Former Vitro workers notified of exposure designation

The U.S. Department of Labor has announced that all former Vitro Manufacturing workers have now been added to the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act's (EEOICPA) Special Exposure Cohort (SEC). The EEOICPA provides compensation and medical benefits to employees who became ill as a result of working in the nuclear weapons industry. Survivors of qualified employees may also be entitled to benefits.

An employee who is included in a designated SEC class of employees, and who is diagnosed with one of 22 specified cancers, may receive a presumption of causation under the EEOICPA. The new SEC class of former employees includes all Atomic Weapons Employer employees who worked at Vitro Manufacturing in Canonsburg, Pa., from August13, 1942, through December 31, 1957, for at least 250 workdays, occurring either solely under this employment or in combination with workdays within one or more other classes of employees in the SEC.

To date, more than $4.6 billion in compensation and medical benefits has been paid to eligible claimants nationwide under the act. Further, more than $827,000 in compensation and medical benefits has been paid to former Vitro Manufacturing employees and their survivors. For additional information about the new SEC at Vitro Manufacturing or to schedule an appointment for claim-filing assistance, please contact the department's New York Resource Center toll-free at 800-941-3943.