Have You Applied for Federal Compensation for Nuclear Radiation Exposure? We Want to Hear From You.

We’re hoping to speak to people who have filed a claim through the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act. We want to know what the experience was like.

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By Catie Edmondson

Catie Edmondson, who covers Congress, has traveled to St. Louis to report on how people have been sickened by the U.S. nuclear program, and written about how it was secretly funded in 1944.

June 7, 2024, 4:19 p.m. ET

We’ve been covering efforts on Capitol Hill to substantially expand the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, a 1990 law allowing victims of government-caused nuclear contamination who developed cancer and other serious illnesses.

The law is set to lapse on Friday, but lawmakers are expected to continue negotiating over whether and how to broaden and renew the program it authorizes.

In the meantime, we’d like to hear from people who have filed a claim with the Department of Justice to receive financial compensation for themselves or a loved one through the law known as RECA to learn more about the experience, from finding the necessary documents needed to make a claim to hearing back from federal caseworkers.

We’ll read every response we receive, and reach out to most respondents to learn more. We will not publish any part of your response without first contacting you and hearing back from you. And we won’t use your contact information for anything besides following up with you, nor will we share it with anyone outside our newsroom.

Catie Edmondson covers Congress for The Times. More about Catie Edmondson