Talk to Terrie: Odds and Ends

Odds and Ends

We had a great response to the recent survey we sent which asked what topics you would like to see written about in Cold War Patriots blogs.  Sincere thanks to all who shared your ideas!  A few suggestions appear to want immediate answers – “Where can I get a hospital bed?” for example.  Since we only publish our blogs once or twice a month may I suggest that you contact the CWP Outreach Help Center at 888-837-7390 in order to receive immediate assistance.

Sometimes news items come across my desk which are worthy to pass on but there’s just not enough information to write individual blogs. I thought, instead, I would pass along these tidbits of news that may interest some of you.

 

DEEOIC responds to Advisory Board on Toxic Substances and Worker Health recommendations

The Board made two recommendations to the Division of Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation (DEEOIC) at their November 2020 meeting.  The Board recommended that DEEOIC presume that “highly mobile workers” such as security guards, firefighters, etc., were significantly exposed to all toxic substances present at the facility.  DEEOIC rejected this recommendation but is willing to continue the conversation.

DEEOIC did accept the Board’s recommendation:

to develop an independent third party-based system of reasonably frequent periodic evaluation of the objectivity, quality, and consistency of both the individual claim reports and the aggregate audits of program industrial hygienists and physicians. The Board also recommends that the Department implement a periodic audit of the industrial hygiene reports and the industrial hygiene review process.

DEEOIC intends to implement this recommendation as soon as an additional physician is hired.

 

SRS SEC Petition

Originally, the SRS SEC petition was supposed to be discussed during the Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health’s meeting on February 24, 2021.  That discussion has been removed from the agenda.  It is my understanding that it is necessary for the Board’s contractor, SC&A, to review the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health’s new proposal to reconstruct dose before the Board can discuss this further.

 

New Members on the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

One of the Senate committees that has jurisdiction over the EEOICPA program is the Committee on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP Committee).  Recently, the nomination of Mr. Marty Walsh to become the new Secretary of Labor passed through the committee.  The nomination now goes to the full Senate for a vote.  Before his election as the Mayor of Boston, MA, Mr. Walsh had a long history as a laborer, joining the Laborer’s Union Local 223 when he was 21 years old.

Senator Patty Murray is the new Chair of the Committee. The membership now includes six other Senators have a large claimant population from the states of Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico, Kentucky, South Carolina and Utah.