It’s no secret that protections for workers at the Hanford nuclear site weren’t always top-notch. The federal government also recognizes this, especially when former employees at the Richland and New Mexico nuclear sites — where the materials in nuclear weapons were developed — began reporting illnesses likely tied to their radiation exposure.

In 2001, Congress established the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA), which compensates energy workers who file claims for certain kinds of medical conditions that can be tied to their time working at a U.S. Department of Energy site.

Rachel Pond

“A lot of the facilities, including Hanford, weren’t really safe but they didn’t really realize that at the time,” said Rachel Pond, director of the U.S. Department of Labor's Division of Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation, which administers the compensation program. “They had protection, but it wasn’t really good protection especially back in the early days.”

Hanford site workers are included in this program, and those who have been diagnosed with a radiogenic cancer, chronic beryllium disease or sensitivity, or chronic silicosis are eligible for benefits, as well as former employees with conditions that may be the result of exposure to other toxic chemicals at the site.

Former Hanford workers or their survivors may qualify for both monetary compensation, as well as fully-funded medical care to treat their condition or cancer.

These medical benefits include everything from doctor’s appointments, medications, medical equipment and home health for qualifying conditions, and any former worker whose claim has been successfully filed receives a benefits card to use their benefits.

Many local providers are a part of the EEOICPA program, as it is free for providers to register with the U.S. Department of Labor to participate. Providers are directly reimbursed for the services they offer from the Department of Labor.

Billions paid in compensation

Although there is no cap on the amount of total benefits, there is a $400,000 compensation cap per person receiving benefits, Pond said.

Since the EEOICPA’s inception, more than 140,000 people have filed for benefits nationwide, representing about 350,000 claims. The program has paid out $24 billion on over 145,000 claims in both compensation and benefits, Pond said.

For Hanford workers alone, about 35,000 claims have been filed on behalf of 13,000 separate people. Hanford workers have been paid $2.2 billion in compensation and benefits, representing about 15,000 claims.

“The money itself comes directly from taxpayer dollars,” Pond said.

Qualifying for benefits

Generally, benefits are available for Hanford workers who were at the site for at least a year, and those at the site from 1942-80 likely had the most exposures, although workers from 1942 to the present day can qualify for benefits, depending on their condition. Any Hanford worker with a radiogenic cancer qualifies for one part of the program, as these workers are considered a special cohort.Part B of the EEOICPA  covers radiogenic cancers, chronic beryllium disease and sensitivity, or silicosis and has a maximum lump sum compensation of $150,000 plus medical benefits.

Under Part E of the program, which was established in 2004, former employees can qualify for benefits if they can prove their condition was caused by “exposure to a toxic substance at a covered Department of Energy facility during a covered time period was a significant factor in causing, contributing to, or aggravating their claimed illness.”

Under Part E, former Hanford site workers may be eligible for wage loss up to a $250,000 cap plus medical benefits, and for survivors, the maximum benefit amount is $125,000.

Some former Hanford employees may qualify for one part or both parts of the program, and they are encouraged to apply for all that they might be eligible for.

Tri-Cities agencies

About a dozen home health companies with a local presence in the Tri-Cities primarily serve former Hanford workers in the EEOICPA  program.

Home health companies can’t enroll a former Hanford employee in the program, or help them apply, but they are allowed to provide educational materials and refer them to resources like the Hanford Resource Center, which directly contracts with the Department of Labor to help former workers apply. Former employees also can apply online.

There are also advocates to help people through the application process, as well as organizations like the Hanford Workforce Engagement Center.

“It’s wise to file as soon as you can in case bills accumulate,” said Stephen Wendt, CEO of Atomic Home Health in Richland.

Since benefits are retroactive to when the applicant applied, providers recommend submitting a claim as soon as a person gets diagnosed with a health problem that might qualify, as the process can take some time, depending on the condition.

It can take between six months to more than a year to get a claim approved, said Saundra Best, sales and marketing manager at Reliable Healthcare LLC in Richland.

That is unless a person has a terminal diagnosis – in that case the department will expedite a claim.

The slow timing is, in part, due to the various agencies the Department of Labor must work with, Pond said.

The agency works closely with the Department of Energy, which has employment records to verify a former employee’s position and dates of employment – although it doesn’t have all records, depending on how long ago an employee worked at the site.

Pond’s agency also must coordinate with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to conduct dose reconstruction and provide a report on how much exposure a former employee actually received.

Former employees may apply with their own medical records as well, and industrial hygienists sometimes produce reports that connect exposures to a claimant’s medical condition.

With that report, local doctors are sometimes asked to sign a letter, attesting to toxic chemical exposure being “at least as likely as not” to have contributed to a person’s condition.

This can get tricky, especially when issues like family medical history, other medical conditions or lifestyle choices might also influence conditions like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), Parkinson’s disease or kidney disease, Wendt said. Sometimes doctors are hesitant to write the letter at all.

Providers and department leaders emphasized that workers who have received their benefits are allowed to use any provider they choose.

There are lots of home health companies in the Tri-Cities, such as Atomic Home Health, Reliable Health Care and United Energy Workers Healthcare that offer services. Hanford Home Health is another.

That company was founded by a mother-daughter duo who come from a family of Hanford workers. They describe themselves as a "a team raised by Hanford employees to care for Hanford employees."

Many doctors and specialists also are enrolled in the program so they can be reimbursed too.

Best said the biggest challenge she sees in the program is getting the word out to former employees.

“The program is expanding and improving, of course. The biggest hurdle is just education – a lot of people aren’t familiar with the program or maybe they’ve heard of it but don’t know ins and outs,” Best said.

Wendt encouraged patients to advocate for themselves and find a provider who can offer the services they need and qualify for.

“I won’t bring on patients if I can’t service them – these are their benefits, not mine,” Wendt said.

Best hosts information sessions on the program on the last Monday of every month at Denny’s in Richland, she said.

Several EEOICPA providers will be in attendance at the Senior Times Expo which runs from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 16 at the Southridge Sports & Events Complex, 2901 Southridge Blvd., in Kennewick. Admission is free.

For more information about the program and to see if you might qualify you can call the Hanford Resource Center at 509-946-3333 or go to: dol.gov/agencies/owcp/energy.