ADVISORY BOARD ON RADIATION AND WORKER HEALTH HAS BEEN ADMINISTRATIVELY SUSPENDED

I have been a worker advocate and author of Special Exposure Cohort Petitions since 2006.  For the past several months I have been trying to resolve three issues related to the Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health. As you know, the  Advisory Board plays an integral role in the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Act of 2000 (EEOICPA), Part B.  The Advisory Board is crucial in that it audits radiation dose reconstructions of former and current Energy Employees for accuracy and completeness; and adjudicates Special Exposure Cohort (SEC) petitions. 

Secretary of HHS, Robert Kennedy Jr. suspended the Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health.  Additionally, the Board faces a complete shut down if President Trump does not sign an executive order to renew the Board's Charter by the end of September 2025.  Furthermore, SEC petitions currently under Advisory Board review cannot move forward without their review and action.  Currently there are six petitions under  Advisory Board review - they sit in limbo.  Two SEC  petitions have been submitted to begin the evaluation process - they too sit in limbo.  At the very least Energy Employees deserve to know if they will be compensated or not for cancers potentially caused by work to keep our nation safe.

Three things to happen before the end of September:

·      The Charter for the Advisory Board needs to be renewed.

·      The Members of the Advisory Board need to be reinstated and new Members need to be appointed.

·      A meeting of the Advisory Board needs to be scheduled as soon as possible to get the Board working toward fulfilling their obligations to energy workers.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/ailing-us-nuclear-workers-limbo-after-trump-pauses-medical-compensation-claims-2025-08-22/