About WHPP

The Worker Health Protection Program (WHPP) provides free medical screening for former and current workers* at the following Department of Energy (DOE) sites: Gaseous Diffusion Plants (GDPs) in Oak Ridge, TN (K-25), Paducah, KY and Portsmouth, OH; the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) in Idaho Falls, ID; Oak Ridge National Lab (ORNL) and Y-12 in Oak Ridge, TN; the Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) in Upton, NY; the Nevada Test Site in Las Vegas, NV; Lawrence Livermore National Lab in Livermore, CA; Lawrence Berkeley National Lab in Berkeley, CA; Sandia/CA National Lab in Livermore, CA; the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in Carlsbad, NM; and two closure sites: Mound in Miamisburg, OH and Fernald in Harrison, OH.

WHPP was established under Section 3162 of the 1993 Defense Authorization Act. The Act directed the DOE to initiate programs to evaluate the health of former DOE defense nuclear facility workers. The program is funded by a contract from the DOE and is led by Queens College of the City University of New York in partnership with the United Steelworkers (USW), Atomic Trade and Labor Council (ATLC), the “Former” Fernald Atomic Trade and Labor Council (FAT&LC) and Creative Pollution Solutions (CPS), Inc.

The goal of WHPP is to provide medical screening to detect work-related illnesses at an early stage when medical intervention may be helpful. In addition, it helps workers determine if a current health condition is the result of a work-related exposure. For the first time, former and current workers at DOE sites have the opportunity to obtain an independent, objective assessment of their health in relation to their prior workplace exposures by a physician with expertise in occupational medicine. This is a clinical service program, intended to be of direct and immediate benefit to its participants. Information gathered may be used in an anonymous way to inform scientists and to benefit future workers.

*Current workers are only eligible for medical screening at the three GDP sites.