This part sets up claims for Manhattan Project waste. A person must have spent two years in a listed area after 1949. They must then have caught a listed disease. A living claimant gets at least $50,000.
“was physically present in an affected area for a period of at least 2 years after January 1, 1949; and”
The section adds a new section 5A to the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act under which a claimant is compensated where a claim is filed with the Attorney General by the individual or, if they are dead or incapacitated, by an authorized agent such as an executor, guardian or conservator; the individual is shown to have been physically present in an affected area for at least 2 years after January 1, 1949 and to have contracted a specified disease after that; the Attorney General certifies the identity is not fraudulent or misrepresented; and the Attorney General finds the Act's requirements met.
What the document actually says
“was physically present in an affected area for a period of at least 2 years after January 1, 1949; and”
That sentence, in plain words
The person must have been in an affected area. That must be for at least two years. It must fall after January 1, 1949.
What this is about
They must then have caught a listed disease. An agent may file for them if they died. The Attorney General checks the identity.
No action is recorded against this proposal. That is not evidence that none has been taken, and nobody has yet read it against the record. See what the tracker does not yet cover.
“the amount of compensation under this section shall be in an amount that is the greater of $50,000 or the total amount of compensation for which the individual is eligible under paragraph (2).”
The section pays a living claimant the greater of $50,000 or their documented out-of-pocket medical expenses from the specified disease, shown by contemporaneous written medical records, reports or billing statements made by or at the direction of a licensed medical professional who treated them, covering expenses not paid or reimbursed through public or private health insurance, employee health insurance, workers' compensation or any other health program or benefit. No such medical expense claim may be paid unless the papers go in on or before December 31, 2028.
What the document actually says
“the amount of compensation under this section shall be in an amount that is the greater of $50,000 or the total amount of compensation for which the individual is eligible under paragraph (2).”
That sentence, in plain words
A living claimant gets $50,000 at least. They get more if their costs run higher.
What this is about
Those costs must be shown with papers. Only costs no one else paid count. The papers are due by December 31, 2028.
No action is recorded against this proposal. That is not evidence that none has been taken, and nobody has yet read it against the record. See what the tracker does not yet cover.
“a surviving spouse may, upon submission of a claim and records sufficient to satisfy the requirements of subsection (a) with respect to the deceased individual, receive compensation in the amount of $25,000; or”
The section lets a surviving spouse, on filing a claim with records meeting the section's requirements for the dead individual, receive $25,000, and where there is no surviving spouse lets the surviving children, minor or otherwise, receive $25,000 in total, paid in equal shares.
What the document actually says
“a surviving spouse may, upon submission of a claim and records sufficient to satisfy the requirements of subsection (a) with respect to the deceased individual, receive compensation in the amount of $25,000; or”
That sentence, in plain words
A surviving husband or wife may get $25,000. They must file a claim with records. Those records must meet the same tests.
What this is about
Where there is no spouse the children may claim. They share $25,000 between them. Each gets an equal share.
No action is recorded against this proposal. That is not evidence that none has been taken, and nobody has yet read it against the record. See what the tracker does not yet cover.
“in the State of Alaska, the ZIP Codes of 99546 and 99547; and”
The section defines an affected area for this purpose as named ZIP codes in Missouri, Tennessee, Alaska and Kentucky, listing twenty-one in Missouri, fourteen in Tennessee, two in Alaska and three in Kentucky.
What the document actually says
“in the State of Alaska, the ZIP Codes of 99546 and 99547; and”
That sentence, in plain words
Two ZIP codes in Alaska are named. They are 99546 and 99547.
What this is about
Three other states appear on the list. They are Missouri, Tennessee and Kentucky. Named ZIP codes in each are covered.
No action is recorded against this proposal. That is not evidence that none has been taken, and nobody has yet read it against the record. See what the tracker does not yet cover.
“Any leukemia, provided that the initial exposure occurred after 20 years of age and the onset of the disease was at least 2 years after first exposure.”
The section defines a specified disease as any leukemia where first exposure came after age 20 and onset was at least 2 years later, and, where onset was at least 2 years after first exposure, multiple myeloma, lymphoma other than Hodgkin's disease, and primary cancer of any of eighteen named sites including the thyroid, breast, esophagus, stomach, brain, colon, bone, kidney, liver and lung.
What the document actually says
“Any leukemia, provided that the initial exposure occurred after 20 years of age and the onset of the disease was at least 2 years after first exposure.”
That sentence, in plain words
Leukemia counts as a listed disease. Two tests apply to it.
What this is about
First exposure must come after age 20. The illness must start two years later at least. Other cancers follow their own list.
No action is recorded against this proposal. That is not evidence that none has been taken, and nobody has yet read it against the record. See what the tracker does not yet cover.
“the claimant's primary residence was in the affected area;”
The section bars the Attorney General from finding the requirements met unless the claimant submits contemporaneous written residential documentation plus at least one further employer-issued or government-issued document, or other documentation the Attorney General accepts, showing at least 2 years of presence in an affected area after January 1, 1949. Presence counts where the claimant's main home, place of work or school was in the area. The claimant must also submit contemporaneous written medical records or reports, or other documentation the Attorney General accepts, showing they contracted a specified disease after that presence.
What the document actually says
“the claimant's primary residence was in the affected area;”
That sentence, in plain words
One way to count is where a person lived. Their main home must be in the area.
What this is about
Work or school in the area counts too. Papers must show it. More papers must show the illness came later.
No action is recorded against this proposal. That is not evidence that none has been taken, and nobody has yet read it against the record. See what the tracker does not yet cover.
Each distinct thing the new section does: set the four conditions for a claim, set the payment for a living claimant with medical expenses and the December 31, 2028 cutoff, set payments to a surviving spouse or children, list the affected ZIP codes, define a specified disease, and set the proof required of presence and of disease.
The eighty ZIP codes and the eighteen primary cancers are carried in summaries rather than listed here.
The section works by adding a new section 5A to the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, which is not indexed here, so what the rest of that Act says cannot be checked against anything on this site.
