S. 243 — Radiation Exposure Compensation Reauthorization Act

This section adds a new section 5A to the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) to establish compensation for claims relating to Manhattan Project waste. (As background, RECA provides lump-sum payments to eligible persons who contracted specified diseases following radiation exposure from U.S. nuclear weapons testing, uranium mining, or related activities.) It authorizes the Attorney General to pay compensation to (1) living individuals physically present for at least two years after January 1, 1949, in an affected area—specified ZIP codes in Missouri (20), Tennessee (14), Alaska (2), and Kentucky (3)—who contracted a specified disease thereafter, in the greater of $50,000 or documented out-of-pocket medical expenses for the disease (unreimbursed by insurance, workers' compensation, or similar programs); or (2) beneficiaries of deceased qualified individuals, with $25,000 paid to a surviving spouse or equally shared among surviving children. Eligibility requires filing a non-fraudulent claim with proof of physical presence (via contemporaneous residential, employer, or government records, covering primary residence, employment, or school attendance) and medical records confirming a specified disease, defined as leukemia (other than chronic lymphocytic, with onset at least two years after exposure at age 20 or older) or listed cancers (e.g., multiple myeloma; lymphoma other than Hodgkin's; primary cancers of the thyroid, breast, esophagus, stomach, pharynx, small intestine, pancreas, bile ducts, gall bladder, salivary gland, urinary bladder, brain, colon, ovary, bone, renal, liver without cirrhosis or hepatitis B, or lung, each with onset at least two years after exposure).

This section directs the Secretary of Energy, acting through the Director of the Office of Legacy Management, to award by September 30, 2025, a cooperative agreement to an eligible association to support safeguarding human and ecological health at the Amchitka, Alaska, Site (a former nuclear test site). The agreement may fund (1) research and development to improve long-term surveillance and monitoring; (2) workforce development; and (3) other appropriate activities; and requires stakeholder engagement and, to the greatest extent practicable, incorporation of Indigenous knowledge and participation by local Indian Tribes (i.e., those in the Aleut Region of Alaska). An eligible association consists of two or more of the following: (1) an Alaska institution of higher education (as defined in 20 U.S.C. 1001(a)); (2) an Alaska state agency; (3) a local Indian Tribe; or (4) an Alaska-based 501(c)(3) organization.

This section specifies that, except as otherwise provided, references in this title to a section or other provision of law are to a section or provision of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (Public Law 101-426; 42 U.S.C. 2210 note).

This section extends the termination of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Fund to 6 years after enactment of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act Amendments of 2025 (from 2 years).

This section expands eligibility for compensation under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) for leukemia and specified diseases resulting from atmospheric nuclear testing at the Trinity site in New Mexico, Nevada test site, and Pacific proving grounds by (1) extending the relevant exposure period to November 6, 1962 (from October 31, 1958); (2) reducing the required physical presence in an affected area from 2 years to 1 year for certain claimants; (3) adding new categories of eligible claimants physically present for 1 year during September 24, 1944–November 6, 1962 (limited to New Mexico), or for 1 year during July 1, 1946–November 6, 1962 or during April 25–November 6, 1962 (limited to Guam); (4) increasing compensation to a flat $100,000 for all eligible leukemia and specified disease claimants (from variable amounts of $50,000 or $75,000 for specified diseases and prior amounts for leukemia); and (5) adding chronic lymphocytic leukemia as a specified disease. (As background, RECA compensates individuals who developed covered cancers following radiation exposure from U.S. nuclear weapons testing or post-1947 uranium mining; affected areas generally include Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Guam.) (Thus, the changes broaden access to payments for downwinders and certain other exposed individuals.)

This section revises eligibility criteria for compensation claims under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA)—which provides lump-sum payments to individuals who developed specified diseases due to radiation exposure from uranium mining, milling, or related activities—as follows: (1) extends the covered employment period for mine and mill employees and uranium mine operations to December 31, 1990 (from December 31, 1971), and adds core drillers employed in specified states during that period; (2) for miners, expands compensable diseases under current eligibility to include renal cancer or any other chronic renal disease, including nephritis and kidney tubal tissue injury (in addition to specified cancers and nonmalignant respiratory disease); (3) for millers, adds core drillers and individuals involved in remediation efforts at uranium mines or mills, and expands their compensable diseases to include renal cancer or any other chronic renal disease, including nephritis and kidney tubal tissue injury (in addition to nonmalignant respiratory disease); (4) establishes eligibility for individuals with combined work histories in two or more positions (miner, miller, core driller, or ore transporter) during the extended period who meet special rules—(a) at least one year of experience in such positions, or (b) for miners, radiation exposure from mining combined with exposure from other such positions that equals or exceeds the level for one year of experience—and who submit medical documentation of lung cancer, nonmalignant respiratory disease, or specified renal diseases developed after radiation exposure; and (5) defines "core driller" as an individual employed to obtain cylindrical rock samples of uranium or vanadium using a borehole drilling machine for mining purposes.

This section amends the claims determination process under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA), which provides lump-sum compensation to individuals who contracted specified diseases due to radiation exposure from nuclear weapons testing or uranium mining activities. Specifically, it (1) authorizes the Attorney General to accept affidavits—made under penalty of perjury by a third party and in addition to other evidence—to substantiate a claimant's employment history as a miner, miller, core driller, or ore transporter; physical presence in an affected area during specified periods; or onsite participation in an atmospheric nuclear test; (2) makes conforming amendments to update cross-references in RECA section 6 and expand applicability of certain provisions to additional claimant categories under section 4(a)(2)(C) and (D); and (3) requires the Attorney General to issue revised RECA regulations within 180 days of enactment that account for Indian tribes' laws, traditions, and customs, including by accepting specified tribal records (e.g., grazing permits, homesite leases, post office box records, tribal leader letters, or tribal association records) as proof of physical presence.

This section extends the deadline for filing claims under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA)—which provides compensation to individuals exposed to radiation arising from U.S. nuclear testing and uranium mining activities, or their survivors—from 2 years to 5 years after enactment of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act Amendments of 2025. The section further revises rules for resubmittal of claims by (1) allowing claimants denied compensation to resubmit up to three times after enactment (with prior resubmittals not counting toward the limit); and (2) permitting previously compensated claimants to request additional compensation equal to the excess of amounts newly eligible under the amended RECA over prior payments received, plus medical benefits (if previously compensated under RECA sec. 4). (Thus, prior recipients automatically qualify for top-up payments and specified medical benefits upon submitting required information.)

This section establishes a grant program, administered through the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, to study the epidemiological impacts of uranium mining and milling on non-occupationally exposed individuals (e.g., family members of uranium miners and millers). Institutions of higher education and nonprofit private entities are eligible to apply, with $3 million authorized for each of FY2025 through FY2027.

This section expands eligibility under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 (EEOICPA)—which provides lump-sum compensation of $150,000 and medical benefits to Department of Energy (DOE) contractor employees and atomic weapons employees with specified cancers or chronic illnesses due to radiation exposure—to certain uranium mine and mill workers (including those involved in core drilling or transport of uranium or vanadium-uranium ore). Specifically, the section (1) revises covered employees with specified cancer to include Special Exposure Cohort (SEC) members who contracted cancer after beginning employment at a DOE facility, atomic weapons employer facility, or qualifying uranium mine or mill in Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Wyoming, South Dakota, Washington, Utah, Idaho, North Dakota, Oregon, Texas, or any state designated by the Attorney General under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA), during 1942-1990; (2) directs the Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health to recommend SEC classes of such uranium workers to the President where radiation dose cannot be estimated with sufficient accuracy; and (3) authorizes the President to designate such classes as SEC members upon Board recommendation if dose estimation is infeasible and radiation exposure likely endangered health. (Thus, qualifying uranium workers receive presumptive cancer compensation without dose reconstruction, similar to existing SEC members.)

This section directs the Comptroller General of the United States to conduct a study on the importance of, and need for, unmet medical benefits coverage for individuals exposed to radiation from Federal atmospheric nuclear tests, and to submit a report to Congress with recommendations within one year of enactment.