The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA): Compensation Related to Exposure to Radiation from Atomic Weapons Testing and Uranium Mining

March 24, 2015 – July 19, 2024 R43956

The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act
(RECA): Compensation Related to Exposure to
Radiation from Atomic Weapons Testing and
Uranium Mining
Updated July 19, 2024
Congressional Research Service
https://crsreports.congress.gov
R43956

The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA)

Summary
The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) provides one-time benefit payments to
persons who may have developed cancer or other specified diseases after being exposed to
radiation from atomic weapons testing or uranium mining, milling, or transporting. Administered
by the Department of Justice (DOJ), RECA has awarded over $2.6 billion in benefits to more than
41,000 claimants since its inception in 1990.
RECA benefits are available to the following groups:
• onsite participants—$75,000 to persons who participated onsite in the
atmospheric test of an atomic weapon and developed one of the types of cancers
specified in the statute;
• downwinders—$50,000 to persons who were present in one of the specified areas
near the Nevada Test Site during a period of atmospheric atomic weapons testing
and developed one of the types of cancers specified in the statute; and
• uranium miners, millers, and ore transporters—$100,000 to persons who worked
in mining, milling, or transportation of uranium between 1942 and 1971 and
developed one of the types of diseases specified in the statute.
Pursuant to P.L. 117-139, enacted on June 7, 2022, the authorization for the RECA program
ended on June 7, 2024, and the DOJ is processing only applications postmarked by June 10, 2024.
Legislation is required to reauthorize RECA.
The RECA statute was last amended in 2000. Since then, Congress has frequently considered
legislation to expand the downwinder-eligibility area by making persons who were affected in
other states during periods of atmospheric atomic weapons testing eligible for benefits and by
allowing uranium miners, millers, and ore transporters to qualify for benefits based on work after
1971. However, an expansion of the downwinder-eligibility area is not supported by a
congressionally mandated National Research Council report on atomic test fallout, and the
inclusion of post-1971 uranium work, which was largely for commercial rather than
governmental purposes, is not consistent with the program’s stated intent.
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Appendixes
Appendix. RECA Program Data and Downwinder Area Map ...................................................... 18

Contacts
Author Information ........................................................................................................................ 20

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Introduction
The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) was enacted in 1990 and provides one-time
cash benefits to certain persons who participated in atomic weapons testing or lived near the
Nevada Test Site during periods of atmospheric (above-ground) atomic weapons testing.1
Benefits under RECA are also available to certain uranium miners, mill workers, and ore
transporters who worked in the uranium industry between 1942 and 1971, when the federal
government stopped its procurement of uranium for the atomic weapons program. All RECA
claimants must have contracted one of the medical conditions specified in the statute after
possible exposure to ionizing radiation from the detonation of an atomic weapon or after working
in the uranium industry.
The RECA program is administered by the Civil Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ).2 To
date, DOJ has approved more than 41,000 RECA claims for more than $2.6 billion in benefits.
The majority of RECA claims are related to atomic weapons testing rather than the uranium
industry. Complete RECA program data are provided in Table A-1 in the Appendix.
Benefits under RECA are paid out of general revenue and are considered mandatory spending.
Pursuant to the RECA Extension Act of 2022 (P.L. 117-139), authorization for the RECA program
ended on June 7, 2024, and the DOJ is processing only claims postmarked by June 10, 2024.3
Atomic Weapons Testing at the Nevada Test Site
On July 16, 1945, the United States detonated the first atomic bomb at the Trinity Test Site near
Alamogordo, NM. This atomic weapons test, which was followed by the only two offensive uses
of atomic weapons at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, ushered in an era of extensive development
and testing of atomic weapons that would last until 1992. During this period, the United States,
under the auspices of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) and later Department of Energy
(DOE), conducted 1,054 atomic weapons tests.4 The majority (928) of these tests were conducted
at the Nevada Test Site (NTS), a 1,375 square-mile federal reservation located approximately 65
miles north of Las Vegas in Nye County, Nevada.5 Of the 928 tests conducted at NTS, 828 were
underground tests and 100 were atmospheric tests in which the atomic weapons exploded at or
above ground level, resulting in radioactive material being released into the atmosphere.6 These
100 atmospheric tests and the initial Trinity test were the only atmospheric atomic weapons tests
conducted in the continental United States and Alaska. Table 1 provides a summary of U.S.
atomic weapons tests by location.

1 42 U.S.C. §2210 note; enacted as P.L. 101-426 on October 15, 1990.
2 The RECA program website is at http://www.justice.gov/civil/common/reca. Implementing regulations are at Part 79
of Title 28 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
3 Department of Justice, “Radiation Exposure Compensation Act: Procedures for Claims Submitted at the Revised
Statutory Filing Dead,” 88 Federal Register 3918, January 23, 2023.
4 Twenty-four of these tests were jointly conducted with the United Kingdom.
5 The Nevada Test Site (NTS) is now referred to as the Nevada National Security Site and is administered by the
Department of Energy (DOE), National Nuclear Security Administration. For additional information on the history and
characteristics of the NTS, see Terrance R. Fehner and F.G. Gosling, Origins of the Nevada Test Site, Department of
Energy, DOE/MA-0518, December 2000.
6 During some underground tests, radioactive material escaped from underground through a process known as venting,
thus releasing some radioactive material into the atmosphere.
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Table 1. United States Atomic Weapons Tests, by Location
Location
Number of Tests
South Atlantic Ocean Area
3
Pacific Ocean Area
106
United States other than Nevada Test Site (NTS)
17

Alamogordo, NM (Trinity Test Site)
1

Amchitka, AK
3

Carlsbad, NM
1

Central NV
1

Fallon, NV
1

Farmington, NM
1

Grand Valley, CO
1

Hattiesburg, MS
2

Nellis Air Force Range, NV
5

Rifle, CO
1
NTS
928
Total
1,054
Source: Department of Energy, United States Nuclear Tests: July 1945 through September 1992, DOE/NV-209-REV
15, December 2000, p. xi i.
Note: Includes 24 joint U.S.-UK tests conducted at NTS.
Atmospheric atomic weapons tests at NTS were conducted between January 27, 1951, and
October 30, 1958, and again between July 7, 1962, and July 17, 1962. The largest atmospheric
test at NTS in terms of energy yield was the Hood Test conducted on July 5, 1957, which had an
energy yield equivalent to 74,000 tons (74 kilotons or kt) of trinitrotoluene (TNT).7
RECA Benefits
Compensation Payments
The following benefits are available under the RECA program:
• $75,000—Onsite participants (persons who were present at a test site during an
atmospheric atomic weapons test);
• $50,000—Downwinders (persons who were present in certain areas north and
west of NTS8 during periods of atmospheric atomic weapons testing); and
• $100,000—Uranium Workers (uranium miners, uranium millers, and uranium ore
transporters).

7 For comparison purposes, the first atomic bomb ever detonated had a yield of 21 kt; the atomic bombs dropped on
Hiroshima and Nagasaki had yields of 15 kt and 21 kt, respectively; and the largest atmospheric test conducted by the
United States, the Bravo Test at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands on February 28, 1954, had a yield of 15 million
tons (15 megatons or Mt).
8 The areas eligible for downwinder compensation are listed in Table 3 and provided in the map in the Appendix.
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All benefits are one-time lump sum payments and are not adjusted to reflect changes in wages or
the cost of living. Benefits are not subject to the federal income tax9 but are offset by any
payments received from any lawsuit or settlement, or by any disability compensation or
Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) payments from the Department of Veterans
Affairs (VA) for any illnesses or injuries due to exposure to radiation from atomic weapons
testing or work in the uranium industry covered by RECA.10 For onsite participants with claims
based on diseases other than leukemia, RECA benefits are offset by the actuarial present value of
prior payments.11 For all other beneficiaries, including onsite participants with claims based on
leukemia with radiation exposure prior to age 21, RECA benefits are offset by the actual value of
prior payments. A veteran who has received RECA benefits prior to the receipt of disability
compensation benefits from the VA under the presumptive eligibility provisions of the Radiation-
Exposed Veterans Compensation Act (REVCA, P.L. 100-321)12 is required to have his or her VA
benefits reduced by the amount of his or her RECA benefits.13
No medical or other benefits are provided by the RECA program. However, uranium workers
eligible for RECA are automatically eligible for an additional $50,000 in compensation and for
medical benefits that pay for all medical costs associated with their covered illnesses under Part B
of the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA).14
Survivors’ Benefits
Each onsite participant, downwinder, or uranium worker who qualifies for RECA is entitled to
one benefit payment on his or her behalf. If the claimant is living, the benefit is paid to him or her
directly. If the claimant is deceased, then the benefit is paid to the following survivors according
to order of precedence:
1. spouse, provided the spouse was married to the claimant for at least one year
before the claimant’s death;
2. children, in equal shares;
3. parents, in equal shares;
4. grandchildren, in equal shares; and
5. grandparents, in equal shares.15
Only the survivors listed above are eligible for RECA benefits, and if there are no such survivors
to a claimant, no benefit is paid on that claim.

9 26 U.S.C. §104(a)(2).
10 Section 6(c)(2) of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (42 U.S.C. §2210 note).
11 The actuarial present value of prior payments is calculated in accordance with 28 C.F.R. §79.75(e) and Appendix C
to Part 79 of Title 28 of the C.F.R.
12 Under REVCA, certain conditions related to radiation exposure in veterans who were onsite participants; served
during the American occupation of Hiroshima or Nagasaki, Japan; were interred as prisoners of war in Japan; or served
in a capacity that would make them eligible membership in the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation
Program Act (EEOICPA) special exposure cohort (through work in the development of atomic weapons) are presumed
to be service-connected for the purposes of eligibility for disability compensation benefits payable by the VA.
13 38 U.S.C. §1112(c)(4).
14 42 U.S.C. §7384u. Onsite participants and downwinders are not automatically eligible for the Energy Employees
Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA) and can only receive EEOICPA Part B benefits by
establishing eligibility through work in the development, not testing, of atomic weapons.
15 Section 6(c)(4) of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (42 U.S.C. §2210 note).
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RECA Eligibility
Onsite Participants
To be eligible for RECA benefits, an onsite participant must meet exposure and disease
requirements.
Exposure Requirements
A person may be eligible for RECA benefits if he or she was present onsite and participated in an
atmospheric atomic weapons test conducted by the United States and meets the specific
geographic and participation requirements provided in the RECA regulations.
Geographic Requirements
A person must have been within or above one of the following geographic areas during a period
of atmospheric atomic weapons testing,16 including for up to six months after the period of testing
ended:
• NTS;
• the Pacific Test Sites (Bikini Atoll, Enewetak Atoll, Johnston Island, Christmas
Island, the test site for the shot during Operation Wigwam, the test site for Shot
Yucca during Operation Hardtack I, and the test sites for Shot Frigate Bird and
Shot Swordfish during Operation Dominic I) and the official zone around each
site from which non-test affiliated ships were excluded for security and safety
purposes;
• Trinity Test Site;
• the South Atlantic Test Site for Operation Argus and the official zone around the
site from which non-test affiliated ships were excluded for security and safety
purposes;
• any designated location within a naval shipyard, air force base, or other official
government installation where ships, aircraft, or other equipment used in an
atmospheric nuclear detonation were decontaminated; or
• any designated location used for the purpose of monitoring fallout from an
atmospheric nuclear test conducted at NTS.17
Participation Requirements
A person must have held one of the following occupations and performed one of the following
activities while onsite during a period of atmospheric atomic weapons testing, including for up to
six months after the period of testing ended:
Required Occupations
• member of the Armed Forces;

16 The dates for each period of atmospheric atomic weapons testing are provided at 28 C.F.R. §79.31(d)(1).
17 28 C.F.R. §79.11(f).
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• civilian employee or contract employee of the Manhattan Engineer District, the
Armed Forces Special Weapons Project, the Defense Atomic Support Agency, the
Defense Nuclear Agency, or the Department of Defense or its components or
agencies or predecessor components or agencies;
• employee or contract employee of the AEC, the Energy Research and
Development Administration, or the Department of Energy;
• member of the Federal Civil Defense Administration or the Office of Civil and
Defense Mobilization; or
• member of the U.S. Public Health Service;18 and
Required Activities
• performed duties within the identified operational area around each atmospheric
detonation of a nuclear device;
• participated in the decontamination of any ships, planes, or equipment used
during the atmospheric detonation of a nuclear device;
• performed duties as a cloud tracker or cloud sampler;
• served as a member of the garrison or maintenance forces on the atoll of
Enewetak between June 21, 1951, and July 1, 1952; between August 7, 1956, and
August 7, 1957; or between November 1, 1958, and April 30, 1959; or
• performed duties as a member of a mobile radiological safety team monitoring
the pattern of fallout from an atmospheric detonation of a nuclear device.19
Disease Requirements
An onsite participant must have contracted one of the types of cancers listed in Table 2 after
exposure to ionizing radiation from his or her participation in an atmospheric atomic weapons
test.
Downwinders
To be eligible for RECA benefits as a downwinder, a person must meet specified exposure and
disease requirements based on his or her physical presence near NTS, rather than through his or
her participation in an atomic weapons test.
Exposure Requirements
A downwinder must have been physically present for a period of at least 24 consecutive months
between January 21, 1951, and October 31, 1958; or for the entire period between June 30, 1962,
and July 31, 1962, in one of the counties or geographic areas listed in Table 3 and provided in the
map in the Appendix.20

18 28 C.F.R. §79.11(g)(1).
19 28 C.F.R. §79.11(g)(2).
20 The RECA regulations at 28 C.F.R. §79.23 provide that person who resided or was employed full-time in the
downwinder eligibility area is presumed to have been physically present in the area for the duration of his or her
residence or employment. A downwinder with leukemia who was initially exposed to radiation before the age of 21 is
only required to have been in the downwinder eligibility area for one year during the period between January 21, 1951,
and October 31, 1958.
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Table 2. Specified Cancers for Eligibility as Onsite Participants and Downwinders
(all cancers must be primary cancers)
Onset of the disease was at least two years after first exposure to fallout
Leukemia (other than chronic lymphocytic leukemia) if exposure to fallout was after age 20
Onset of the disease was at least five years after first exposure to fallout
Multiple Myeloma
Lymphomas (other than Hodgkin’s
Bile Duct Cancer
disease)
Brain Cancer
Breast Cancer (male or female)
Colon Cancer
Esophageal Cancer
Gall Bladder Cancer
Liver Cancer (except if cirrhosis or
hepatitis B is indicated)
Ovarian Cancer
Pancreatic Cancer
Pharynx Cancer
Salivary Gland Cancer
Small Intestine Cancer
Stomach Cancer
Thyroid Cancer
Urinary Bladder Cancer
Lung Cancer
Source: 42 U.S.C. §2210 note.
Table 3. Downwinder Eligibility Areas
Arizona
Nevada
Utah
Apache County
Eureka County
Beaver County
Coconino County
Lander County
Garfield County
Gila County
Lincoln County
Iron County
Navajo County
Nye County
Kane County
Yavapai County
White Pine County
Mil ard County
Mohave County north of the Grand
Clark County townships 13 through Paiute County
Canyon
16 at ranges 63 through 71
San Juan County

Sevier County

Washington County

Wayne County
Source: 42 U.S.C. §2210 note.
Disease Requirements
A downwinder must have contracted one of the types of cancers listed in Table 2 after exposure
to ionizing radiation from an atmospheric atomic weapons test at NTS.
Uranium Workers
Miners
To qualify for RECA benefits, a uranium miner must meet specific exposure and disease
requirements.
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Exposure Requirements
A uranium miner must have worked in an above-ground or underground uranium mine for at least
one year during the period between January 1, 1942, and December 31, 1971, or must have been
exposed to at least 40 working-level months (WLM) of radiation during this period, in one of the
states listed in Table 4.21
A WLM is defined in the RECA statute as one working level of radiation exposure every work
day for a month, or an equivalent exposure over a greater or lesser period of time. One working
level of radiation exposure is defined as the concentration of decay products of radon that will
release 130,000 megaelectron volts (MeV) of alpha energy per liter of air.22
Table 4. Uranium Worker Eligibility States
Arizona
Colorado
Idaho
New Mexico
North Dakota
Oregon
South Dakota
Texas
Utah
Washington
Wyoming

Source: 42 U.S.C. §2210 note.
Notes: Any additional state may apply for inclusion in this list and wil be included if it is determined by DOJ that
a uranium mine was operating in the state at any time during the period from January 1, 1942, to December 31,
1971. No state has ever been added to the list of eligible states through this process.
Disease Requirements
A uranium miner must have developed lung cancer or one of the following nonmalignant
respiratory diseases after exposure to radiation:
• fibrosis of the lung;
• pulmonary fibrosis;
• corpulmonale related to fibrosis of the lung;
• silicosis; or
• pneumoconiosis.
Millers and Ore Transporters
Uranium millers and ore transporters may qualify for RECA benefits if they meet specific
exposure and disease requirements.
Exposure Requirements
A uranium miller must have been employed in a uranium mill in one of the states listed in Table 4
for at least one year during the period from January 1, 1941, to December 31, 1971.

21 Any state may apply for uranium worker eligibility state status. If determined by DOJ that a uranium mine was
operating in the state at any time during the period from January 1, 1942, to December 31, 1971, that state will be
added to the list. However, no state has ever been added to the list of eligible states.
22 Radiation exposure in mines is largely caused by the inhalation of radon gas and the short-lived solid decay products
of radon. In the RECA statute, these decay products are referred to as “short half-life daughters of radon.”
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An ore transporter must have worked transporting uranium ore or vanadium-uranium ore from a
uranium mine or mill in one of the states listed in Table 4 for at least one year during the period
from January 1, 1941, to December 31, 1971.
Disease Requirements
A uranium miller or ore transporter must have developed one of the following conditions after
exposure to radiation:
• primary lung cancer;
• primary renal cancer;
• a chronic renal disease, such as nephritis or kidney tubal tissue injury; or
• a nonmalignant respiratory disease, specifically
• fibrosis of the lung;
• pulmonary fibrosis;
• corpulmonale related to fibrosis of the lung;
• silicosis; or
• pneumoconiosis.
Application and Appeals Process
Application Process
DOJ’s Civil Division administers the RECA program and makes eligibility decisions on claims.
Benefit claims must be submitted in writing and on standard application forms provided by DOJ.
The RECA statute requires that claimants submit “written documentation” of their illnesses to
qualify for benefits, and the RECA regulations provide detailed requirements on the types of
documents that must be submitted. Section 6(d)(5) of the RECA statute requires that in cases
submitted by Native Americans, the application and payment procedures established by DOJ
must “take into consideration and incorporate, to the fullest extent feasible, Native American law,
tradition, and custom.”
Application decisions for RECA benefits are made by an assistant director within the
Constitutional and Specialized Torts Section, Torts Branch, of the DOJ Civil Division. Decisions
must be made within 12 months of the receipt of a completed application and all supporting
materials. If no decision is made within 12 months, the application is automatically approved for
benefits.
Radiation Exposure Screening and Education Program
Section 4 of the 2000 RECA amendments authorized the Department of Health and Human
Services (HHS) to provide grants to federal, state, and local health centers and nonprofit
organizations to (1) conduct cancer screenings of persons who may be eligible for RECA and (2)
provide assistance with securing the medical documentation needed to file RECA claims. These
grants are administered by the HHS Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) as
the Radiation Exposure Screening and Education Program (RESEP). There are currently eight
RESEP clinics operating in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, and Utah with one clinic
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providing services exclusively to Native Americans.23 Applicants for RECA benefits are not
required to be screened for cancer at RESEP clinics.
Appeals Process
An applicant who is denied RECA benefits may file an appeal with DOJ, which is ruled on by an
appeals officer appointed by the Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Division of DOJ. Appeals
must be made in writing within 60 days of the initial decision, and the appeals officer must make
a decision to affirm or reverse the initial decision or remand the case back to the assistant director
for further action. An applicant dissatisfied with the outcome of his or her appeal may seek
judicial review in the U.S. District Court.
Attorney’s Fees
Applicants for RECA benefits and applicants filing appeals of benefit denials may be represented
in all matters related to the program by licensed attorneys. In addition, Native American claimants
may be represented by nonattorney representatives of tribal organizations. These are the only
nonattorneys authorized to represent RECA claimants. Nonattorney representatives may not
charge fees for their representation. The RECA statute provides the following limitations on fees
that may be collected by licensed attorneys who represent RECA claimants:
• for initial claims in which the attorney entered into a contract with the claimant
on or after July 10, 2000, 2% of the benefits awarded;
• for initial claims in which the attorney entered into a contract with the claimant
before July 10, 2000, 10% of the benefits awarded; and
• for the resubmission of previously denied claims, 10% of the benefits awarded.
In the case of an unsuccessful claim, an attorney may recover his or her costs associated with
representing the claimant. Pursuant to a 2007 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals and
subsequent regulations, an attorney representing a successful claimant may recover his or her
expenses associated with the claim in addition to the 2% or 10% fee.24
Outstanding Issues
Members of Congress have introduced legislation to expand the eligibility area for downwinders
and provide benefits to uranium workers who may have been exposed to radiation after 1971.
However, there have been no statutory changes to the RECA program since 2000, and Congress
has not passed legislation to extend the authorization for the program beyond its June 7, 2024,
sunset date.
Expansion of the Downwinder Eligibility Area
Under current law, to qualify for RECA benefits as a downwinder, a person must have been
present in one of the designated counties in Arizona, Nevada, or Utah during a period of
atmospheric testing at NTS. Residents of other areas during testing, including some areas closer

23 Additional information on the Radiation Exposure Screening and Education Program (RESEP) is available on the
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) website at http://www.hrsa.gov/gethealthcare/conditions/
radiationexposure/index.html.
24 Hackwell v. United States, 491 F.3d 1229 (10th Cir. 2007); and 28 C.F.R. §79.74(b).
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to NTS than the designated downwinder areas, areas near the Trinity test site in New Mexico, or
residents of Guam who may have been affected by fallout from atomic weapons testing in the
Pacific Ocean area, are not eligible for benefits, and new downwinder eligibility areas cannot be
added to the program through regulation or executive action.
However, even before RECA became a federal program, residents of areas outside of the current
downwinder eligibility area had expressed concern about the health effects of fallout from atomic
weapons testing and attempted to gain compensation from the federal government through the
civil courts.25 The inability of downwinders to win civil judgments against either the federal
government or atomic weapons testing contractors was one of the factors that led Congress to
create the RECA program in 1990.26
Eligibility Areas in Early Legislation to Compensate Downwinders
The first bills to provide compensation to civilian downwinders affected by atmospheric testing at
NTS were introduced during the 96th Congress in 1979. In the House of Representatives, H.R.
4766 would have made the United States liable for damages caused by atmospheric atomic testing
at NTS to downwinders with cancer, onsite participants, and sheep herds damaged by
atmospheric tests in 1953. Coverage under this bill would have been provided to downwinders
with leukemia, thyroid cancer, bone cancer, or any other cancer that occurred more often in the
affected area than would be expected as determined by the Secretary of Health, Education, and
Welfare.
The affected area for downwinder eligibility in H.R. 4766 was a rectangular area around NTS
from 112 degrees to 117.5 degrees longitude and from 36.5 degrees to 39 degrees latitude. In
addition to areas in Nevada, Utah, and a small part of Inyo County, California, this area includes
the northern portions of Mohave and Coconino Counties in Arizona, but does not extend south as
far as the Colorado River. The boundaries as proposed by H.R. 4766 are provided in the map in
the Appendix.
A companion Senate bill (S. 1865) also would have made the United States liable for damages to
downwinders, onsite participants, and affected sheep herds as well as uranium miners. The bill
would have created a federal advisory board with the authority to add to the list of specified
cancers. The affected area for downwinder eligibility was expressed in terms of counties and
other geographic features and included the following areas:
• in Arizona, the area north of the Grand Canyon and west of the Colorado River;
• in Nevada, the counties of Eureka, Lander, Lincoln, Nye, and White Pine; and
• in Utah, the counties of Beaver, Carbon, Duchesne, Emery, Garfield, Grand, Iron,
Kane, Juab, Millard, Piute, San Juan, Sanpete, Sevier, Uintah, Washington, and
Wayne.

25 For additional information on the history of the downwinder movement, see A. Costadina Titus, Bombs in the
Backyard: Atomic Testing and American Politics (Reno, NV: University of Nevada Press, 2001).
26 Lawsuits against the federal government for damages related to atomic weapons testing were barred by the principle
of sovereign immunity and the discretionary function exemption to the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA; see Allen v.
United States, 816 F.2d 1417 (10th Cir. 1987) and In re Consolidated United States Atmospheric Testing Litigation, 820
F.2d 982 (9th Cir. 1987)). Lawsuits against atomic weapons testing contractors were barred by Section 1631 of the
Department of Defense Authorization Act of 1985 (P.L. 98-525; commonly known as the Warner Amendment), which
made lawsuits under the FTCA (already barred) the sole remedy for injuries due to exposure to radiation from atomic
weapons tests thus providing immunity to any contractors involved in the atomic testing program. For additional
information on the FTCA, see CRS Report R45732, The Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA): A Legal Overview.
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In addition, the bill would have given the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare the
authority to add to the list of affected areas.
Eligibility Areas in the Original RECA Statute and the 2000 Amendments
The original RECA statute included a smaller downwinder eligibility area than is currently
covered by the program. Initially, only residents of the following areas were covered by RECA:
• in Arizona, the area north of the Grand Canyon and west of the Colorado River;
• in Nevada, the counties of Eureka, Lander, Lincoln, Nye, and White Pine and
Clark County townships 13 through 16 at ranges 63 through 71; and
• in Utah, the counties of Beaver, Garfield, Iron, Kane, Millard, Piute, and Sevier.
The current downwinder eligibility area was established with the enactment of the 2000 RECA
amendments, which added geographical areas in Arizona and Utah and created the current area
described in Table 3.27 The initial and current RECA downwinder eligibility areas are provided in
the map in the Appendix.
Legislative Attempts to Expand the Downwinder Eligibility Area
Since the enactment of the 2000 RECA amendments, numerous bills have been introduced over
multiple Congresses to expand the downwinder eligibility area. These bills would have expanded
eligibility for NTS downwinders to persons who were living in the entire states of Colorado,
Idaho, Montana, and New Mexico as well as in the entire states of Arizona, Nevada, and Utah
during periods of atmospheric atomic weapons testing at NTS. Additional legislation would have
created downwinder eligibility for persons living in Guam during atomic weapons testing in the
Pacific and for persons affected by fallout from the initial Trinity test in New Mexico.
National Research Council Review of the RECA Downwinder Eligibility Area
In 2002, in response to a congressional mandate contained in the House report to accompany the
2002 Supplemental Appropriations Act for Further Recovery From and Response to Terrorist
Attacks on the United States (P.L. 107-206), HRSA asked the National Research Council (NRC)
Board on Radiation Effects Research to study scientific evidence related to the health effects of
radiation exposure and make recommendations to Congress, including whether the RECA
downwinder area should be expanded.28 The NRC issued its final report on this study in 2005.29
The NRC concluded that any decisions on additional eligibility for downwinders should not be
made solely on the basis of geographic area. Thus, it advised against simply adding more
downwind counties. Citing studies showing that NTS fallout covered the entire country and that
people living far beyond the current downwinder eligibility area may have been exposed to higher

27 The 2000 RECA amendments inadvertently excluded the portion of Mohave County, Arizona, that is north of the
Grand Canyon that had been included in the original RECA legislation. This portion of Mohave County was added
back to the downwinder eligibility area by Section 11007 of the 21st Century Department of Justice Appropriations
Authorization Act (P.L. 107-273).
28 U.S. Congress, House Committee on Appropriations, Making Supplemental Appropriations for Further Recovery
From and Response to Terrorist Attacks on the United States for the Fiscal Year Ending September 30, 2002, and for
Other Purposes, report to accompany H.R. 4775, 107th Cong., 2nd sess., May 20, 2002, H.Rept. 107-480, p. 38.
29 National Research Council, Assessment of the Scientific Information for the Radiation Exposure Screening and
Education Program, 2005.
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The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA)

amounts of radiation, the NRC recommended an alternative science-based approach to
determining downwinder eligibility for RECA benefits.
Individuals’ exposure to fallout depended on multiple factors, including where they lived, the
amount of time they spent outdoors, and their consumption of milk. That last factor is especially
significant because the most important pathway of exposure was the ingestion of Iodine 131
(131I)30 through the consumption of milk from cows and goats that ate contaminated vegetation.31
To be equitable, the NRC report recommended that the RECA program use a model of probability
of causation to evaluate individual claims for benefits instead of basing downwinder eligibility
solely on geography and a presumption of eligibility. Under this model, each applicant’s
individual absorbed dose of radionuclides would be estimated using geographic, demographic,
and behavioral factors and every person in the country would be eligible to apply for benefits.
This estimated dose would then be used to calculate, using established radio-epidemiology
formulas developed by NCI, the probability that the individual’s specific type of cancer was
caused by his or her exposure to ionizing radiation. Congress would then have to set the threshold
at which to award benefits or perhaps award varying levels of benefits based on a sliding scale of
probabilities.
This model, which is similar to one of the methods used to determine eligibility for benefits under
Part B of EEOICPA and for disability compensation provided by the VA, has never been part of
the RECA program or its amendments to expand the downwinder area. No legislation has ever
been introduced to convert RECA downwinder eligibility from a model based on geography to
one based on the probability of causation. In addition, in both the EEOICPA and veterans’
programs, the probability of causation model has been largely supplanted by a presumption of
eligibility model similar to that used in RECA.32
The presumptive eligibility model used by RECA may be favored by some advocates for
compensation because the probability of causation model recommended by the NRC is likely to
result in fewer successful claims. This is due to the generally low levels of radiation exposure
from fallout and the fact that ionizing radiation is not an especially potent cancer-causing agent.
In the executive summary to its report, the NRC states
The scientific evidence indicates that in most cases it is unlikely that exposure to radiation
from fallout was a substantial contributing cause to developing cancer. Moreover,
scientifically based changes that Congress may make in the eligibility criteria for
compensation in response to this report are likely to result in few successful claims. The
committee is aware that such conclusion may be disappointing, but they have been reached
in accordance with the committee’s charge to base its conclusions on the results of best
available scientific information.33

30 Iodine 131 is a radioactive isotope of the element iodine.
31 National Cancer Institute, Estimated Exposures and Thyroid Doses Received by the American People from Iodine-
131 in Fallout Following Nevada Atmospheric Nuclear Bomb Tests, October 1997. Additional information on this
study, including detailed county-level data and an online calculator to estimate 131I doses, is available at
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/causes/i131.
32 In the case of the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA), the majority of
cases paid have come through the Special Exposure Cohort process rather than the dose reconstruction process. In the
case of veterans, the Radiation Exposed Veterans Compensation Act (REVCA; P.L. 100-321) was enacted in 1988 to
provide a presumption of eligibility model for disability compensation benefits.
33 National Research Council, Assessment of the Scientific Information for the Radiation Exposure Screening and
Education Program, 2005, p. 4.
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The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA)

Benefits for Post-1971 Uranium Workers
Under current law, RECA benefits for uranium miners, millers, and ore transporters are only
available if the worker was exposed to radiation during uranium work before 1972. In the original
RECA legislation, the December 31, 1971, cutoff date for uranium worker eligibility was selected
because the federal government’s procurement of uranium for atomic weapons ended in 1971.
Beginning in 1964 with the enactment of the Private Ownership of Special Nuclear Materials Act
(P.L. 88-489), private ownership of uranium for fuel for nuclear power plants has been legal,
creating an additional market for mined and milled uranium and ensuring that mining, milling,
and transporting of uranium continued after the cutoff date for RECA eligibility.
Since the enactment of the 2000 RECA amendments, legislation has been introduced in Congress
to expand RECA eligibility to uranium workers who may have been exposed to radiation after
1971. Legislation has also been introduced to include uranium mine core drillers in the RECA
program and to require research into the health effects of uranium tailing piles.
Advocates for extending RECA eligibility for uranium work after 1971 argue that despite
improved safety regulations enacted since 1971, including the enactment in 1977 of the Mine
Safety and Health Act (P.L. 91-173), uranium workers, especially miners, remain at elevated risk
for radon-induced diseases.34 For example, the current Mine Safety and Health Administration
(MSHA) annual exposure limit for radiation of 4 WLM35 is higher than the annual exposure limit
of 1 WLM recommended by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH),
meaning that current uranium miners can be exposed to higher than recommended levels of radon
while still being in compliance with federal safety standards.36
The RECA program’s intent, as expressed in Section 2 of the statute, is to make “partial
restitution” to persons who were affected by fallout from atomic weapons tests and uranium
miners who were working in mines “that were providing uranium for the primary use and benefit
of the nuclear weapons program of the United States Government,” in recognition that the “lives
and health of uranium miners and of individuals who were exposed to radiation were subjected to
increased risk of injury and disease to serve the national security interests of the United States.”
An expansion of RECA to cover post-1971 uranium activities would largely cover workers in the
commercial uranium sector, which would expand the program beyond its original statutory intent.
In addition, illnesses contracted during uranium mining, milling, and ore transporting for
commercial clients, rather than the federal government, would likely be covered by existing state
workers’ compensation systems, which are the traditional means of providing medical benefits
and compensation in cases of commercial workplace injuries, illnesses, or deaths.

34 See, for example, Gary E. Madsen and Susan E. Dawson, “Unfinished Business: Radiation Exposure Compensation
Act (RECA) for Post-1971 U.S. Uranium Underground Miners,” Journal of Health and Social Policy, vol. 19, no. 4
(2004), pp. 45-59.
35 30 C.F.R. §57.5038.
36 National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, A Recommended Standard for Occupational Exposure to
Radon Progeny in Underground Mines, October 1987.
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The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA)

Appendix. RECA Program Data and Downwinder
Area Map
Table A-1. RECA Program Claims Data
(as of July 16, 2024)
Benefits
Claim Type
Pending
Approved
Denied
Total
Approved ($)
Onsite Participant
168
5,665
3,901
9,734
414,155,747
Downwinder
517
26,863
5,057
32,437
1,343,120,000
Uranium Miner
126
6,996
4,180
11,302
698,874,560
Uranium Mil er
29
1,956
675
2,660
195,600,000
Ore Transporter
9
420
171
600
42,000,000
Total
849
41,900
13,984
56,733
2,693,750,307
Source: Department of Justice, Radiation Exposure Compensation System, Awards to Date: Summary of Claims
Received by 07/14/2024, July 16, 2024, https://www.justice.gov/civil/awards-date-07152024.

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Figure A-1. RECA Downwinder Area

Source: Congressional Research Service.

CRS-19

The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA)

Author Information

Scott D. Szymendera

Analyst in Disability Policy

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