	Introduction

The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) was enacted in 1990 and provides one-time cash benefits to certain persons who participated in atomic weapons testing or lived near the Nevada Test Site during periods of atmospheric (above-ground) atomic weapons testing. All RECA claimants must have contracted one of the medical conditions specified in the statute after possible exposure to ionizing radiation from the detonation of an atomic weapon or after working in the uranium industry. The RECA program is administered by the Civil Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ). To date, DOJ has approved more than 30,000 RECA claims for nearly $2 billion in benefits. RECA Benefits

		Compensation Payments

The following benefits are available under the RECA program:
$75,000— Onsite participants (persons who were present at a test site during an atmospheric atomic weapons test); $50,000— Downwinders (persons who were present in certain areas north and west of NTS during periods of atmospheric atomic weapons testing); and $100,000— Uranium Workers (uranium miners, uranium millers, and uranium ore transporters). Millers and Ore Transporters

Uranium millers and ore transporters may qualify for RECA benefits if they meet specific exposure and disease requirements. Eligibility Areas in the Original RECA Statute and the 2000 Amendments

The original RECA statute included a smaller downwinder eligibility area than is currently covered by the program. The intent of the RECA program, as expressed in Section 2 of the statute is to make "partial restitution" to persons who were affected by fallout from atomic weapons tests and uranium miners who were working in mines "that were providing uranium for the primary use and benefit of the nuclear weapons program of the United States Government," in recognition that the "lives and health of uranium miners and of individuals who were exposed to radiation were subjected to increased risk of injury and disease to serve the national security interests of the United States." An expansion of RECA to cover post-1971 uranium activities would largely cover workers in the commercial uranium sector, which would expand the program beyond its original statutory intent.
The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) provides one-time benefit payments to persons who may have developed cancer or other specified diseases after being exposed to radiation from atomic weapons testing or uranium mining, milling, or transporting. Administered by the Department of Justice (DOJ), RECA has awarded nearly $2 billion in benefits to more than 30,000 claimants since its inception in 1990. The RECA program is scheduled to sunset in 2022.
RECA benefits are available to the following groups:
onsite participants—$75,000 to persons who participated onsite in the atmospheric test of an atomic weapon and developed one of the types of cancers specified in the statute; downwinders—$50,000 to persons who were present in one of the specified areas near the Nevada Test Site during a period of atmospheric atomic weapons testing and developed one of the types of cancers specified in the statute; and uranium miners, millers, and ore transporters—$100,000 to persons who worked in mining, milling, or transportation of uranium between 1942 and 1971 and developed one of the types of diseases specified in the statute.
The RECA statute was last amended in 2000. Since then, Congress has frequently considered legislation to expand the downwinder-eligibility area by making persons who were affected in other states during periods of atmospheric atomic weapons testing eligible for benefits and by allowing uranium miners, millers, and ore transporters to qualify for benefits based on work after 1971. However, an expansion of the downwinder-eligibility area is not supported by a congressionally mandated National Research Council report on atomic test fallout and the inclusion of post-1971 uranium work, which was largely for commercial rather than governmental purposes, and is not consistent with the stated intent of the program.