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Title 42, The Public Health and WelfareRelease 119-110

§7384u Separate Treatment of Certain Uranium Employees

Title 42 › CHAPTER 84 — DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY › SUBCHAPTER XVI — ENERGY EMPLOYEES OCCUPATIONAL ILLNESS COMPENSATION PROGRAM › Part B — Program Administration › § 7384u

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

People who already got $100,000 under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act for an eligible uranium claim, or their survivor if they are dead, must get an extra $50,000. The same people also get federal medical benefits for the illness tied to that $100,000 award. These payments and benefits are separate from the original RECA award. Both the $50,000 payment and the RECA award, when the President approves them, will come from the federal compensation fund. If the covered person is dead when payment is made, the money goes in this order: the surviving spouse, or if none, the children, or if none, the parents, or if none, the grandchildren, or if none, the grandparents — all living at the time of payment. If there is a spouse and at least one living minor child who is not the spouse’s own child, half goes to the spouse and half is split among those minor children. A survivor may file if the worker died before filing. "Spouse" means married at least one year before death. "Child," "parent," "grandchild," and "grandparent" are defined in ordinary family ways. The President must set up notice and claim procedures. The rule takes effect July 31, 2001, unless Congress changes that first.

Full Legal Text

Title 42, §7384u

The Public Health and Welfare, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Compensation provided
An individual who receives, or has received, $100,000 under section 5 of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (42 U.S.C. 2210 note) for a claim made under that Act (hereafter in this section referred to as a “covered uranium employee”), or the survivor of that covered uranium employee if the employee is deceased, shall receive compensation under this section in the amount of $50,000.
(b)Medical benefits
A covered uranium employee shall receive medical benefits under section 7384t of this title for the illness for which that employee received $100,000 under section 5 of that Act.
(c)Coordination with RECA
The compensation and benefits provided in subsections (a) and (b) are separate from any compensation or benefits provided under that Act.
(d)Payment from compensation fund
The compensation provided under this section and the compensation provided under section 5 of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, when authorized or approved by the President, shall be paid from the compensation fund established under section 7384e of this title.
(e)Payments in the case of deceased persons
(1)In the case of a covered employee who is deceased at the time of payment of compensation under this section, whether or not the death is the result of the covered employee’s occupational illness, such payment may be made only as follows:
(A)If the covered employee is survived by a spouse who is living at the time of payment, such payment shall be made to such surviving spouse.
(B)If there is no surviving spouse described in subparagraph (A), such payment shall be made in equal shares to all children of the covered employee who are living at the time of payment.
(C)If there is no surviving spouse described in subparagraph (A) and if there are no children described in subparagraph (B), such payment shall be made in equal shares to the parents of the covered employee who are living at the time of payment.
(D)If there is no surviving spouse described in subparagraph (A), and if there are no children described in subparagraph (B) or parents described in subparagraph (C), such payment shall be made in equal shares to all grandchildren of the covered employee who are living at the time of payment.
(E)If there is no surviving spouse described in subparagraph (A), and if there are no children described in subparagraph (B), parents described in subparagraph (C), or grandchildren described in subparagraph (D), then such payment shall be made in equal shares to the grandparents of the covered employee who are living at the time of payment.
(F)Notwithstanding the other provisions of this paragraph, if there is—
(i)a surviving spouse described in subparagraph (A); and
(ii)at least one child of the covered employee who is living and a minor at the time of payment and who is not a recognized natural child or adopted child of such surviving spouse,
then half of such payment shall be made to such surviving spouse, and the other half of such payment shall be made in equal shares to each child of the covered employee who is living and a minor at the time of payment.
(2)If a covered employee eligible for payment dies before filing a claim under this subchapter, a survivor of that employee who may receive payment under paragraph (1) may file a claim for such payment.
(3)For purposes of this subsection—
(A)the “spouse” of an individual is a wife or husband of that individual who was married to that individual for at least one year immediately before the death of that individual;
(B)a “child” includes a recognized natural child, a stepchild who lived with an individual in a regular parent-child relationship, and an adopted child;
(C)a “parent” includes fathers and mothers through adoption;
(D)a “grandchild” of an individual is a child of a child of that individual; and
(E)a “grandparent” of an individual is a parent of a parent of that individual.
(f)Procedures required
The President shall establish procedures to identify and notify each covered uranium employee, or the survivor of that covered uranium employee if that employee is deceased, of the availability of compensation and benefits under this section.
(g)Effective date
This section shall take effect on July 31, 2001, unless Congress otherwise provides in an Act enacted before that date.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, referred to in subsecs. (a) to (d), is Pub. L. 101–426, Oct. 15, 1990, 104 Stat. 920, which is set out as a note under section 2210 of this title.

Amendments

2004—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 108–375 inserted “and the compensation provided under section 5 of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act” after “The compensation provided under this section”. 2001—Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 107–107 amended heading and text of subsec. (e) generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, if a covered uranium employee dies before the

Effective Date

specified in subsection (g) of this section, whether or not the death is a result of the illness specified in subsection (b) of this section, a survivor of that employee may, on behalf of that survivor and any other survivors of that employee, receive the compensation provided for under this section. “(2) The right to receive compensation under this section shall be afforded to survivors in the same order of precedence as that set forth in section 8109 of title 5.”

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 2001 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 107–107 effective July 1, 2001, see section 3151(a)(4)(D) of Pub. L. 107–107, set out as a note under section 7384l of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

42 U.S.C. § 7384u

Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110