The EEOICPA was passed in 2000. It provides compensation to workers who became ill as a result of their employment manufacturing nuclear weapons in the USA, as well as their spouses, children, and grandchildren. United Nuclear Corp. EEOICPA coverage is available for qualified former Workers and their families.
Are you eligible for compensation? If you or a family member worked at this or another AWE facility and became ill, you may be entitled to compensation of up to $150K plus medical benefits. Call EEOICPA Counsel Hugh Stephens at 1-855-548-4494 or fill out our free claim evaluation, We can help even if you’ve already filed, even if your claim was denied!
Here, we have compiled publicly available information and documentation about the facilities covered by the Act to clarify how their activities relate to the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act.
United Nuclear Corp.
Also Known As: Mallinckrodt Chemical Works, Chemicals Div.
State: Missouri
Location: Hematite
Time Period: AWE 1958-1973; Residual Radiation 1974-March 1, 2011
Facility Type: Atomic Weapons Employer
Facility Description: The United Nuclear Corporation in Hematite, Missouri, processed unirradiated uranium scrap for the AEC, recovering enriched uranium from it for use in the nuclear weapons complex. Mallinckrodt Chemical Works owned the Hematite plant until 1961.
During the period of residual contamination, as designated by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and as noted in the dates above, employees of subsequent owners and operators of this facility are also covered under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act.
*1. Introduction and Purpose
United Nuclear Corporation (UNC), located in Hematite, Missouri, manufactured uranium metal and uranium metal compounds from natural and enriched uranium for use as nuclear fuel. The facility became operational in 1956, initially producing uranium products for use in the naval fuel program. Specifically, the site was used to convert government-owned and leased uranium hexafluoride (UF6) gas of various uranium-235 (U-235) enrichments to uranium oxide, uranium carbide, uranium dioxide pellets, and uranium metal. These products were manufactured for use by the federal government and government contractors and by commercial and research reactors approved by the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC). Research and development was also conducted at the site, as were uranium scrap
recovery processes.
2. Background
From its inception in 1956 through 1974, the Hematite facility was used primarily in support of government contracts that required production of high-enriched uranium (HEU) products. From 1974 through the plant closure in 2001, the focus was on commercial fuel production. The Hematite plant used enriched uranium derived in part from recycled fuel, resulting in the potential for the presence of trace amounts of transuranic radionuclides, neptunium-237 (Np-237), plutonium-239/plutonium-240 (Pu-239/240), and americium-241 (Am-241). For an approximately nine-month period in 1964, UNC also blended thorium dioxide powder with uranium dioxide powder to produce fuel pellets for use in fuel assemblies for the Elk River Reactor (Pellet Plant Data, 1964; Swallow, 1963; Swallow, 1964a).
The primary source of the internal radiation exposure was deposition of alpha-emitting materials via inhalation and ingestion of airborne uranium and thorium (and progeny). Operations at the UNC-Hematite facility potentially would have resulted in external exposures primarily to uranium and uranium decay products.
*Source
Listing:
United Nuclear Corp. is listed as an Atomic Weapons Employer (AWE) site under the EEOICPA.
Compensation:
As of 05/31/2015, the total compensation paid under Part B of the EEOICPA, including medical compensation, for workers suffering from the effects of having worked at United Nuclear Corp. is $9,948,908.
DOCUMENTS:
NIOSH SEC Petition Evaluation Reports
Petition 116 (Jan 1, 1958 to Jul 31, 2006)
SEC Petition Evaluation Report – Revised February 1, 2010
Report Submittal Date: January 28, 2010, Report Rev #: 1
SEC Petition Evaluation Report – Approved August 17, 2009
Report Submittal Date: August 17, 2009, Report Rev #: 0
Technical Basis Documents
Technical Basis Document for the United Nuclear Corporation, Hematite, Missouri
Effective Date: 03/21/2011