The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, or RECA, has established a program of financial awards and healthcare support to veterans and other nuclear testing workers. Numerous individuals, known as Atomic Veterans, have been exposed to nuclear radiation between 1946 and 1958 at the Marshall Islands test sites and others. RECA aims to reimburse these Atomic Veterans for serious health problems and disabilities which developed during nuclear weapons testing or if they were in close proximity to radioactive fallout. Here is more about RECA and how it could help you.
The Details of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act
The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, or RECA as it is sometimes referred to, qualifies nuclear radiation exposed workers and veterans of military service for:
- Lump sum financial compensation for onsite nuclear testing participants and their families
- Financial support due to qualified disabilities
- Healthcare services for qualified military service veterans
In the US, RECA was passed in 1990 and was later updated in 2000 and 2004. People who qualify for RECA compensation include:
- Atomic Veterans and their families who were exposed to government- created nuclear radiation through testing of atomic weapons
- Uranium millers and transporters
- Downwinders of the Nevada Test Site (people exposed to nuclear fallout because they lived or work close to test sites)
The times of eligible coverage for monetary and services compensation range from January 1, 1942, through December 31, 1971. Those who were exposed to nuclear radiation may have done so if they directly touched radioactive fallout from nuclear weapons testing, ate from food sources contaminated by nuclear material or drank from toxic water.
Nuclear weapons typically were detonated on the ground, under the water or in the air. As such, these tests not only impacted the health of people and wildlife in a wide geographical radius, but they also adversely changed water, land, and other elements of the natural environment. In fact, those impacts can be measured even today, decades after World War II.
A wide range of cancers are common among Atomic Veterans involved in or affected by nuclear weapons testing in the Bikini Atoll and Enewetak Atoll in the Marshall Islands during and after World War II. Operation Crossroads was the first nuclear weapons test series at Bikini Atoll in 1946.
The Radiation Exposed Veterans Compensation Act allows for monetary awards in lump sum payments of $75,000 for cancers verified to be linked to nuclear weapons testing and radiation and $50,000 for atomic radiation related illnesses and disabilities. Both participants in the nuclear weapons testing and their families, including children, grandchildren, and spouses, may be awarded benefits when cancers and other health conditions have been definitely diagnosed as related to nuclear radiation exposure. These awards may even be made even after the veteran has passed away.
Examples of cancers and illnesses which Atomic Veterans and other people near the testing sites are:
- Bile duct, pancreas, and other gastrointestinal cancers
- Multiple myeloma
- Leukemia and other blood cancers
- Lymphomas
- Lung and other respiratory cancers
- Radiation sickness
- Birth defects, including club foot, cleft palate and devastating skeletal deformities
Radiation/Veterans Compensation Programs
The National Cancer Benefit Center is committed to helping Atomic Veterans receive the financial awards they deserve due to atomic radiation exposure. Many radiation exposure sites have been recognized as detrimental to the health and welfare of people in military service and other government programs, and as such, it is important for people to explore if they qualify for financial compensation and healthcare services.
Why not call the National Cancer Benefits Center to learn more about what you and your spouse, children or even grandchildren may be entitled to?
While money, healthcare and other tangible supports never fully compensate for the losses others like you have incurred due to government created radiation, these things may assist to ease your burdens.
Contact one of our knowledgeable team members today to learn more about your qualifications and the claims process. It is our business and our honor to help. Call us at (800) 414-4328 or request more information here.
