What is EEOICPA?

Since World War II, Federal nuclear activities have been explicitly recognized under Federal law as activities that are ultra-hazardous. Nuclear weapons production and testing have involved unique dangers, including potential catastrophic nuclear accidents that private insurance carriers have not covered and recurring exposures to radioactive substances and beryllium that, even in small amounts, can cause medical harm.

EEOICPA was enacted by Congress in 2000 to compensate workers who became sick due to their involvement with the production of nuclear weapons, primarily during the Cold War era. The program has continued to expand to cover more workers who are exposed to radiation and hazardous chemicals while working on government projects.

Since the inception of the nuclear weapons program and for several decades afterward, many nuclear weapons workers at sites of the Department of Energy and at sites of vendors who supplied the Cold War effort were put at risk without their knowledge.

The Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA) covers people who have worked at specific Department of Energy (DOE) facilities, beryllium vendors, and employers who produce atomic weapons. Eligibility for compensation is based on where the work was performed and subsequent health conditions that were precipitated by that work.