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W.R. Grace (Tennessee)

(Site Profile/Docket Number 066)

Location: Erwin, Tennessee

Also known as: Davison Chemical, Nuclear Fuels Services

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 W.R. Grace (Tennessee).

Class(es) Added to the SEC

  • Atomic Weapons Employer (AWE) employees who were monitored or should have been monitored for potential exposure to thorium while working in any of the 100 series buildings or Buildings 220, 230, 233, 234, 301, or 310 at the W.R. Grace site at Erwin, Tennessee for a number of work days aggregating at least 250 work days from January 1, 1958, through December 31, 1970, or in combination with work days within the parameters established for one or more other classes of employees in the Special Exposure Cohort.

    Note: This class was established by Petition 82

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 82 (Jan 1, 1958 to Dec 31, 1970)

Petition 82
Steps in Petition Process: Petition Details:

Date Received

January 22, 2007

Date Qualified for Evaluation

January 30, 2007

Summary of Information in Petition

Location: Erwin, Tennessee

Job Titles and/or Job Duties: All workers

Period of Employment: January 1, 1958 through December 31, 1970

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

January 22, 2007 [633 KB (1 page)]

Federal Register Notice Announcing that a W.R. Grace (Tennessee) SEC Petition has met the Minimum Qualifications for Review and Evaluation

March 1, 2007 [43 KB (1 page)]

SEC Petition Evaluation Report

March 29, 2007 [243 KB (20 pages)]

Evaluation Report Sent to the Advisory Board

March 30, 2007

Petition Discussed by the Advisory Board

The Advisory Board discussed the petition on May 3, 2007, during its regular meeting.

Advisory Board Recommendation on SEC Petition

May 23, 2007 [488 KB (2 pages)]

HHS Letters to Congress Regarding the SEC Petition

June 22, 2007 [694 KB (6 pages)]

HHS Designation of Additional Members to the SEC

June 22, 2007 [460 KB (4 pages)]

Federal Register Notice: Designation Regarding a Class of Employees for Addition to the Special Exposure Cohort

July 30, 2007 [53 KB (2 pages)]

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

July 22, 2007

Federal Register Notice: Final Effect of Determination of a Class of Employees for Addition to the Special Exposure Cohort

August 7, 2007 [43 KB (1 page)]

Letter to DOL Regarding the Addition of a New Class of Employees to the SEC

July 30, 2007 [34 KB (1 page)]

SEC Petitions Not Qualifying for Evaluation

In addition to the petition above, two petitions were received but did not qualify for evaluation because they did not meet the minimum petition requirements.

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 W.R. Grace (Tennessee)

Advisory Board Work Group on Uranium Refining Atomic Weapons Employers (AWEs)–formerly TBD 6001 Work Group

This Work Group reviews technical documents and Special Exposure Cohort (SEC) petitions for uranium refining AWEs assigned to it by the Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health. The Work Group makes recommendations to the Board on SEC petitions, reviews reports developed by the Board’s contractor (SC&A), and assists NIOSH and SC&A in resolving issues that arise through the review process.

Sites currently being considered by the Work Group include: General Atomics, Hooker Electrochemical, and Westinghouse Electric Corp. (New Jersey).

Meeting information (including agendas and transcripts) for this Work Group can be found on either the individual work site pages or on the Advisory Board and Public Meetings page.

Note: Baker-Perkins Co., Du Pont Deepwater Works, Electro Metallurgical Company, Nuclear Materials and Equipment Corp. (NUMEC) – Apollo, Nuclear Materials and Equipment Corp. (NUMEC) – Parks Township, United Nuclear Corp., and W.R. Grace (Erwin, TN) were previously discussed by this Work Group, but are not currently under discussion.

Work Group Members:

  • Henry A. Anderson, M.D. (Chair)
  • R. William Field, Ph.D., M.S.
  • David Kotelchuck, Ph.D, M.P.H.

Meeting Information:

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

  • An Exposure Matrix for W.R. Grace and Company in Erwin, Tennessee [586 KB (43 pages)]
    Revised September 16, 2011

    Revision Includes: Modifies the residual period guidance. This includes a recommendation to not assign plutonium and thorium exposures during the residual period; modified the methodology for assigning external dose and uranium exposure during the residual period; and revised the use of monitoring records during the residual period. Also, an error was corrected for 238U in Table 3-3. In addition, references were updated as appropriate and various minor technical edits were made throughout this document. The SEC language in Section 1.0 was moved to a newly created Sections 1.3. These changes were made to Sections 3.1, 3.1.3, 4.7, 5.1, 5.2, and the references. Incorporates formal internal and NIOSH review comments. Constitutes a total rewrite of the document.

Advisory Board and NIOSH Comments and Discussion Papers on W.R. Grace (Tennessee)

The W.R. Grace (Tennessee) 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.

Public Comments on W.R. Grace (Tennessee) Documents

How to Submit Comments

Comments on W.R. Grace (Tennessee) 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 (066) on all comments.

Comments Received

At this time, no comments have been submitted on W.R. Grace (Tennessee) documents.

Document Archive for W.R. Grace (Tennessee)

  • Technical Basis Document: An Exposure Matrix for W.R. Grace and Company in Erwin, Tennessee

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