NTPR Support
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Statement of Work Nuclear Test Personnel Review (NTPR) Program Support Revision Date: 20 Apr 2021 The Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) is the Department of Defense (DoD) executive agent for the Nuclear Test Personnel Review (NTPR) Program, which serves 500,000 atomic veterans and DoD civilian employees (and/or their spouses, children, and elected representatives) who participated in U.S. atmospheric nuclear testing (1945-1962), with the occupation forces of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, or were prisoners of war in Japan at the conclusion of World War II. The program similarly supports an analogous 50,000 DoD personnel associated with U.S. underground nuclear weapon testing (1951-1992), and 6,000 DoD personnel associated with the radiological clean-up of the Pacific Proving Ground. It interacts directly with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Department of Labor (DOL) to provide DoD’s input for veteran radiogenic disease medical assistance and financial compensation. It awards Atomic Veterans Service Certificates for the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD). NTPR also serves as DoD’s subject matter expert for personnel radiation dose assessment, and provides this support at the request of the OSD, Combatant Commanders, and the military services. 1.0 BACKGROUND 1. In August 1945, the U.S. Army Air Corps detonated nuclear weapons over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that led to the end of World War II. The U.S. government also conducted about 200 atmospheric nuclear weapons tests from 1945 to 1962. The testing was principally conducted in Nevada and the Pacific. About 500,000 Department of Defense personnel, military and civilian, took part in these activities, and many were exposed to low levels of ionizing radiation in the performance of their duties. 2. A group of approximately 50,000 DoD affiliated individuals were similarly associated with 828 underground nuclear tests between 1951-1992 at the Nevada Test Site, and a few other underground tests conducted on the Nellis Air Force Range; in central and northwestern Nevada; in Colorado, New Mexico, and Mississippi; and on Amchitka, one of the Aleutian Islands off the coast of Alaska. 3. A group of 6,000 veterans and DoD civilians were similarly associated with the radiological clean-up of the Pacific Proving Ground. This cleanup encompassed the Bikini Atoll in 1969 and Enewetak Atoll in the 1970’s. 4. The NTPR Program began in 1978 in response to reports indicating that military veterans who had participated in Shot SMOKY of the atmospheric nuclear weapons test series Operation PLUMBBOB had experienced a numerically small but larger-than-expected incidence rate of leukemia. Initially, program activities were accomplished by individual Service teams under the 1 general direction of the Defense Nuclear Agency (DNA), now DTRA. In October 1987, the Service team efforts were consolidated into one cohesive program managed directly by DNA. 5. During the early program years, efforts were directed primarily toward: (1) identifying DoD military and civilian personnel who had participated in U.S. atmospheric nuclear testing during the period 1945 to 1962; (2) developing detailed descriptions of individual and military organizational activities; and (3) determining the radiation doses received by participants as a consequence of these activities. In 1988, the scope of the program was expanded to include roughly 230,000 additional personnel who, as Japanese-held prisoners of war or occupation force members located in proximity to Hiroshima and Nagasaki during the period September 1945 through 30 June 1946, may also have been exposed to ionizing radiation. 6. In 2015, the program expanded to include 55,000 U.S. underground nuclear test personnel and 7,000 Pacific Proving Ground Clean-up personnel. In 2019, the program assumed responsibility for issuing Atomic Veteran Service Certificates. 7. Recent non-atomic veteran radiation dose assessment support has included: • U.S. Coast Guard’s request for assessment of 10,000 service member’s exposure to x- rays emanating from Long Range Navigation (LORAN) high voltage vacuum tube transmitter units, from 1942-2010, • ASN(E,I&E)’s request for assessment of a few thousand service member’s exposure to radiological releases from the McMurdo Station, Antarctica nuclear power plant between 1962-1979, and • ASD(HA)’s request for NTPR’s leadership of a joint service team to assess exposure to 75,000 DoD-affiliated individuals to radiological releases from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station in 2011. 2.0 SCOPE The scope of this work requires the contractor to perform veteran participation verification, dose assessment, information management, veteran assistance/outreach, and program management tasks as follows: (a) PARTICIPATION VERIFICATION: Verify veteran participation as per Title 38, Part 3.309, Code of Federal Regulations. (b) RADIATION DOSE ASSESSMENT: Provide credible individual radiation dose assessments (RDA), to include external, independent review. (c) QUALITY ASSURANCE: Support a rigorous Quality Assurance (QA) program that ensures NTPR work products are credible. (d) INFORMATION MANAGEMENT: Manage a comprehensive, secure, and accessible NTPR information program, consisting of digital information (electronic, optical, and magnetic), 2 microfilm, and paper records. Maintain a comprehensive database of participation and dose information, and supporting materials; (e) PROCESS IMPROVEMENT AND SPECIAL STUDIES: Report and implement potential process improvement areas intended to improve current performance while satisfying capability requirements and potentially reducing cost and accelerating schedule. Provide studies and reports in support of Government endorsed initiatives as requested. Support studies to determine whether DoD affiliated individuals experience adverse health effects as a result of their activities. (f) CUSTOMER SERVICE: Provide accurate and timely responses to requests for information from incoming inquiries. 3.0 APPLICABLE DOCUMENTS 3.1 PUBLIC LAWS 1. PL 93-579 (1974): The Privacy Act of 1974. Established “Fair Information Practices” regarding the government’s collection of personal data. 2. PL 97-72 (1981): Veterans’ Health Care, Training, and Small Business Loan Act of 1981. Provides health care services to atmospheric nuclear test participants and occupation of Hiroshima/Nagasaki forces. 3. PL 97-414 (1982): The Orphan Drug Act. Required the Public Health Service to develop radioepidemiological tables that set forth the relationships between probability of causation (PC) and radiation dose for various cancers. 4. PL 98-542 (1984): Veterans’ Dioxin and Radiation Exposure Compensation Standards Act. Directs VA to establish: (a) Compensation standards for radiation exposure claims. (b) An advisory committee on environmental hazards. (c) Guidelines for reporting internal and external radiation doses. 5. PL 99-554 (1996): The Freedom of Information Act. Established public accessibility to executive branch agency and department records. 6. PL 99-576 (1986): Veterans’ Benefits Improvement and Health-Care Authorization Act of 1986. Requires VA to maintain Ionizing Radiation Registry (IRR) on veterans filing for radiation exposure. The IRR’s function is to contain relevant information provided by DNA. 7. PL 100-321 (1988): Radiation-Exposed Veterans Compensation Act of 1988. Presumes service-connection for veterans with certain illnesses and defines radiation-risk activities. 3 8. PL 100-687 (1988): Veterans’ Judicial Review Act – Veterans’ Benefits Improvement Act of 1988. Establishes new Court of Veterans Appeals for review of claims denied by Board of Veterans Appeals and eliminates $10.00 attorney fee limitation. 9. PL 101-426 (1990): Radiation Exposure Compensation Act. Establishes a trust fund for paying claims to eligible “down winders” and uranium miners. In addition, establishes DOJ as fund administrator. 10. PL 101-510 (1990): National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1991. The above Act provides the following: (a) Amends PL 101-426 by increasing funding and including atmospheric nuclear test participants. (b) Requires DoD and DOE input to determine participation. (c) Repeals and immediately re-enacts “Warner Amendment” provisions limiting contractor liability. 11. PL 102-86 (1991): Veterans’ Benefits Programs Improvement Act of 1991. Modifies PL 100-321 as follows: (a) Changes the manifestation period for leukemia from 30 to 40 years. (b) Includes eligible reservists and National Guard members as beneficiaries. 12. PL 102-578 (1992): Veterans Radiation Exposure Amendments of 1992. Amends PL 100-321 as follows: (a) Eliminates the latency period. (b) Adds salivary gland and urinary tract cancers to list of diseases. (c) Amends PL 98-542: (1) Requires the identification and review of additional radiation-risk activities performed prior to 1970. (2) Requires the review of scientific evidence concerning the radiogenicity of bronchio- alveolar carcinoma. 13. PL 103-446 (1994): Veterans’ Benefits Improvement Act of 1994. Amends PL 103-446 as follows: (a) Reaffirms coverage of U.S. veterans participating in non-U.S. atmosphere nuclear weapons tests under PL 100-321. (b) Allows veterans to file claims of service connection for other than radiogenic diseases listed under PL 98-542. (c) Directs NAS to evaluate the feasibility of performing a study on adverse reproductive outcomes involving veteran test participants’ families. 4 14. PL 105-85 (1997),