Worked security at the Nevada Test Site?
Yes, and the rule that matters most was written for people in exactly this position. Security officers at the Nevada Test Site are Department of Energy contractor employees, covered the same as anyone else who worked there. For the years 1963 to 1992 the Special Exposure Cohort asks nothing about radiation badges — and guards were rarely badged, which is why so many assume they are outside the programme.
Wackenhut, WSI, Federal Services, and whoever signed the cheque.
Security at the Test Site was contracted out, and the company name on the badge changed over the years. The Department of Labor’s own site-specific guidance for the Nevada National Security Site names Wackenhut Services, Inc. (WSI) and its predecessor Federal Services, Inc. (FSI) among the employers whose records it goes to when a claim needs an employment history verified.
That is the useful part. The Department of Labor already knows where these employment records live, so a security officer’s work history is usually straightforward to establish even decades later.
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.
For 1963 to 1992, nobody asks whether you wore a badge.
The Special Exposure Cohort is a route into Part B that skips radiation dose reconstruction. Instead of reconstructing an individual’s exposure from records that may not exist, membership in a class plus a listed cancer is enough.
The Nevada Test Site has two classes, and the second one is written as all employees of Department of Energy contractors and subcontractors. No dosimetry record, no monitoring history, no badge. For a security officer who spent years on post and was never issued a film badge, that removes the exact obstacle that would otherwise stop the claim.
Twenty-two cancers are on the list. The 22 are: bone cancer; renal cancer; leukemia other than chronic lymphocytic leukemia; lung cancer; multiple myeloma; lymphomas other than Hodgkin’s disease; and primary cancer of the bile ducts, brain, breast (male and female), colon, esophagus, gall bladder, liver, laryngeal, ovary, pancreas, pharynx, salivary gland, small intestine, stomach, thyroid or urinary bladder. Some carry a latency rule — leukemia needs onset at least two years after first exposure, multiple myeloma and the lymphomas at least five.
A cancer off the list, or an illness that is not cancer, is a different route.
The Special Exposure Cohort is a shortcut, not the only door. A cancer that is not among the 22 can still be claimed under Part B through dose reconstruction. And Part E covers illness that is not cancer at all — chronic lung disease, chronic beryllium disease, silicosis, kidney disease and others — for Department of Energy contractor and subcontractor employees, which is what a security officer is.
Guards were exposed to what everyone at the site was exposed to: silica dust, diesel exhaust, beryllium, noise. Those are the site’s documented hazards, and they do not respect a job description.
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.
Years on post and a diagnosis is enough to start.
A case review asks where the work was, roughly when, and what a doctor has said since. It does not need a badge number, a dosimetry record or a claim file.
The full Nevada Test Site White Card guide → Which conditions the White Card covers →
What people ask first.
Do Nevada Test Site security guards qualify for EEOICPA?
Security officers are Department of Energy contractor employees and are covered on the same terms as anyone else who worked at the site. For work between 1 January 1963 and 31 December 1992 totalling at least 250 work days, the Special Exposure Cohort covers all contractor and subcontractor employees with no radiation-monitoring requirement.
I never wore a radiation badge. Does that disqualify me?
Not for the 1963 to 1992 Special Exposure Cohort class, which is written as all employees and asks nothing about monitoring. The earlier 1951 to 1962 class does ask whether the worker was monitored or should have been, and "should have been" does a lot of work in that sentence.
What are the 250 work days?
At least 250 work days at the Nevada Test Site within the class period. They aggregate rather than needing to be consecutive, and days worked at other Special Exposure Cohort sites can be combined with Nevada Test Site days to reach the total.
What if my illness is not cancer?
Part E covers non-cancer illness caused by toxic exposure at a covered facility for Department of Energy contractor and subcontractor employees. Chronic lung disease, chronic beryllium disease, silicosis and kidney disease are among the conditions claimed. The Department of Labor decides each claim.
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 → Worked for REECo? → Start a case review →