News from Around the Program

The Division of Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation (DEEOIC) issued the Final Bulletin that provides guidance to claims examiners (CE) when deciding whether claims for COVID-19 can be presumed to be a consequential disease.  Publication of the Bulletin follows DEEOIC’s acceptance of the Advisory Board on Toxic Substances and Worker Health’s recommendation on the issue.

The Bulletin explains that a CE can presume that contracting COVID-19 is a consequential disease if the claimant has been approved by DEEOIC for a medical condition that the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has determined as being a high risk for becoming severely ill if the claimant contracted the virus.  Some of the conditions are,

• Cancer
• Chronic lung disease such as COPD and asthma
• Chronic kidney disease

If a claimant has been approved by DEEOIC for a medical condition that is not on the CDC list, the CE will require a fully rationalized medical report from the treating physician how the covered condition was likely responsible for contracting COVID.

***

The Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health will hold a virtual meeting August 18-19, 2021.  They will discuss the Y-12 Special Exposure Cohort petition and an update from the X-10 Work Group the afternoon of August 19, 2021.  The discussion for these sites will begin at 1:30 pm EDT.

There will also be a public comment period on August 18, 2021 beginning at 5:30 pm EDT.  This will be a good opportunity for workers and claimants from those two sites to share their experiences with the Board.

The agenda has been posted to the Board’s public meeting webpage.  The webpage will be updated with the various presentations as the meeting draws closer.

For those who are unable to listen to the meeting Cold War Patriots will provide a summary of the Board’s meeting.