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The first payment since the October 2000 passing of the Energy Employees Occupational Injury Compensation Act (EEOICPA) was issued by US Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao, to Clara Harding in Paducah, Ky. The Aug. 9 presentation took place at one of the 10 resource centers recently opened across the nation to offer personal assistance in filing claims covered by the EEOICPA.

The EEOICPA pays $150,000 lump-sum compensation and related medical expenses to workers who became seriously ill from exposure to radiation, beryllium or silica while working in the nuclear weapons industry for the Department of Energy, including its contractors and subcontractors. Compensation will also be available to some survivors and to uranium employees who are eligible for benefits under Section Five of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act.

The occasion was bitter sweet for Harding whose husband died 20 years earlier after being exposed to toxic levels of uranium at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant.

The AP reported that Joe Harding had been denied compensation because official medical records showed he had been exposed only to minimal levels of radiation. Just prior to Harding’s death it was discovered that his bones contained up to 34,000 times the expected concentration of uranium.

The US Departments of Labor and Energy conducted 25 community town hall meetings nationwide in July to explain the new program to nuclear weapons industry employees and other interested individuals.

Chao viewed the meetings as an "opportunity to meet with workers and explain the law in detail."

The Labor Department has primary responsibility under the law and will administer compensation and medical benefits. The Department of Energy’s Office of Worker Advocacy will help workers fill state workers’ compensation claims and list facilities where workers were exposed. For additional information on the program, visit the Department of Labor’s web site at www.dol.gov or call the Department of Labor’s toll-free number: 1-866-888-3322.