Vitro Manufacturing Information
Location
Canonsburg, Pennsylvania

Starting in 1948, Vitro was under contract to recover uranium from scrap. In the period from 1954-1956, Vitro had a contract to process production quantities of radioactive material (UF4) for National Lead of Ohio (Fernald). Vitro continued to provide uranium to the Atomic Energy Commission under various contracts through 1959. Additionally, a 1948 document indicates that General Electric shipped scrap containing beryllium to the Canonsburg site.
Canonsburg was a major uranium milling facility and although the EEOICPA definition of an Atomic Weapons Employer excludes mining and milling, this site is covered because of its scrap processing activities performed under contract to the Atomic Energy Commission.
The Canonsburg site is one of 24 former uranium mill sites designated for Department of Energy remediation by the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act (UMTRCA). DOE remediation contractors performed environmental remediation under UMTRCA at the Canonsburg site from 1983-1985 and in 1996. This work involved consolidating and encapsulating all contaminated materials from the Canonsburg site into on on-site engineered disposal cell.
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.
Alternative Names
- Canonsburg
- Vitro Rare Metals Company
Type of Facility
- Atomic Weapons Employer
- Beryllium Vendor
- Department of Energy
Covered by EEOICPA
- Part B (AWE)
- Part B (beryllium vendor)
- Part B and Part E (DOE)
EEOICPA Covered Years
- 1948 (beryllium vendor)
- 1942-1959 (AWE)
- 1960-1985 (residual radiation)
- 1983-1985 (DOE remediation)
- 1996 (DOE remediation)
Did work for:
- Fernald
- General Electric
Contract Numbers
- EY-76-C-04-0053
DOE
DOL
- Tracking your DOL Claim Status
- Advisory Board on Toxic Substances and Worker Health
- Ombudsman’s Office
- Resource Center
- DOL Case and Claim Statistics
- Site Exposure Matrix
- Approved Special Exposure Cohorts
- Bulletin 09-08: Vitro Manufacturing (Canonsburg) SEC Class
- Circular 11-08: Vitro Manufacturing SEC Class from January 1, 1958 through December 31, 1959
- Circular 12-04: Vitro Manufacturing Special Exposure Cohort (SEC) Class from January 1, 1960 through September 30, 1965
- Circular 12-05: Employment at 17 new facilities is now covered under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA) and additional years of employment have been added at three facilities
NIOSH
- FAQs About Your Case
- Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health
- AWE Site Wide Documents
- NIOSH Case Statistics
- Special Exposure Cohort Status Table
- Petition 134: “All AWE employees who worked at Vitro Manufacturing in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, from August 13, 1942 through December 31, 1957, for a number of work days aggregating at least 250 work days, occurring either solely under this employment or in combination with work days within the parameters established for one or more other classes of employees in the Special Exposure Cohort.”
- Petition 177 : “All Atomic Weapons Employees who worked at Vitro Manufacturing in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, from January 1, 1960 through September 30, 1965, for a number of work days aggregating at least 250 work days, occurring either solely under this employment or in combination with work days within the parameters established for one or more other classes of employees in the Special Exposure Cohort.”
- Petition 177: “All Atomic Weapons Employer employees who worked at Vitro Manufacturing in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, from January 1, 1958 through December 31, 1959, for a number of work days aggregating at least 250 work days, occurring either solely under this employment or in combination with work days within the parameters established for one or more other classes of employees in the SEC.”
- Work Site Information
Other Resources
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