The purpose of the regulations in this part is to implement the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (“Act”), as amended by the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act Amendments of 2000 (“2000 Amendments”) and by the 21st Century Department of Justice Appropriations Authorization Act (“Appropriations Authorization Act”). The Act authorizes the Attorney General of the United States to establish procedures for making certain payments to qualifying individuals who contracted one of the diseases listed in the Act. The amount of each payment and a general statement of the qualifications are indicated in § 79.3(a). The procedures established in this part are designed to utilize existing records so that claims can be resolved in a reliable, objective, and non-adversarial manner, quickly and with little administrative cost to the United States or to the person filing the claim.

(a) Act means the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, Public Law 101-426, as amended by sections 3139 and 3140 of Public Law 101-510, the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act Amendments of 2000, Public Law 106-245 (see 42 U.S.C. 2210 note), and the 21st Century Department of Justice Appropriations Authorization Act, Public Law 107-273.

(b) Child means a recognized natural child of the claimant, a stepchild who lived with the claimant in a regular parent-child relationship, or an adopted child of the claimant.

(c) Claim means a petition for compensation under the Act filed with the Radiation Exposure Compensation Program by a claimant or by his or her eligible surviving beneficiary or beneficiaries.

(d) Claimant means the individual, living or deceased, who is alleged to satisfy the criteria for compensation set forth either in section 4 or in section 5 of the Act.

(e) Contemporaneous record means any document created at or around the time of the event that is recorded in the document.

(f) Eligible surviving beneficiary means a spouse, child, parent, grandchild or grandparent who is entitled under section 6(c)(4)(A) or (B) of the Act to file a claim or receive a payment on behalf of a deceased claimant.

(g) Grandchild means a child of a child of the claimant.

(h) Grandparent means a parent of a parent of the claimant.

(i) Immediate family member of a person means a spouse or child if the person is an adult; but if the person is a minor, immediate family member means a parent.

(j) Indian Tribe means any Indian Tribe, band, nation, pueblo, or other organized group or community that is recognized as eligible for special programs and services provided by the United States to Indian Tribes.

(k) Medical document, documentation, or record means any contemporaneous record of any physician, hospital, clinic, or other certified or licensed health care provider, or any other records routinely and reasonably relied on by physicians in making a diagnosis.

(l) Onset or incidence of a specified compensable disease means the date a physician first diagnosed the disease.

(m) Parent means the natural or adoptive father or mother of the claimant.

(n) Program or Radiation Exposure Compensation Program means the component of the Constitutional and Specialized Torts Litigation Section of the Torts Branch of the Civil Division of the United States Department of Justice designated by the Attorney General to execute the powers, duties, and responsibilities assigned to the Attorney General pursuant to pertinent provisions of the Act.

(o) Spouse means a wife or husband who was married to the claimant for a period of at least one (1) year immediately before the death of the claimant.

(p) Tribal organization means any formally organized group or other entity that is chartered, registered or sponsored by an Indian Tribe to perform duties for an Indian Tribe and is accountable for its actions to the tribal government.

(q) Trust Fund or Fund means the Radiation Exposure Compensation Trust Fund in the Department of the Treasury, administered by the Secretary of the Treasury pursuant to section 3 of the Act.

(a) In order to receive a compensation payment, each claimant or eligible surviving beneficiary must establish that the claimant meets each and every criterion of eligibility for at least one of the following compensable categories designated in the Act:

(1) Claims of leukemia. (i) For persons exposed to fallout from the atmospheric detonation of nuclear devices at the Nevada Test Site due to their physical presence in an affected area during a designated time period, the amount of compensation is $50,000.

(ii) For persons exposed to fallout from the atmospheric detonation of nuclear devices due to their participation onsite in a test involving the atmospheric detonation of a nuclear device, the amount of compensation is $75,000. The regulations governing these claims are set forth in subpart B of this part.

(2) Claims related to the Nevada Test Site fallout. For persons who contracted certain specified diseases after being exposed to fallout from the atmospheric detonation of nuclear devices at the Nevada Test Site due to their physical presence in an affected area during a designated time period, the amount of compensation is $50,000. The regulations governing these claims are set forth in subpart C of this part.

(3) Claims of onsite participants. For persons who contracted certain specified diseases after onsite participation in the atmospheric detonation of a nuclear device, the amount of compensation is $75,000. The regulations governing these claims are set forth in subpart D of this part.

(4) Miners' claims. For persons who contracted lung cancer or certain nonmalignant respiratory diseases after being employed in uranium mines located in specified states during the designated time period who were exposed to a specified minimum level of radiation during the course of their employment or worked for at least one year (12 consecutive or cumulative months) in a uranium mine in specified states during the designated time period, the amount of compensation is $100,000. The regulations governing these claims are set forth in subpart E of this part.

(5) Millers' claims. For persons who contracted lung cancer, certain nonmalignant respiratory diseases, renal cancer, or chronic renal disease (including nephritis and kidney tubal tissue injury) following employment for at least one year (12 consecutive or cumulative months) in a uranium mill in specified states during the designated time period, the amount of compensation is $100,000. The regulations governing these claims are set forth in subpart F of this part.

(6) Ore transporters' claims. For persons who contracted lung cancer, certain nonmalignant respiratory diseases, renal cancer, or chronic renal disease (including nephritis and kidney tubal tissue injury) following employment for at least one year (12 consecutive or cumulative months) as a transporter of uranium ore or vanadium-uranium ore from a uranium mine or uranium mill located in specified states during the designated time period, the amount of compensation is $100,000. The regulations governing these claims are set forth in subpart G of this part.

(b) Any claim that does not meet all the criteria for at least one of these categories, as set forth in paragraph (a) of this section, must be denied.

(c) All claims for compensation under the Act must comply with the claims procedures and requirements set forth in subpart H of this part before any payment can be made from the Fund.

(a) The claimant, eligible surviving beneficiary, or beneficiaries bear the burden of providing evidence of the existence of each element necessary to establish eligibility under any compensable claim category set forth in § 79.3(a).

(b) In the event that reasonable doubt exists with regard to whether a claim meets the requirements of the Act, that doubt shall be resolved in favor of the claimant or eligible surviving beneficiary.

(c) Written affidavits or declarations, subject to penalty for perjury, will be accepted only for the following purposes:

(1) To establish eligibility of family members as set forth in § 79.71(e), (f), (g), (h), or (i);

(2) To establish other compensation received as set forth in § 79.75(c) or (d);

(3) To establish employment in a uranium mine, mill or as an ore transporter on the standard claim form in the manner set forth in §§ 79.43(d), 79.53(d) and 79.63(d), respectively; and

(4) To substantiate the claimant's uranium mining employment history for purposes of determining working level months of radiation exposure by providing the types of information set forth in § 79.43(d), so long as the affidavit or declaration:

(i) Is provided in addition to any other material that may be used to substantiate the claimant's employment history as set forth in § 79.43;

(ii) Is made subject to penalty for perjury;

(iii) Attests to the employment history of the claimant; and

(iv) Is made by a person other than the individual filing the claim.

(a) All medical documentation, contemporaneous records, and other records or documents submitted by a claimant or eligible surviving beneficiary to prove any criterion provided for in this part must be originals, or certified copies of the originals, unless it is impossible to obtain an original or certified copy of the original. If it is impossible for a claimant to provide an original or certified copy of an original, the claimant or eligible surviving beneficiary must provide a written statement with the uncertified copy setting forth the reason why it is impossible to provide an original or a certified copy of an original.

(b) All documents submitted by a claimant or eligible surviving beneficiary must bear sufficient indicia of authenticity or a sufficient guarantee of trustworthiness. The Program shall not accept as proof of any criterion of eligibility any document that does not bear sufficient indicia of authenticity, or is in such a physical condition, or contains such information, that otherwise indicates the record or document is not reliable or trustworthy. When a record or document is not accepted by the Program under this section, the claimant or eligible surviving beneficiary shall be notified and afforded the opportunity to submit additional documentation in accordance with § 79.72(b) or (c).

(c) To establish eligibility the claimant or eligible surviving beneficiary may be required to provide additional records to the extent they exist. Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the Assistant Director's (specified in § 79.70(a)) ability to require additional documentation.