IV. Designation Findings

Feasibility of Estimating Radiation Doses with Sufficient Accuracy

The Secretary established the feasibility determination for the class of employec
covered by this report based upon the findings summarized below.

(1) Documents indicate that thorium operations included fuel encapsulation, (hu. »
fabrication, nuclear fuel production, and production of thorium containing
experimental elements.

(2) NIOSH has been unable to find detailed process descriptions or information
concerning the overall scope of the thorium work, such as when actual oper!"
stopped, whether the operations areas were decontaminated and decommi:-:.
and whether all thorium was removed.

(3) Documentation indicates that NUMEC Parks Township fabricated neutron
sources and handled irradiated fuel. NIOSH has not found any detailed pro:
descriptions, source term data, personnel or area monitoring data specificai:
associated with these processes, or records establishing the exact time peric +
these operations took place.

(4) Pursuant to 42 C.F.R. § 83.13(c)(1), NIOSH determined that there is insuf
information to either: (1) estimate the maximum radiation dose, for every ty».
cancer for which radiation doses are reconstructed, that could have been inc» »
under plausible circumstances by any member of the class; or (2) estimate t'»
radiation doses of members of the class more precisely than a maximum dos:
estimate.

ra

(5) The Board concurred with the NIOSH evaluation and recommended the prom
class for addition to the SEC.

(6) Although NIOSH found that it is not possible to completely reconstruct rai +
doses for these employees, NIOSH can reconstruct external dose, occupat" |
medical dose, and certain internal dose. Therefore, individuals with non-
presumptive cancers may be considered for partial dose reconstructions.

Health Endangerment

The Secretary established the health endangerment determination for the class .:!
employees covered by this report based upon the findings summarized below

(1) Pursuant to 42 C.F.R. § 83.13(c)(3), NIOSH established that there is a reasv.
likelihood that such radiation doses may have endangered the health of me.
of the class. Pursuant to 42 C.F.R. § 83.13(c)(3)(ii), NIOSH specified a mi

HHS Special Exposure Cohort Designation:
Nuclear Materials and Equipment Corporation (NUMEC) — Parks Township



I. Designation

I, Michael O. Leavitt, Secretary of Health and Human Services (Secretary), designate
the class of employees defined in Section II of this report for addition to the Special
Exposure Cohort (SEC), as authorized under the Energy Employees Occupational
Ullness Compensation Program Act of 2000 (EEOICPA), 42 U.S.C. § 7384q.

MAY 3 0 2008 o
Date Michael O. Leavitt

II. | Employee Class Definition

All Atomic Weapons Employer (AWE) employees who worked at the
Nuclear Materials and Equipment Corporation (NUMEC) facility in Parks
Township, Pennsylvania, from June 1, 1960, through December 31, 1980,
for a number of work days aggregating at least 250 work days occurring
either solely under this employment or in combination with work days
within the parameters established for one or more other classes of
employees in the Special Exposure Cohort.

Ill. Designation Criteria and Recommendations

Pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 7384q, for the class defined in Section [I of this report, the
Secretary has determined, and the Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health
(Board) has recommended, 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.

The Board, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 7384q, advised the Secretary to designate the
class as an addition to the SEC in a letter received by the Secretary on May 2, 2008.

HHS Special Exposure Cohort Designation:
Nuclear Materials and Equipment Corporation (NUMEC) - Parks Township


duration of employment to satisfy this health endangerment criterion as “having
been employed for a number of work days aggregating at least 250 work days
within the parameters established for this class or in combination with work days
within the parameters (excluding aggregate work day requirements) established
for one or more other classes of employees in the Cohort.”

(2) NIOSH did not identify any evidence from the petitioners or from other resources
that would establish that the class was exposed to radiation during a discrete
incident likely to have involved exceptionally high-level exposures, such as a
nuclear criticality incident, as defined under 42 C.F.R. § 83.13(c)(3)(i).

(3) The Board concurred with NIOSH’s finding that the health of the class may have
been endangered and defined the class according to the 250-workday requirement
specified under 42 C.F.R. § 83.13(c)(3)(ii).

V. — Effect and Effective Date of Designation

The Secretary submits this report on the designation of one additional class to the
SEC for review by Congress, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. §§ 73844(14)(C)(ii) and
7384q(c)(2)(A), as amended by the Ronald W. Reagan National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005, Pub. L. No. 108-375 (codified as amended in
scattered sections of 42 U.S.C.). Pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 7384/(14)(C)(ii), as
amended by the Ronald W. Reagan National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal
Year 2005, Pub. L. No. 108-375 (codified as amended in scattered sections of 42
U.S.C.), the designation in this report will become effective 30 days after the date of
this report’s submission to Congress “unless Congress otherwise provides.”

VI. Administrative Review of Designation

The health endangerment determination of the designation 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 expand the class
of employees covered by this designation, the Secretary would transmit a
supplementary report to Congress providing the expanded employee class definition
and the criteria and findings on which the decision was based.

HHS Special Exposure Cohort Designation:
Nuclear Materials and Equipment Corporation (NUMEC) - Parks Township



THE SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20201

MAY 3 0 2008

The Honorable Richard Cheney
President of the United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510

Dear Mr. President:

Pursuant to the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of
2000 and 42 C.F.R. § 83.14, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) initiated a petition for a class of workers
from the Nuclear Materials and Equipment Corporation (NUMEC) facility in Parks Township,
Pennsylvania, to be added to the Special Exposure Cohort (SEC).

On April 8, 2008, NIOSH presented its findings on the petition evaluation to the
Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health (Board). The Board considered the petition,
and on May 2, 2008, I received the Board’s recommendation concerning this petition. I have
also received the deliberations, findings, and recommendations of the Director of NIOSH and the
Director of CDC. I have designated the following class for addition to the SEC:

All Atomic Weapons Employer (AWE) employees who worked at the Nuclear
Materials and Equipment Corporation (NUMEC) facility in Parks Township,
Pennsylvania, from June 1, 1960, through December 31, 1980, for a number of
work days aggregating at least 250 work days occurring either solely under this
employment or in combination with work days within the parameters established
for one or more other classes of employees in the Special Exposure Cohort.

The criteria and findings upon which this designation is based are provided in the enclosed
report.

Please call me if you have any further questions regarding this matter.

Sincerely,

Michael O. Leavitt

Enclosure


THE SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20201

MAY 3 0 2008

The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Speaker of the House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Madam Speaker:

Pursuant to the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of
2000 and 42 C.F.R. § 83.14, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) initiated a petition for a class of workers
from the Nuclear Materials and Equipment Corporation (NUMEC) facility in Parks Township,
Pennsylvania, to be added to the Special Exposure Cohort (SEC).

On April 8, 2008, NIOSH presented its findings on the petition evaluation to the
Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health (Board). The Board considered the petition,
and on May 2, 2008, I received the Board’s recommendation concerning this petition. I have
also received the deliberations, findings, and recommendations of the Director of NIOSH and the
Director of CDC. I have designated the following class for addition to the SEC:

All Atomic Weapons Employer (AWE) employees who worked at the Nuclear
Materials and Equipment Corporation (NUMEC) facility in Parks Township,
Pennsylvania, from June 1, 1960, through December 31, 1980, for a number of
work days aggregating at least 250 work days occurring either solely under this
employment or in combination with work days within the parameters established
for one or more other classes of employees in the Special Exposure Cohort.

The criteria and findings upon which this designation is based are provided in the enclosed
report.

Please call me if you have any further questions regarding this matter.

Sincerely,

Michael O. Leavitt

Enclosure


HHS Designation of Additional Members of the

Special Exposure Cohort
under the
Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000

Designating a Class of Employees from

Nuclear Materials and Equipment Corporation (NUMEC)
Parks Township, Pennsylvania

HHS Special Exposure Cohort Designation:
Nuclear Materials and Equipment Corporation (NUMEC) ~ Parks Township