HHS Special Exposure Cohort Determination:

Bliss & Laughlin Steel Company

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 

Bliss & Laughlin Steel Company 

Buffalo, New York
HHS Special Exposure Cohort Determination:

Bliss & Laughlin Steel 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.

____June 3, 2011______ _[Signature on file]_____________

Date Kathleen Sebelius

II. Employee Class Definition

All Atomic Weapons Employees who worked at the Bliss & Laughlin 

Steel Company located at 110 Hopkins Street, Buffalo, New York, for 

the period from January 1, 1951 through December 31, 1952 and/or 

during the residual period from January 1, 1953 through December 

31, 1998.

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 Bliss & Laughlin 

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

rule.
HHS Special Exposure Cohort Determination:

Bliss & Laughlin Steel Company

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 the principal source of internal radiation doses for the class 

evaluated was from the inhalation and ingestion of uranium particles in the dust 

generated by the machining and handling of uranium metal, and the principal source of 

external radiation doses were from deposition of uranium particles in the dust from the 

machining of uranium rods and the direct handling of uranium.

• NIOSH found that the available monitoring records, process descriptions, and sourceterm data and alternative data sources are adequate to complete internal and external 

dose reconstruction with sufficient accuracy for the evaluated class of employees.

• NIOSH obtained process information and air monitoring data collected during the rodturning operations, and has assessed Battelle-TBD-6000, and monitoring data bounding 

similar operations at other sites sufficient to bound internal and external dose. 

• NIOSH determined that it has access to sufficient information to bound internal and 

external dose for all members of the evaluated class.

• Although no records have been identified that indicate that occupational medical X-rays 

were required during the operational period, the dose associated with X-ray exams can 

be assessed using the methodology defined in ORAUT-OTIB-0006, Dose 

Reconstruction from Occupationally Related Diagnostic X-Ray Procedures.

• NIOSH determined that it has access to sufficient Bliss & Laughlin Steel Company 

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.

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 Bliss & Laughlin Steel Company employees as specified in 

this class, a determination of health endangerment is not required.
HHS Special Exposure Cohort Determination:

Bliss & Laughlin Steel Company

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.