The Department of Labor will begin processing thousands of claims filed by sick nuclear workers next week, including those employed at Rocky Flats, officials said Thursday.
Labor Secretary Elaine Chao said the claims will be expedited as the result of recent completion of new regulations that form the framework of a new workers’ compensation program.
That program, known as Part E of the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act, provides medical benefits and compensation to workers who were exposed to toxic chemicals while working at federal facilities.
The program replaces another formerly managed by the Department of Energy.
Last year, Congress stripped that department of its authority to manage compensation and benefits programs after nuclear workers said it wasn’t processing claims quickly enough.
During the four years the DOE ran its program, it paid only 31 of the 25,000 claims filed.
With the Department of Labor at the helm of the new program, more than $53 million has been paid to about 340 survivors in the past eight months.
While labor officials were unable to say how many Rocky Flats workers have been paid under the new program, many continue to grow increasingly frustrated as claims are either denied or delayed.
Staff writer Kim McGuire can be reached at 303-820-1240 or kmcguire@denverpost.com.