The Worker Health Protection Program (WHPP) was created to address the very difficult obstacles that Department of Energy (DOE) workers with occupational illnesses face. First, they have difficulty getting an objective expert opinion from physicians about the true cause of their health problems. If they succeed in that effort, workers then encounter a second major problem: getting an adequate social response to their health problems. The traditional workers’ compensation system works poorly for people with occupational diseases. The U.S. Congress and the DOE have taken serious steps to address these problems for workers. First, our Worker Health Protection Program and other Former Worker Medical Surveillance Programs at other facilities in the DOE complex provide former DOE workers (and some current workers) with an outside objective expert opinion about whether some of their health problems are due to their past history of occupational exposures. Simple as this is, this is really the first time in any industry in the United States that a comprehensive program to provide workers with proper occupational disease diagnosis is being conducted. Secondly, Congress created the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA) in 2000, with a significant modification in 2004, in order to provide payment and medical benefits to DOE workers with radiation-related cancers, chronic beryllium disease, and diseases that developed or worsened as a result of exposure to toxic agents during employment at the DOE. This Act is hardly perfect, and there are challenges in its implementation. But it does present a historical opportunity for DOE workers to gain a measure of compensation for illnesses that were caused by having worked at the DOE facilities. Our Worker Health Protection Program is making strenuous efforts to ensure we serve the needs of workers in the DOE complex. But surely we can improve, so please be sure to send your comments and ideas our way. |
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