About the Program
Background
From 1945 through 1962, the United States conducted nearly 200 atmospheric nuclear weapons tests while building the arsenal that became the cornerstone of the nation’s Cold War security strategy. Essential to the development of nuclear weapons was the mining and processing of uranium ore, conducted by tens of thousands of workers. Following the cessation of the government’s weapons tests, many filed class action lawsuits alleging exposure to known radiation hazards that were eventually dismissed by the appellate courts. Congress then stepped in and devised a program to make partial restitution to the individuals who developed serious illnesses after exposure to radiation released during atmospheric nuclear tests or after employment in the uranium industry.
Congress passed the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (“RECA” or “the Act”), 42 U.S.C. § 2210 note (2006), on October 5, 1990 and later broadened the scope of the Act’s coverage on July 10, 2000. The Act offers an apology and monetary compensation to individuals who contracted certain cancers and other serious diseases following their exposure to radiation released during above-ground atmospheric nuclear weapons tests or, following their occupational exposure to radiation while employed in the uranium industry during the build-up to the Cold War. This unique statute was designed as an expedient, low-cost alternative to litigation. Notably, the statutory criteria do not require claimants to establish causation. Rather, a claimant qualifies for an award by establishing the diagnosis of a listed compensable disease after working or residing in a designated location for a specific period of time. The Act provides compensation to individuals who contracted one of 27 medical conditions and covers all states where uranium was mined and processed as well as specified counties in Nevada, Utah, and Arizona, where fallout from the nuclear testing was significantly measured.
Congress charged responsibility for adjudicating claims filed under RECA to the Attorney General, who established the Radiation Exposure Compensation Program within the Constitutional and Specialized Tort Litigation Section in April 1992. Regulations were initially promulgated by the Department in 1992, updated in 1997, and revised on March 23, 2004. The regulations issued by the Department were designed to utilize existing records so that claims could be resolved in a reliable, objective, and non-adversarial manner, with little administrative cost to the United States or to the person filing the claim.
The Act established lump sum compensation awards for individuals who contracted specified diseases in three defined populations: uranium miners, millers, and ore transporters, who receive $100,000; individuals present at atmospheric nuclear weapons tests, who receive $75,000 (“onsite participants”); and individuals who lived downwind of the Nevada Test Site, who receive $50,000 (“downwinders”). Although the vast majority of claims are filed by people living in the Four Corners Region (Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona), the Program has awarded compensation to individuals residing in every state as well as several foreign countries. The claimant population also includes several Native American tribes. The Program regularly engages in outreach to the Navajo, Hopi, and Yavapai Apache Indian reservations to meet with tribal leaders, conduct town hall meetings, and assist members in filing claims. The map below shows the geographic areas covered by the Act.
Inter-Agency Radiation Network
Today, the RECA Program is at the center of a broad inter-agency network that comprises the comprehensive federal radiation compensation system. For uranium workers, approval by the RECA Program provides a gateway to additional compensation available 
under the Energy Employee’s Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (“EEOICPA”), 42 U.S.C. §§ 7384 et seq. (2006), administered by the Department of Labor (“DOL”). The RECA Program works closely with DOL to coordinate this additional compensation. The RECA Program also relies on cooperation from the Departments of Veterans Affairs, Energy, and Defense to determine the eligibility and compensation available to onsite participant claimants under RECA. Finally, the Radiation Exposure Screening and Education Program (RESEP), administered by the Health Resources Services Administration at the Department of Health and Human Services, provides grants for education, prevention, and early detection of radiogenic cancers and diseases. RESEP has awarded grants to seven clinics in Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico. In addition to its outreach and educational programs, the RESEP clinics provide medical screening for specified compensable diseases under RECA, conduct follow-up services, make referrals to medical specialists, and assist with RECA and EEOICPA claims processing by providing necessary medical documentation.
RECA Claimant Categories
Uranium Miners. A payment of $100,000 is available to eligible individuals employed in aboveground or underground uranium mines located in Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Wyoming, South Dakota, Washington, Utah, Idaho, North Dakota, Oregon, and Texas at any time during the period beginning on January 1, 1942, and ending on December 31, 1971. Additional mining states may be included for compensation upon application.
A. Exposure. The claimant must have been exposed to 40 or more working level months (WLMs) of radiation while employed in a uranium mine or worked for at least one year in a uranium mine during the relevant time period.
B. Disease. Compensable diseases include primary lung
cancer and certain nonmalignant respiratory diseases.
Uranium Mill Workers. A payment of $100,000 is available to eligible individuals employed in uranium mills located in Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Wyoming, South Dakota, Washington, Utah, Idaho, North Dakota, Oregon, and Texas at any time during the period beginning on January 1, 1942, and ending on December 31, 1971.
A. Exposure. The claimant must have worked in a uranium mill for at least one year during the relevant time period.
B. Disease. Compensable diseases include primary lung cancer, certain nonmalignant respiratory diseases, renal cancer, and other chronic renal disease including nephritis and kidney tubal tissue injury.
Ore Transporters. A payment of $100,000 is available to eligible individuals employed in the transport of uranium ore or vanadium-uranium ore from mines or mills located in Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Wyoming, South Dakota, Washington, Utah, Idaho, North Dakota, Oregon, and Texas at any time during the period beginning on January 1, 1942, and ending on December 31, 1971.
A. Exposure. The claimant must have transported ore for at least one year during the relevant time period.
B. Disease. Compensable diseases include primary lung cancer, certain nonmalignant respiratory diseases, renal cancer, and other chronic renal disease including nephritis and kidney tubal tissue injury.
Downwinders. A payment of $50,000 is available to an eligible individual who was physically present in one of the affected areas downwind of the Nevada Test Site during a period of atmospheric nuclear testing, and later contracted a specified compensable disease.
A. Exposure. The claimant must have lived or worked downwind of atmospheric nuclear tests in certain counties in Utah, Nevada, and Arizona for a period of at least two years during the period beginning on January 21, 1951, and ending on October 31, 1958, or, for the period beginning on June 30, 1962, and ending on July 31, 1962. The designated affected areas are: in the State of Utah, the counties of Beaver, Garfield, Iron, Kane, Millard, Piute, San Juan, Sevier, Washington, and Wayne; in the State of Nevada, the counties of Eureka, Lander, Lincoln, Nye, White Pine, and that portion of Clark County that consists of townships 13 through 16 at ranges 63 through 71; and in the State of Arizona, the counties of Apache, Coconino, Gila, Navajo, Yavapai, and that part of Arizona that is north of the Grand Canyon.
B. Disease. After such period of physical presence, the claimant contracted one of the following specified diseases: leukemia (other than chronic lymphocytic leukemia), multiple myeloma, lymphomas (other than Hodgkin's disease), and primary cancer of the thyroid, male or female breast, esophagus, stomach, pharynx, small intestine, pancreas, bile ducts, gall bladder, salivary gland, urinary bladder, brain, colon, ovary, or liver (except if cirrhosis or hepatitis B is indicated), or lung.
Onsite Participants. A payment of $75,000 is available to eligible individuals who participated onsite in a test involving the atmospheric detonation of a nuclear device, and later developed a specified compensable disease.
A. Exposure. The claimant must have been present "onsite" above or within the official boundaries of the Nevada, Pacific, Trinity, or South Atlantic Test Sites at any time during a period of atmospheric nuclear testing and must have "participated" during that time in the atmospheric detonation of a nuclear device.
B. Disease. After the onsite participation, the claimant contracted one of the following specified diseases: leukemia (other than chronic lymphocytic leukemia), lung cancer, multiple myeloma, lymphomas (other than Hodgkin's disease), and primary cancer of the thyroid, male or female breast, esophagus, stomach, pharynx, small intestine, pancreas, bile ducts, gall bladder, salivary gland, urinary bladder, brain, colon, ovary, or liver (except if cirrhosis or hepatitis B is indicated), or lung.