the Evaluation of Special 

Exposure Cohort Petitions.”

 

2.4.1 Qualifying a Petition

 

11 As used in IG-005, limited distribution means that the classified appendix may be shared with those 

NIOSH staff and contractors, and members and staff of the Advisory Board, as well as its supporting 

contractors, who have the appropriate security clearance to review classified information. 
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Per 42 C.F.R. pt. 83, in order for an SEC petition to qualify, a petitioner is required to 

provide a basis supporting the petition’s contention that doses for an occupational, 

radiological exposure cannot be reconstructed with sufficient accuracy. If the basis stated 

in the petition includes “lack of monitoring information” or the assertion that the 

information concerning the exposure is classified, then DCAS may use classified 

information to determine whether or not to qualify the petition for evaluation. For 

example:

An SEC petitioner submits an affidavit alleging that s/he suffered an unmonitored 

exposure to a sensitive radiological material. If during the petition qualification 

process, DCAS is able to determine (using classified information) that the 

exposure likely occurred, DCAS could qualify the petition for evaluation in order 

to further investigate the exposure. 

An SEC petitioner submits an affidavit alleging an unmonitored exposure to a 

sensitive radiological material. If during the petition qualification process, DCAS 

has access to classified information that directly impacts the analysis of the 

claimed exposure (e.g., that the exposure could not have occurred at the claimed 

location; the exposure could not have occurred during the claimed time period; or 

DCAS has monitoring data for the claimed exposure), then DCAS could use 

classified data to not qualify the petition for evaluation. 

The general approach in the SEC qualification process is to err on the side of the 

petitioner when information is lacking. There are instances, however, where DCAS has 

access to dosimetry or classified information that can explain the exposure claimed by the 

petitioners during the qualification process and could result in the petition not qualifying 

for evaluation.

2.4.2 Evaluating the Petition

If during the petition evaluation process, an exposure is identified and the information 

about which is classified, DCAS investigators with the appropriate security clearance will 

continue the data search and evaluation process in order to ascertain the exposure 

potential, exposure source(s), and circumstances surrounding the exposure. DCAS may 

use the classified information discovered through the investigation to determine whether 

(1) it is feasible for DCAS to reconstruct dose with sufficient accuracy; and (2) there is a 

reasonable likelihood that such dose may have endangered the health of members of the 

evaluated class. 

Notwithstanding the outcome of the SEC petition evaluation, DCAS should attempt to 

summarize any classified information used in the evaluation process in a publiclyreleasable manner for inclusion in the petition evaluation report. For example, if the 

circumstances surrounding the exposure are classified and DCAS has developed a 

method for reconstructing doses from a similar, unclassified exposure, the petition 

evaluation report may discuss the similar, unclassified exposure without divulging the 
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classified nature of the exposure. However, if the attempt to characterize the exposure 

environment or to depict a bounding scenario in a publicly-releasable manner is not 

approved by DOE for public release, DCAS should produce a classified appendix to the 

petition evaluation report that outlines the classified information used to arrive at the 

determination. The classified appendix should be reviewed and approved by the Director 

of DCAS or his designee. 

It is possible that a reference or description of the existence or non-existence of certain 

classified information is in itself classified information. Therefore, any references or 

descriptions of information contained in the classified appendix intended for public 

release will undergo DOE classification review. DCAS may be prohibited from 

referencing or describing information in the classified appendix in a publicly-releasable 

manner. 

2.4.3 Disseminating Unclassified Information to the Advisory Board and 

 the Public

When a petition evaluation report contains unclassified information that explains the 

classified information used in the SEC petition evaluation process, DCAS will transmit 

the petition evaluation report to the petitioner(s) and the Advisory Board after the petition 

evaluation report has been approved by the Director of DCAS or his designee, and 

reviewed by DOE. Furthermore, when a petition evaluation report has a classified 

appendix, per DOE, the unclassified petition evaluation report for public dissemination 

may or may not reference or describe the information contained in the classified 

appendix.

3.0 SUBMITTING THE NIOSH SEC PETITION EVALUATION REPORT

In an SEC petition evaluation report, when permitted by DOE, DCAS will use 

unclassified information to explain the classified information used in the SEC petition 

evaluation process. However, if this approach is not approved by DOE for the 

DOE/AWE facility in question, or no available unclassified information could adequately 

explain the classified information, DCAS will prepare a classified appendix to the 

petition evaluation report that contains the classified information used in the petition 

evaluation. The classified appendix should be approved by the Director of DCAS or his 

designee, and provided to those members of the Advisory Board who have the 

appropriate security clearance. 

It is possible that a reference or description of the existence or non-existence of certain 

classified information is in itself classified information. Therefore, any references or 

descriptions of information contained in the classified appendix intended for public 

release will undergo DOE classification review. DCAS may be prohibited from 

referencing or describing information in the classified appendix in a publicly-releasable 

manner.
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4.0 SUBMITTING NIOSH DIRECTOR’S PROPOSED DECISION ON A SEC 

PETITION TO THE SECRETARY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH 

AND HUMAN SERVICES 

Following the process stipulated in 42 C.F.R. § 83.16 and OCAS-PR-004, the Director of 

NIOSH will provide a proposed decision to the Secretary of HHS, accompanied by other 

deliberative materials, which may include a classified appendix that contains the 

classified information pertinent to the SEC evaluation.