WASHINGTON – A traveling resource center to help Iowans who may have become ill because of work done at the Ames Laboratory between 1942 and 1970 is coming to Ames, Senator Chuck Grassley said.
The traveling resource center will be at the Hilton Garden Inn, 1325 Dickinson Ave., Ames, on Tuesday, December 7, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and will provide information about a new class of former Ames Laboratory employees who were recently added to the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act’s Special Exposure Cohort. Some people who worked at the Ames Laboratory between 1942 and 1970 are currently eligible for compensation through the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program.
Grassley was a supporter of the legislation that created the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program, which provides compensation and medical benefits to employees who became ill as a result of working in the nuclear weapons industry. In 2006, Grassley successfully pushed for an initial Special Exposure Cohort to be designated for former workers at the Ames Laboratory. According to the Department of Labor, an employee who is included in a designated Special Exposure Cohort group or class of employees, and who is diagnosed with one of 22 specified cancers, may receive a presumption of causation under the act.
“Many Iowans helped develop a nuclear arsenal to protect our country. Some paid a high price for their efforts, including disability and serious illness. I encourage any former Ames Laboratory employees who may be eligible, or family members of those who may be eligible, to meet with the representatives at the traveling resource center,” Grassley said.
In 2004, Grassley also worked to make substantive and positive changes for claimants to the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act. Grassley’s efforts moved the program from the Department of Energy to the Department of Labor, and have resulted in expedited claims processing for the workers.