EEOICPA Statistics for Claimants Living in New York
DOL Part B and Part E Statistics
NIOSH Dose Reconstruction Statistics
New York EEOICPA Facilities
Facility descriptions credit: DOE
Photo Credit: Aida on Pixabay
Allegheny-Ludlum Steel rolled uranium billets into rods for the AEC as part of the multi-site process overseen by the New York Operations Office for the production of uranium metal for fabrication into slugs for fueling the Hanford production reactors.
During the early
1950s, this location designed and produced
industrial equipment for the Atomic Energy
Commission. American Machine Foundry also
performed a large volume of uranium, thorium and
possibly zirconium metal machining work from
1951-1954.
During the period of residual
contamination, as designated by the National
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and
as noted in the dates above, employees of
subsequent owners and operators of this facility
are also covered under the Energy Employees
Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act.
The Manhattan
Engineer District and the Atomic Energy
Commission used the Baker & Williams site
warehouses for short-term storage of uranium
concentrates. This material was generated in
Port Hope, Canada by milling African ores.
Environmental cleanup under the Formerly
Utilized Site Remediation Action Program was
conducted in 1991-1993 by Bechtel National Inc.
This site's remedial action was certified
complete in November 1995.
During the period
of residual contamination, as designated by the
National Institute for Occupational Safety and
Health and as noted in the dates above,
employees of subsequent owners and operators of
this facility are also covered under the Energy
Employees Occupational Illness Compensation
Program Act.
In 1949, Bethlehem Steel of Lackawanna, New York developed improved rolling mill pass schedules for uranium billets into 1.5-inch rods to be used for reactor fuel rods to later be used at the Fernald plant. Bethlehem also performed uranium rolling experiments to help design the Fernald rolling mill.
Under contract to
the National Lead Company of Ohio (Fernald),
Bliss and Laughlin Steel rolled uranium rods for
the AEC and also provided uranium slug machining
services. Bliss and Laughlin was part of a
complex called the Buffalo Works that fashioned
components for the early weapons program. The
functions were transferred to the Albuquerque
South Valley Site in 1952.
Although this site
was designated for the Formerly Utilized Site
Remediation Action Program (FUSRAP) in 1992, no
work occurred under this program prior to its
transfer to the Army Corps of Engineers.
During the period of residual contamination, as
designated by the National Institute for
Occupational Safety and Health and as noted in
the dates above, employees of subsequent owners
and operators of this facility are also covered
under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness
Compensation Program Act.
Brookhaven National
Laboratory (BNL) is the former site of a U.S.
Army installation (Camp Upton) and has been
involved in research and development activities
in support of the Department of Energy (DOE) and
its predecessor agencies since 1947. BNL's
facilities conduct basic and applied research in
high energy and nuclear physics and in other
areas of science.
Throughout the course of
its operations, the potential for beryllium
exposure existed at this site, due to beryllium
use, residual contamination, and decontamination
activities.
In 1949, under AEC contract AT(30-1)438, Burns & Roe constructed a pilot plant in Maspeth on Long Island. The plant was constructed as a means of determining the potential value of the Sheer-Korman process in the manufacture of reactor materials. At least one test run involving beryllium was conducted in 1949. The New York Operations Office Health and Safety Laboratory sampled for beryllium in the air in 1949 and 1950, when the plant was dismantled.
In June of 1943, the
Carborundum Company at its Globar Plant and
Buffalo Avenue locations performed experimental
grinding of uranium metal using a centerless
grinder. Uranium slugs were received in June and
return shipped in September 1943. From 1959
through 1967, the company used powder
fabrication techniques to manufacture uranium,
plutonium, and carbide pellets for an AEC
research program. The Hanford facility supplied
Carborundum with materials during that period.
Carborundum also performed work during the
1950s that is not covered under EEOICPA,
including fabricating nuclear fuel elements for
commercial purposes and producing zirconium,
hafnium, and titanium for AEC's special reactor
materials program.
During the period of
residual contamination, as designated by the
National Institute for Occupational Safety and
Health and as noted in the dates above,
employees of subsequent owners and operators of
this facility are also covered under EEOICPA.
From 1958-1968,
National Lead Industries owned and operated the
Colonie site and during this time it produced
uranium products under contract to the AEC. This
contract was terminated in 1968. Thereafter,
National Lead fabricated various products from
depleted uranium. The largest customer for these
products was the U.S. Department of Defense with
its contract for armor penetrator cores. While
the AEC was still a customer during these years,
the uranium work was for reactors and not
weapons based. Therefore, because this work did
not constitute “producing or processing material
used in a nuclear weapon”, it is not eligible
for coverage under the Energy Employees
Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act.
In 1984 ownership of the property transferred to
the Department of Energy and from 1984 to late
1997 Bechtel National Inc. served as DOE’s
contractor at the site. In 1998 the Corps of
Engineers took the program over as part of the
transfer from DOE to the Corps of the Formerly
Utilized Site Remediation Action Program
(FUSRAP).
During the period of residual
contamination, as designated by the National
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and
as noted in the dates above, employees of
subsequent owners and operators of this facility
are also covered under the Energy Employees
Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act.
In 1951, New
York Operations Office personnel performed a
test forging and rolling of 10 thorium billets
at Crucible Steel Company.
During the period
of residual contamination, as designated by the
National Institute for Occupational Safety and
Health and as noted in the dates above,
employees of subsequent owners and operators of
this facility are also covered under the Energy
Employees Occupational Illness Compensation
Program Act.
In 1942, the Electro
Metallurgical Company (ElectroMet), a subsidiary
of Union Carbide and Carbon Corporation, was
contracted by the Manhattan Engineer District to
design, engineer, construct, and operate a metal
reduction plant.
Developing the technology to
produce pure uranium metal was a priority for
the Manhattan Project. ElectroMet received
uranium tetrafluoride from Union Carbide's Linde
Air Products Division. ElectroMet reacted the
uranium tetrafluoride with magnesium in
induction furnaces to produce uranium metal.
Once the metal was produced, it was cast into
ingots, and the ingots were then shipped out for
testing or for rolling. The leftover process
residues were sent to other sites for uranium
recovery, storage, or disposal. ElectroMet was
also in charge of recasting metal, research and
development in low- and high-grade uranium ores,
and supplying calcium metal to Los Alamos and
other laboratories.
From 1950 through 1953,
the plant casted zirconium metal sponge into
ingots. Ownership of the facility was
transferred from the Atomic Energy Commission to
ElectroMet in 1953.
EML traces its roots
to the Medical Division of the Manhattan Project
during and after World War II. The Division
focused on industrial hygiene, radiation
protection and safety. In 1946, the Atomic
Energy Commission (AEC) was created. The lab was
renamed the Health and Safety Division of the
AEC. In 1953 it became the Health and Safety
Laboratory, or HASL. Fallout from nuclear
weapons tests became a major concern and the
lab's focus shifted to measurements and
assessments of fallout using a network of gummed
film monitoring stations and measurements of the
radioactivity levels in various food products.
In the 1950's and 1960's, the worldwide sampling
network was expanded considerably to include
soil and water samples, air filter samples at
the surface and in the stratosphere, biological
samples, and measurements of wet and dry
fallout. In the 1970's, the lab's worldwide
sampling programs were expanded to include
non-nuclear pollutants. When the Atomic Energy
Commission was abolished in 1975, the Health and
Safety Laboratory became part of the Energy
Research and Development Administration. In
1977, the Energy Research and Development
Administration was absorbed by the Department of
Energy, and the Health and Safety Laboratory
changed its name to the Environmental
Measurements Laboratory.
In the 1970's, the
lab performed extensive radiation transport and
dosimetry studies in and around nuclear
facilities, and established the Quality
Assurance Program for environmental dosimeters
and radioanalytical measurements. The lab also
did extensive dose reconstructions for nuclear
weapons tests, and studied radon in homes. The
lab took immediate measurements after the
Three-Mile Island and Chernobyl accidents,
providing the ability to accurately and
comprehensively reconstruct the environmental
contamination resulting from these incidents.
In 1997, the lab underwent a major change of
focus when it moved from the DOE Office of
Energy Research to the Office of Environmental
Management. Today, EML's primary focus is to
support environmental monitoring,
decommissioning, decontamination, and
remediation efforts. EML continues to put its
worldwide monitoring network to good use by
developing models of the atmospheric transport
of pollutants. The lab has assisted in
developing instruments in support of
non-proliferation activities and conducts
in-situ measurements in support of many
decontamination and decommissioning activities
undertaken by DOE after the end of the Cold War.
In 2003 this laboratory was incorporated into
the Department of Homeland Security.
The Republic Aviation Division of the Fairchild Hiller Corporation produced beryllium products for the AEC's Rocky Flats facility in 1969 and 1970.
General Astrometals supplied beryllium metal and parts to the Y-12 plant and to Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. It also purchased beryllium chips and contaminated powder from Oak Ridge. In 1970 they analyzed some beryllium samples for Rocky Flats.
In late June 1943, the Manhattan Engineer District (MED) leased the Haist Property (now known as the Ashland #1 site) for the storage of waste residues produced during uranium-ore processing at the nearby Linde Air Products facility. The MED then purchased the property in August 1944 for continued use by Linde. After the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) no longer needed the property, it was excessed to the General Services Administration, which controlled the site from 1949 through 1960. In 1960, Ashland Oil Company acquired the property. Although the property was designated for inclusion in the Formerly Utilized Site Remedial Action Program in 1984, no remediation occurred prior to its transfer to the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers.
In January 1943,
Hooker began work for the Manhattan Engineer
District to manufacture fluoridated and
chlorinated organic chemicals. The by-product of
this work was hydrochloric acid that was
subsequently used in the chemical processing of
a uranium-bearing slag as a precursor of uranium
recovery. This work was continued until shortly
after World War II. Activities related to this
contract ended June 1948. Hooker
Electrochemical's relationship with the AEC
resumes between 1953 and 1958 as the Management
and Operating Contractor for Plant 31 at the
Lake Ontario Ordnance Works, listed separately
in this database.
During the period of
residual contamination, as designated by the
National Institute for Occupational Safety and
Health and as noted in the dates above,
employees of subsequent owners and operators of
this facility are also covered under the Energy
Employees Occupational Illness Compensation
Program Act.
The International
Rare Metals Company processed pitchblende ores
for the African Metals Corporation to extract
radium. The same ores were processed for the
Manhattan Engineer District to recover uranium.
Other than the coordination of the shipments of
ores and sludge, there was no MED involvement at
this site. The company did apparently ship a 1
milligram and a 5 milligram source of radium to
Chicago.
During the period of residual
contamination, as designated by the National
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and
as noted in the dates above, employees of
subsequent owners and operators of this facility
are also covered under the Energy Employees
Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act.
During 1961-1962, Ithaca Gun conducted tests involving the forging of hollow uranium billets into tubes for the metallurgical group at National Lead Company of Ohio (Fernald).
In 1944, the
Manhattan Engineer District (MED) obtained a
portion of the Lake Ontario Ordnance Works
(LOOW) from the Department of Defense (DoD) for
storage of low-grade radioactive residues
resulting from pitchblende ore processing at the
Linde Ceramics facility. In 1948, when the DoD
decommissioned the LOOW, the AEC acquired 1511
acres of the site, including the original
storage areas. The AEC declared most of this
property as excess in 1955 and by 1968, the
General Services Administration was able to
dispose of 1298 acres, with 213 acres remaining
under AEC control. In 1975, additional property
was transferred to the town of Lewiston, leaving
the present 191-acre site. The DOE portion of
the site became known as the Niagara Falls
Storage Site (NFSS). The site remained under DOE
control until 1997 when it was transferred to
the Corps of Engineers under the FUSRAP program.
Following World War II, Linde Ceramic’s refinery
was decommissioned and contaminated equipment
was disposed of at the LOOW. Contaminated
materials from other MED/AEC facilities were
also shipped to the LOOW for disposal. Beginning
in 1949, residues from operations at the
Mallinckrodt Chemical Works were shipped to the
LOOW for storage. During the early 1950’s, the
AEC portion of the LOOW was also used for
interim storage of uranium and thorium billets
and rods being processed by various New York
companies.
During 1953-1954, the AEC
constructed a boron isotope separation plant at
the LOOW, which began operations in 1954. The
operating contractor for this plant was the
Hooker Electrochemical Company, which referred
to it as Plant 31 (P31). In 1958, the facility
was placed on stand-by and a maintenance
contractor, Page Airways, was employed for
routine surveillance. The operation was
restarted in 1964, with the Nuclear Materials
and Equipment Company (NUMEC) as the operating
contractor until April 17, 1967, when NUMEC sold
all of its assets to the Atlantic Richfield
Company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, which was
given the name NUMEC II. NUMEC II was the
operating contractor until 1971, when the boron
facility was again placed on stand-by with the
National Lead Company of Ohio (NLO) as the
caretaker. In 1981, Bechtel National took over
the caretaker contract and began plans for
remedial work at the site. Clean-up began in
1982.
Ledoux had been an
AWE facility starting 1946 but is no
longer covered under EEOICPA.
Ledoux and
Company's work with uranium and nuclear
materials began during the 1930s when the
company first developed methods of analysis for
uranium bearing substances. From 1946 to 1955,
Ledoux and Company provided personnel who
assayed uranium ore at the Mallinckrodt Chemical
Works in St. Louis. By 1948, Ledoux was also
providing personnel to perform assaying work at
the Middlesex Sampling Plant, which probably
continued until 1955.
Ledoux and Company
appears on Fernald's shipping and receipt
reports for enriched uranium in 1986.
The Linde Air Products facility, also known as the Chandler Plant, was involved in the development and production of barrier for the Oak Ridge Diffusion Plant. During World War II, Linde was part of the Carbide and Carbon Chemical Corporation, later known as Union Carbide.
The Linde Air
Company performed uranium and nickel processing
for the Manhattan Engineer District (MED) and
the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) at the
Ceramics Plant in Tonawanda. African and
Canadian ores were milled to black oxides at the
plant. Documents indicate that the facility was
placed on standby as of March 1, 1950. Linde's
contractual agreements with the AEC continued
through 1953 for various activities relating to
closing out work at the Tonawanda location.
Linde was a part of Carbide and Carbon Chemical
Corporation (C&CCC), which then became Union
Carbide.
In 1980, Linde Ceramics was
designated as part of the Formerly Utilized Site
Remediation Action Program (FUSRAP) and work
under this program was performed during
1988-1992, and then again in 1996. The 1996 work
was performed under the Bechtel National Inc.
umbrella contract for DOE environmental site
remediation.
*Buildings 30,31,37 and 38 of
the Linde Ceramics Plant meet the definition of
a DOE facility for the years 1942 through 1953.
This means that employees who worked in these
buildings during these years are eligible under
both Part B and E of the EEOICPA.
The
Tonawanda Laboratory, which is also known as
Building 14, meets the definition of an AWE for
the years 1942-1953. Under the EEOICPA,
employees of AWE facilities are not eligible
under Part E of the EEOICPA.
New York University worked on the development of counting equipment for the Manhattan Engineer District/Atomic Energy Commission. NYU handled a small quantity of uranium for research purposes.
A note in the file
for the Sacandaga facility indicates that Peek
Street was a predecessor to the Knolls Atomic
Power Laboratory.
Throughout the course of
its operations, the potential for beryllium
exposure existed at this site, due to beryllium
use, residual contamination, and decontamination
activities.
**Consistent with the Act,
coverage is limited to activities not performed
under the responsibility of the Naval Nuclear
Propulsion program.
Beginning in 1943,
the Radium Chemical Co. supplied most of the
radium required for the Manhattan Engineer
District. Combinations of material supplied
and/or mixed by the Radium Chemical Company
included radium bromide and radium bromide mixed
with powdered beryllium. Brass was also used.
During the period of residual contamination, as
designated by the National Institute for
Occupational Safety and Health and as noted in
the dates above, employees of subsequent owners
and operators of this facility are also covered
under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness
Compensation Program Act.
Under an AEC
contract in the early 1950s, researchers at the
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute investigated
methods for improving the ductility of beryllium
by coating the material with copper. The Brush
Beryllium Company supplied the beryllium powder
for the project. RPI also borrowed 400 lbs. of
beryllium for AEC-sponsored research from Oak
Ridge National Laboratory in 1963.
Scientists
at RPI conducted a number of AEC-sponsored
research studies in the 1950s and 1960s using
enriched uranium obtained from commercial
sources. Available records provide no evidence
of a link between RPI research and the AEC
weapons program.
Columbia University was already researching some of the problems involved in determining whether it was feasible for the United States to build a nuclear weapon prior to the establishment of the Manhattan Engineer District (MED). Once the MED was formed in 1942, Columbia became part of the effort to build the first atomic weapons. At that time, the Columbia effort was reorganized and designated as SAM (Special Alloy Materials or Substitute Alloy Materials) Laboratories. Buildings used as part of the SAM laboratories at Columbia included Pupin, Schermerhorn, Prentiss, Havemeyer and Nash. Work at SAM Laboratories ended in 1947 with the establishment of the AEC. Subsequent work at Columbia University focused on health effects and basic nuclear physics that were not directly related to the production of nuclear weapons.
The Sacandaga
Facility was operated by the General Electric
Company Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory for the
AEC from 1947 to 1953. AEC-sponsored research at
the facility involved physics studies and sodium
technology development in support of breeder
reactor design. Work also involved the use of
beryllium.
**Consistent with the Act,
coverage is limited to activities not performed
under the responsibility of the Naval Nuclear
Propulsion Program.
Seneca Army Depot has been delisted and is no longer covered by EEOICPA. The Manhattan Engineer District temporarily stored approximately 2000 drums of pitchblende ores, which contained uranium, at the Seneca Army depot.
In 1950, the Atomic
Energy Commission (AEC) constructed the
Separations Process Research Unit (SPRU) as a
pilot plant for developing and testing two
chemical processes to extract both uranium and
plutonium from irradiated fuel. This facility
was operated by the Knolls Atomic Power
Laboratory. Research and development was
completed at SPRU in 1953 and the facility was
closed. The technology developed at SPRU was
transferred to the Hanford site. In March of
1965 the site was taken over by the Naval
Nuclear Propulsion Program.
**Consistent with
the Act, coverage is limited to activities not
performed under the responsibility of the Naval
Nuclear Propulsion program.
Simonds Saw and
Steel rolled uranium billets into rods for the
AEC as part of the multi-site process overseen
by the New York Operations Office for the
production of uranium metal for fabrication into
slugs for fueling Hanford production reactors.
Simonds also rolled thorium metal whose most
likely use was irradiation in Hanford reactors
for the weapons program. Simonds rolled between
25 million and 35 million pounds of uranium and
between 30,000 to 40,000 pounds of thorium.
During the period of residual contamination, as
designated by the National Institute for
Occupational Safety and Health and as noted in
the dates above, employees of subsequent owners
and operators of this facility are also covered
under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness
Compensation Program Act.
This warehouse was used for uranium ore storage from the Belgian Congo. From this warehouse, the ore was transported to various Manhattan Engineer District (MED) sites for long-term storage and/or processing. The ore was the property of the African Metals Corporation and the MED contractor purchased only the U3O8 content of the ore while African Metals retained ownership of the radium and precious metals in the ore.
The Metallurgical Laboratory of the Sylvania Electric Company investigated uranium and thorium powder metallurgy. It also produced powdered metal slugs, developed bonding techniques, and plated uranium slugs with nickel. The work with slugs included the conversion of uranium metal to uranium hydride using hydrogen. A February 1948 AEC Monthly Summary of Activities indicates that the Lab's "initial program will involve determining the physical properties and the health hazards of beryllium and uranium powders and the applications of powder metallurgy to these metals and their alloys." In 1948, the work required 315 pounds of raw beryllium metal. Beryllium was handled first in the regular metallurgical building and then, after the objections of the AEC medical division, in a special AEC metallurgical development laboratory.
Under Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) contracts, the facility was used for research and development with radioactive materials, principally uranium and thorium. It was also licensed by the AEC to fabricate reactor fuel elements for the AEC, for Sylvania use, for sale, and for research purposes.
Titanium Alloys Manufacturing (TAM) processed uranium-contaminated scrap associated with the nuclear weapons production process in 1955-1956. TAM also worked with zirconium tetrachloride for National Lead of Ohio starting 1950, but because zirconium tetrachloride is not radioactive, this work is not covered under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA).
The AEC Division of Biology and Medicine supported beryllium research studies at the Trudeau Foundation.
Although much of the early theoretical and experimental work that led to development of the first nuclear weapon was accomplished outside the United States, American researchers made a number of fundamental contributions as well. Prior to 1942, the University of Rochester was one of the institutions that contributed to early nuclear physics research in the United States. The university was responsible for more than a hundred projects in chemistry, physics, biology, medicine and psychology. During the Manhattan Project, it had major responsibility for the medical aspects of the bomb program. After the war, Rochester received an AEC contract to operate the Atomic Energy Project (AEP), which focused on the biomedical aspects of nuclear energy. The University of Rochester also received funding to study the pathology and toxicology of beryllium as well as to study the analytical chemistry of micro-quantities.
Residues from Linde Air operations were stored and rebarreled at this location.
From 1966 to 1972,
Nuclear Fuel Services, Inc., under contract to
the State of New York, operated a commercial
nuclear fuel reprocessing plant at the Western
New York Nuclear Services Center. The plant
reprocessed uranium and plutonium from spent
nuclear fuel; sixty percent of this fuel was
generated at defense facilities. Spent nuclear
fuel reprocessing generated approximately
600,000 gallons of liquid high-level radioactive
waste; this waste was stored onsite in
underground tanks.
In 1980, the United States
Congress passed the West Valley Demonstration
Project Act (Public Law 96-368), which
authorized the Department of Energy (DOE) to
conduct a technology demonstration project to
solidify the liquid high-level waste at the
Western New York Nuclear Services Center. Under
this act, DOE is also responsible for developing
containers suitable for the permanent disposal
of the solidified high-level waste at an
appropriate Federal repository; transporting the
containers to this repository; disposing of low
level waste and transuranic waste generated by
high level waste solidification; and
decontaminating and decommissioning facilities
used for the solidification. DOE is also
responsible for dispositioning the spent nuclear
fuel stored at the site.
In 1982, DOE
selected vitrification as the treatment process
for high level waste. This process solidifies
and stabilizes nuclear waste by mixing it with
molten glass. Pretreatment of the high-level
waste began in 1988 and was successfully
completed in 1995. DOE expects to complete the
West Valley Demonstration Project by 2005.
During the period of residual contamination, as
designated by the National Institute for
Occupational Safety and Health and as noted in
the dates above, employees of subsequent owners
and operators of this facility are also covered
under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness
Compensation Program Act.
Wolff-Alport Chemical Corporation was under contract with the AEC (#AT-30-1-Gen-287) for the procurement of thorium containing sludge for stockpiling by the AEC. A March 1949 document mentions, "current contract expires June 30, 1949 and will probably be extended for another year. Cost is approximately $50,000 annually." This same document shows that almost 30,000 pounds of thorium oxalate sludge was provided the AEC that year. During the period of residual contamination, as designated by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and as noted in the dates above, employees of subsequent owners and operators of this facility are also covered under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act.