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Bliss & Laughlin Steel

(Site Profile/Docket Number 157)

Location: Buffalo, New York

Also Known As: Niagara Cold Drawn

Special Exposure Cohort Petition Information

The Special Exposure Cohort (SEC) is a unique category of employees established by the Act (42 CFR Part 83). Claims compensated under the SEC do not have to go through the dose reconstruction process. To qualify for compensation under the SEC, a covered employee must meet specific requirements (e.g., must have at least one of 22 “specified cancers,” and have worked for a specified time period at one of the SEC sites). Classes of employees and work sites can be considered for addition to the SEC through a NIOSH petition process. More information about the Special Exposure Cohort can be found on our Frequently Asked Questions page.

Open/Active SEC Petitions

To date, there are no open/active SEC petitions from Bliss & Laughlin Steel.

Classes Not Added to the SEC

  • All Atomic Weapons Employees who worked in any area at the Bliss and Laughlin Steel site in Buffalo, New York, from January 1, 1999, through December 31, 1999.
    Note: This class was established from Petition 230
  • All Atomic Weapons Employees who worked at the Bliss & Laughlin Steel Company located at 110 Hopkins Street, Buffalo, New York, for the period from January 1, 1951 through December 31, 1952 and/or during the residual period from January 1, 1953 through December 31, 1998
    Note: This class was established from Petition 131

Petitions Qualified for Evaluation

Below is a list of the petitions that qualified for evaluation. Select a petition on the list to view the table for that particular petition.

Petition 131 (Jan 1, 1948 to Dec 31, 1998)

Petition 131
Steps in Petition Process: Petition Details:
Date Received October 14, 2008
Date Qualified for Evaluation January 27, 2009
Summary of Information in Petition Location: Buffalo, New York

Job Titles and/or Job Duties: All Employees

Period of Employment: January 1, 1948 through December 31, 1998
Copy of the Petition Received October 14, 2008 [2.7 MB (40 pages)]
Federal Register Notice Announcing that a Bliss & Laughlin Steel SEC Petition has met the Minimum Qualifications for Review and Evaluation February 6, 2009 [77 KB (1 page)]
SEC Petition Evaluation Report June 30, 2009 [267 KB (53 pages)]
Evaluation Report Sent to the Advisory Board July 9, 2009
Petition Discussed by the Advisory Board The petition was discussed by the Advisory Board on October 21, 2009, and on February 24, 2011, during its regular meetings.

Note: Agendas and transcripts for Board meetings will be posted on the Advisory Board and Public Meetings page as soon as they become available.
Advisory Board Recommendation on SEC Petition March 28, 2011 [27 KB (1 page)]
HHS Letters to Congress Regarding the SEC Petition June 3, 2011 [76 KB (9 pages)]
HHS Determination Concerning a Petition to Add Members to the SEC June 3, 2011 [33 KB (4 pages)]
Federal Register Notice: Designation/Determination Regarding a Class of Employees for Addition to the Special Exposure Cohort June 24, 2011 [48 KB (1 page)]

Note: A “designation” will be published if there is a recommendation to add a class to the SEC. A “determination” will be published if there is a recommendation not to add a class to the SEC.
Effective Date for the SEC Class Not applicable at this time.

Note: this only applies if the class is added to the SEC.
Federal Register Notice: Final Effect of Designation of a Class of Employees for Addition to the Special Exposure Cohort Not applicable at this time.
Letter to DOL Regarding the Addition of a New Class of Employees to the SEC Not applicable at this time.

Note: this only applies if the class is added to the SEC.

Petition 230 (January 1, 1999 through December 31, 1999)

Petition 230
Steps in Petition Process: Petition Details:
Date Received March 1, 2016
Date Qualified for Evaluation May 10, 2016
Summary of Information in Petition Location: Buffalo, New York

Job Titles and/or Job Duties: All workers who worked in any area

Period of Employment: January 1, 1999 through December 31, 1999

Note: The information above is what qualified for evaluation. During our evaluation of whether dose reconstructions can adequately be completed for the above job titles and period of employment, information may cause NIOSH to change some the dates or job titles/duties. Therefore, as this petition proceeds through the SEC petition process and if an SEC class is proposed, the proposed class may not exactly match the above information.
Copy of the Petition Received March 1, 2016 [254 KB (5 pages)]
Federal Register Notice Announcing that a Bliss & Laughlin Steel SEC Petition has met the Minimum Qualifications for Review and Evaluation May 19, 2016 [85 KB (1 page)]
SEC Petition Evaluation Report July 12, 2016 [270 KB (35 pages)]
(January 1, 1999 through December 31, 1999)
Evaluation Report Sent to the Advisory Board July 13, 2016
(January 1, 1999 through December 31, 1999)
Petition Discussed by the Advisory Board The Advisory Board discussed this petition on August 9-10, 2016, and again on October 4, 2016, during its regular meetings.

Note: Agendas and transcripts for Board meetings will be posted on the Advisory Board and Public Meetings page as soon as they become available.
Advisory Board Recommendation on SEC Petition October 20, 2016 [45 KB (1 page)]
(January 1, 1999, through December 31, 1999)
HHS Letters to Congress Regarding the SEC Petition December 21, 2016 [81 KB (12 pages)]
(January 1, 1999, through December 31, 1999)
HHS Designation/Determination of Additional Members to the SEC Determination:

Note: A “designation” will be published if there is a recommendation to add a class to the SEC. A “determination” will be published if there is a recommendation not to add a class to the SEC.
Federal Register Notice: Designation/Determination Regarding a Class of Employees for Addition to the Special Exposure Cohort Determination:

Note: A “designation” will be published if there is a recommendation to add a class to the SEC. A “determination” will be published if there is a recommendation not to add a class to the SEC.
Effective Date for the SEC Class Not applicable at this time.

Note: this only applies if the class is added to the SEC.
Letter to DOL Regarding the Addition of a New Class of Employees to the SEC Not applicable at this time.

Note: this only applies if the class is added to the SEC.

SEC Petitions Not Qualifying for Evaluation

Not applicable at this time

Advisory Board Work Group on Bliss & Laughlin Steel

This Work Group is responsible reviewing the SEC petition from the Bliss and Laughlin Steel petitioners, reviewing the NIOSH Evaluation Report of the petition, considering issues that may be raised by the Board’s contractor (SC&A) concerning the NIOSH Evaluation Report, and for assisting NIOSH and SC&A in the resolution of such issues. The Work Group may recommend to the Board, changes in the Site Profile as appropriate. The Work Group should strive to develop a recommendation to the Board on whether a class should be added to the SEC.

Note: The Bliss & Laughlin Steel Work Group is no longer active. The work site was also previously listed under the TBD 6000 Work Group, but is not currently under discussion.

Work Group Members:

  • Paul L. Ziemer, Ph.D. (Chair)
  • Josie Beach
  • John W. Poston, Sr.
  • Wanda I. Munn

Meeting Information:

Advisory Board Work Group on TBD 6000/6001, Appendix BB

This Work Group no longer exists. In March 2010, this Work Group was divided into two separate Work Groups–Advisory Board Work Group on TBD 6000 and Advisory Board Work Group on TBD 6001.

This Work Group is responsible for the review of the specified TBDs as well as the Appendices that apply to specific work sites. They will also review any reports developed by the Board’s contractor (SC&A) pertaining to these TBDs and the Appendices, and will assist NIOSH and SC&A in resolving issues that arise through the review process. The initial focus of the Work Group will be on Appendix BB of TBD 6000, dealing with General Steel Industries. The Work Group will make recommendations to the Board in cases where Appendices involve sites with SEC petitions.

Work Group Members:

  • Paul L. Ziemer, Ph.D. (Chair)
  • Josie Beach
  • John W. Poston, Sr.
  • Wanda I. Munn

Meeting Information:

  • December 16, 2009
    Meeting of the Advisory Board’s Work Group on TBD 6000/6001, Appendix BBTime/Location:

    9:30 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST)
    Meeting Type: Face-to-Face; Public, No Comment Period

    Cincinnati Airport Marriott
    2395 Progress Dr.
    Hebron, KY 41048
    Phone: (859) 586-0166

    Teleconference: +1-866-659-0537
    Participant Code: 9933701

    Pre-Decisional Document Policy

    Available Meeting Items:

  • October 14, 2009
    Meeting of the Advisory Board’s Work Group on TBD 6000/6001, Appendix BBTime/Location:

    9:30 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST)
    Meeting Type: Face-to-Face; Public, No Comment Period

    Cincinnati Airport Marriott
    2395 Progress Dr.
    Hebron, KY 41048
    Phone: (859) 586-0166

    Teleconference: +1-866-659-0537
    Participant Code: 9933701

    Pre-Decisional Document Policy

    Available Meeting Items:

  • March 11, 2009
    Meeting of the Advisory Board’s Work Group on TBD 6000/6001, Appendix BBTime/Location:

    10:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST)
    Meeting Type: Face-to-Face; Public, No Comment Period

    Cincinnati Airport Marriott
    2395 Progress Dr.
    Hebron, KY 41048
    Phone: (859) 586-0166

    Teleconference: +1-866-659-0537
    Participant Code: 9933701

    Pre-Decisional Document Policy

    Available Meeting Items:

  • November 10, 2008
    Meeting of the Advisory Board’s Work Group on TBD 6000/6001, Appendix BBTime/Location:

    9:30 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST)
    Meeting Type: Face-to-Face; Public, No Comment Period

    Cincinnati Airport Marriott
    2395 Progress Dr.
    Hebron, KY 41048
    Phone: (859) 586-0166
    Fax:(505) 986-6439

    Pre-Decisional Document Policy

    Available Meeting Items:

Pre-Decisional Document Policy

Please note that as part of the procedures and processes of the Advisory Board’s Work Groups, several kinds of pre-decisional documents may be developed. These pre-decisional documents, such as white papers, matrices, working drafts, etc., are distributed among Work Group members as research and background tools to facilitate discussion and deliberation. Although discussion during a public meeting may cover pre-decisional documents, these documents often are not further revised or finalized, and thus do not reflect the final determination or evaluation of the Advisory Board and its Work Groups. Additionally, some pre-decisional documents not otherwise posted on the website may contain sensitive information, which would require an interested party to obtain such documents by filing a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the CDC/ATSDR FOIA office at foiarequests@cdc.gov.

Technical Documents

If the energy employee’s personal radiation information is incomplete, NIOSH will use other sources to estimate the radiation dose. This may involve using technical documents called Site Profiles, Technical Basis Documents, and Technical Information Bulletins.

Technical Basis Documents

Advisory Board and NIOSH Discussions on Bliss & Laughlin Steel

The Bliss & Laughlin Steel discussion papers listed below are working documents prepared by NIOSH or its contractor for use in discussions with the Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health or its Working Groups or Subcommittees. Draft, preliminary, interim, and white paper documents are not final NIOSH or Advisory Board (or their technical support and review contractors) positions unless specifically marked as such. These documents represent preliminary positions taken on technical issues prepared by NIOSH or its contractor.

The discussion papers have been reviewed to identify and redact any information that is protected by the Privacy Act 5 USC §552a and has been cleared for distribution.

Program Evaluation Plans (PEPs) and Program Evaluation Reports (PERs)

NIOSH is committed to applying the best available science in dose reconstructions. In keeping with this commitment, completed cases with probabilities of causation less than 50% are reviewed as relevant new information becomes available. The results of these reviews are described in a Program Evaluation Report (PER). The PER details the effect, if any, of the new information on the completed dose reconstruction. If it appears that the new information may result in an increase in dose for a completed dose reconstruction with a probability of causation of less than 50%, NIOSH is committed to working with the Department of Labor to reopen and rework the dose reconstruction, as appropriate. A Program Evaluation Plan (PEP) describes plans for evaluating specific program details or issues.

To view all PERs and PEPs that have been developed, please refer to the Program Evaluation Reports (PERs) and Program Evaluation Plans (PEPs) page.

  • DCAS-PER-050 Rev-0: Bliss and Laughlin Appendix [27 KB (2 pages)]
    March 13, 2014About this Document: Determines the effect on previously completed claims due to the approval of the Bliss and Laughlin Appendix.Summary: Claims were reviewed with a probability of causation less than 50% and dose reconstructions completed prior to 9/11/12, the date the appendix was approved. Dose for the each of these claims was recalculated using all current dose reconstruction methods. The probability of causation remained below 45% for all claims.

Public Comments on Bliss & Laughlin Steel Documents

How to Submit Comments

Comments on Bliss & Laughlin Steel Documents can be submitted to the NIOSH Docket Officer electronically by email at nioshdocket@cdc.gov or printed comments can be mailed to:

NIOSH Docket Office
Robert A. Taft Laboratories, MS-C34
1090 Tusculum Avenue
Cincinnati, OH 45226
Please include the Site Profile/Docket Number (157) on all comments.

Comments Received

No comments on Bliss & Laughlin Steel have been received at this time.

Document Archive for Bliss & Laughlin Steel

Site Profile Document

  • NIOSH/DCAS: Battelle-TBD 6000, Appendix D – Bliss & Laughlin Steel – Site Profiles for Atomic Weapons Employers that Worked Uranium Metals, Rev. 0

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