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RADIATION COMPENSATION PROGRAM QUESTIONS TO BE ANSWERED BY

WASHINGTON, D.C. Justice Department officials will participate this week in a session of the Colorado Uranium Workers Council meeting in Grand Junction, Colorado, to answer questions about the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) Program. The session will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, September 13 at Grand Junction City Hall, 250 North 5th Street, Grand Junction, Colorado.

The RECA program, administered by the Justice Department since 1992, provides payments to eligible Americans injured during the Cold War as a result of their participation in the uranium mining industry and from nuclear weapons testing. Since that time, the Justice Department has approved 4,489 claims worth more than $ 321 million.

Congress amended the Act in July of 2000, expanding its scope and increasing the number of those who would be eligible to receive compensation. As a result, the number of claims received by the Department over the past year has increased dramatically, with more than 4,000 new claims being filed since October, 2000.

In July, the President signed into law legislation making funding immediately available to pay all outstanding claims that have been approved by the Radiation Program. The Program has since contacted every individual holding an "IOU" letter, sent payment forms to be completed in order to expedite the payment process and has begun making final payments to those eligible.

The Justice Department is continuing to adjudicate claims as expeditiously as possible, and is working closely with Congress and the Administration to secure a long term solution of the funding problem.

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