Radiation Exposure Compensation Act Amendments of 2017

Radiation Exposure Compensation Act Amendments of 2017

This bill amends the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act to extend the Radiation Exposure Compensation Trust Fund until 19 years after this bill's enactment. The trust fund compensates individuals who contract cancer or other diseases as a result of their exposure to radiation during nuclear testing undertaken by the United States during the Cold War.

The bill revises the requirements of that Act, including by:

• increasing the amount of compensation that an individual may receive;
• expanding the affected area to include Colorado, Idaho, Montana, and New Mexico;
• expanding eligibility requirements to include additional individuals, such as certain employees of uranium mines or mills, or individuals who participated onsite in the cleanup of Enewetak Atoll (a ring of islands in the Pacific Ocean where nuclear testing occurred) from 1977 through 1980; and
• extending until 19 years after this bill's enactment the statute of limitations for the filing of claims.

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences must establish a grant program for institutions of higher education to study the epidemiological impacts of uranium mining and milling among non-occupationally exposed individuals.

The bill amends the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 by expanding eligibility requirements for the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program with respect to chronic beryllium disease.