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Grand Junction Facilities

(Site Profile/Docket Number 218)

Location: Grand Junction, Colorado

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 Grand Junction Facilities.

Class(es) Added to the SEC

  • All employees of the Department of Energy, its predecessor agencies, and its contractors and subcontractors who worked at the Grand Junction Facilities from March 23, 1943 through January 31, 1975, 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

    This class was established by Petition 175.

  • All employees of the Department of Energy, its predecessor agencies, and its contractors and subcontractors who worked at the Grand Junction Facilities site in Grand Junction, Colorado, during the period from February 1, 1975, through December 31, 1985, 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

    This class was established by Petition 175.

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 175 (Jan 1, 1943 to Jul 31, 2010)

Petition 175
Steps in Petition Process: Petition Details:
Date Received June 30, 2010
Date Qualified for Evaluation September 7, 2010
Summary of Information in Petition Job Titles and/or Job Duties: All laborers, labor supervisors, painters, grounds personnel, and Fire Chief

Period of Employment: January 1, 1943 through July 31, 2010

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 June 30, 2010 [367 KB (8 pages)]
Federal Register Notice Announcing that a Grand Junction Facilities SEC Petition has met the Minimum Qualifications for Review and Evaluation September 17, 2010 [42 KB (1 page)]
SEC Petition Evaluation Report

January 12, 2011 [659 KB (99 pages)]
(March 23, 1943 through January 31, 1975)

Addendum March 13, 2015 [363 KB (47 pages)]
(February 1, 1975 through December 31, 1985)
Evaluation Report Sent to Board January 12, 2011
Petition Discussed by the Advisory Board The Advisory Board discussed this petition on February 24, 2011; March 26, 2015; and August 24, 2017, 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 [29 KB (2 pages)]
(March 23, 1943 through January 31, 1975)

April 22, 2015 [115 KB (2 pages)]
(February 1, 1975 through December 31,1985)
HHS Letters to Congress Regarding the SEC Petition

April 29, 2011 [78 KB (10 pages)]
(March 23, 1943 through January 31, 1975)

May 20, 2015 [124 KB (13 pages)]
(February 1, 1975 through December 31, 1985)
HHS Designation of Additional Members to the SEC Designations:

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 Designations:

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

May 29, 2011
(March 23, 1943 through January 31, 1975)

June 19, 2015
(February 1, 1975 through December 31, 1985)

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

June 10, 2011 [48 KB (2 pages)]
(March 23, 1943 through January 31, 1975)

July 1, 2015 [66 KB (1 page)]
(February 1, 1975 through December 31, 1985)

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

June 6, 2011 [17 KB (1 page)]
(March 23, 1943 through January 31, 1975)

June 23, 2015 [62 KB (1 page)]
(February 1, 1975 through December 31, 1985)

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

Worker Outreach Activities

Based on a recommendation from the Advisory Board to provide workers and site experts with opportunities to participate in developing the technical documents used in dose reconstruction, NIOSH established a Worker Outreach Program.

At Worker Outreach Meetings, current and former DOE and AWE employees have opportunities to obtain information about Site Profiles, Technical Basis Documents, and Technical Information Bulletins, and to provide information for consideration and possible use in dose reconstruction. This process is valuable to ensure that the technical documents used in dose reconstruction contain correct and useful information.

Worker Outreach Activities for the Grand Junction Facilities:

No activities are scheduled at this time.

Advisory Board Work Group on Grand Junction Facilities

This Work Group is responsible for advising the Board in its continued review of the Grand Junction Facility Special Exposure Cohort (SEC) petition, the NIOSH Evaluation Report of the petition, and for any resulting or subsequent reviews of the dose reconstruction methods for this site. The Work Group may recommend to the Board SEC-petition actions and/or advice to NIOSH on possible changes to the dose reconstruction methods, as appropriate.

Work Group Members:

  • R. William Field, Ph.D., M.S. (Chair)
  • James E. Lockey, M.D., M.S.
  • Genevieve S. Roessler, Ph.D.
  • Loretta R. Valerio

Meeting Information:

Advisory Board and NIOSH Discussions on Grand Junction Facilities

The Grand Junction Facilities 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 have 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-047 Rev-0: NIOSH/DCAS Program Evaluation Report: Grand Junction Operations Office [47 KB (2 pages)]
    March 26, 2014

    About this Document: Determines the effect on previously completed claims due to changes to Grand Junction Operations Office dose reconstructions.

    Summary: Potentially effected Grand Junction Operations Office claims were reviewed based upon additional information discovered while evaluating an SEC petition. NIOSH will notify DOL of all results and request a return of the one claim that would now result in a probability of causation greater than 50%.

Public Comments on Grand Junction Facilities Documents

How to Submit Comments

Comments on Grand Junction Facilities 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 (218) on all comments.

Comments Received

At this time, no comments have been submitted.

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