Worked for Bechtel Nevada at the Test Site?
Yes — Bechtel Nevada work at the Nevada Test Site counts. Bechtel Nevada was a Department of Energy contractor, and the Test Site is a covered facility under the federal Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program. If that work made you sick, the program can pay compensation and open the White Card that covers care at home.
Bechtel Nevada at the Nevada Test Site, 1 January 1996 to 30 June 2006.
Bechtel Nevada took over as the single management and operating contractor on 1 January 1996, consolidating the work that REECo, EG&G Energy Measurements and Raytheon Services Nevada had done separately. Its people ran site operations, engineering, environmental work and the stockpile stewardship programs that followed underground testing.
Department of Energy contractor and subcontractor employees are covered the same as federal employees, and the job title does not matter. Craft and construction, security, drivers, cooks, clerks, custodians and warehouse staff worked at a covered facility exactly as the scientists did.
The money is one part. The medical benefit is the part that lasts.
An accepted claim can pay a lump sum, and it opens a medical benefit for the accepted condition that does not expire. That medical benefit is the card most families call the White Card, and it is what pays for skilled nursing and aide care at home.
The Department of Labor decides every claim. Alara assesses the patient, coordinates the physician documentation and the home-health authorization, and provides the authorized care. It does not file claims and nothing here is a determination of eligibility.
A nurse reads the work and the illness together.
A case review is a short set of questions about where the work was, what kind of work it was, roughly when, and what a doctor has said since. A nurse reads those together and tells you whether there is a claim worth opening, or whether a White Card that already exists can pay for care at home now.
If a claim was filed years ago and denied, that is worth raising. The program has expanded since, and old claims can be reopened.
The full Nevada Test Site White Card guide → Which conditions the White Card covers →
What people ask first.
Does Bechtel Nevada work at the Nevada Test Site qualify for EEOICPA?
The Nevada Test Site is a covered Department of Energy facility for work from 1951 on, and Bechtel Nevada worked there as a Department of Energy contractor from 1 January 1996 to 30 June 2006. Contractor and subcontractor employees are covered the same as federal employees. Whether a specific claim is accepted depends on the illness and the exposure, and the Department of Labor makes that decision.
Do I have to have been a scientist or a radiation worker?
No. The job title does not decide it. Security officers, drivers, craft and construction workers, cooks, clerks and custodians all worked at the same covered facility, and claims are accepted across all of those roles.
Testing had stopped by 1996. Is later work still covered?
Yes. The Nevada Test Site is a covered facility for work from 1951 on, and coverage did not end with atmospheric or underground testing. Cleanup, environmental remediation, decontamination and legacy operations all took place at the same site.
Does Alara file the claim?
No. Alara is a Nevada-licensed home health agency. It reviews the care side, coordinates the physician documentation and the home-health authorization, and provides the authorized care. Claims are filed with the Department of Labor, and the Las Vegas Resource Center helps with filing at no charge.
A nurse reads it, not a form.
A case review takes a few minutes and needs no records, no claim number and no appointment. Nothing here is a determination of eligibility.
Nevada Test Site White Card guide → What the White Card is → Start a case review →