Coloradans eligible for compensation under renewed federal radiation exposure program
Republicans’ tax break and spending cut bill signed by President Donald Trump last week includes a provision that could compensate some people exposed to radiation in Colorado.
The bill extends and expands the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, or RECA, which provides compensation for medical bills to people in certain states who were exposed to radiation because of nuclear testing and weapons development.
The original RECA expired last year, and the version approved as part of the “big, beautiful bill” includes coverage for uranium miners and workers in Colorado and other Western states.
RECA was established in 1990 and pays one-time sums to those who developed certain diseases after working on U.S. nuclear tests and to those who lived in counties downwind from test explosion sites in Arizona, Nevada and Utah. More than 100 atmospheric weapons tests were conducted in the U.S. and its territories between 1945 and 1962, resulting in widespread radioactive fallout across much of the U.S.
Colorado residents have filed 3,709 claims for compensation under RECA, 2,688 of which were awarded, according to U.S. Department of Justice data. That has led to over $245 million in compensation for Colorado residents from the federal government. Data is based on the state where an applicant currently resides, not necessarily the location where they were exposed to radiation.
The Western Governors’ Association wrote to Congressional leadership at the end of June encouraging them to reauthorize RECA.
“Western Governors support maintaining and funding RECA and the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program, expanding them to more accurately include the affected populations of downwind states and defense production workers, and extending them to ensure that individuals receive compensation for the effects of these national security radiation exposures,” the letter said.
U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper, a Colorado Democrat, has championed the extension of RECA.
The program’s new expiration date is Dec. 31, 2028.
