Radiation-Exposed Veterans

Are you suffering from an illness or medical condition due to being exposed to radiation during service?

If your military service has left you with debilitating, costly, or hazardous health conditions, you may be entitled to VA disability compensation and other benefits. Navigating the VA claims process is no easy feat, though, and veterans often need the legal help of a VA lawyer to help guide them through filing, appealing, or maintaining their VA benefits.

If you are, you may be facing some serious illnesses and conditions, and you deserve full compensation for what you’ve given while serving your country. Contact a veterans attorney at Vetus Legal to discuss your VA rating and compensation benefits today.

What Are Radiation-Exposed Veterans?

A radiation-exposed veteran is a veteran who was exposed to ionizing radiation during their active military service. These veterans were exposed to radiation during or as the result of the testing or use of nuclear weapons in specific situations, known as a “radiation-risk activity.”

What Constitutes a radiation risk activity:

(ii) The term radiation-risk activity means:
(A) Onsite participation in a test involving the atmospheric detonation of a nuclear device.
(B) The occupation of Hiroshima or Nagasaki, Japan, by United States forces during the period beginning on August 6, 1945, and ending on July 1, 1946.
(C) Internment as a prisoner of war in Japan (or service on active duty in Japan immediately following such internment) during World War II which resulted in an opportunity for exposure to ionizing radiation comparable to that of the United States occupation forces in Hiroshima or Nagasaki, Japan, during the period beginning on August 6, 1945, and ending on July 1, 1946.
(D)
(1) Service in which the service member was, as part of his or her official military duties, present during a total of at least 250 days before February 1, 1992, on the grounds of a gaseous diffusion plant located in Paducah, Kentucky, Portsmouth, Ohio, or the area identified as K25 at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, if, during such service the veteran:

(i) Was monitored for each of the 250 days of such service through the use of dosimetry badges for exposure at the plant of the external parts of veteran’s body to radiation; or

(ii) Served for each of the 250 days of such service in a position that had exposures comparable to a job that is or was monitored through the use of dosimetry badges; or
(2) Service before January 1, 1974, on Amchitka Island, Alaska, if, during such service, the veteran was exposed to ionizing radiation in the performance of duty related to the Long Shot, Milrow, or Cannikin underground nuclear tests.
(3) For purposes of paragraph (d)(3)(ii)(D)(1) of this section, the term “day” refers to all or any portion of a calendar day.
(E) Service in a capacity which, if performed as an employee of the Department of Energy, would qualify the individual for inclusion as a member of the Special Exposure Cohort under section 3621(14) of the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 7384l(14)).
(F) Cleanup of Enewetak Atoll during the period beginning on January 1,1977, and ending on December 31, 1980.
(G) Onsite participation in the response effort following the collision of a United States Air Force B–52 bomber and refueling plane that caused the release of four thermonuclear weapons in the vicinity of Palomares, Spain, during the period beginning January 17, 1966, and ending March 31, 1967.
(H) Onsite participation in the response effort following the on-board fire and crash of a United States Air Force B–52 bomber that caused the release of four thermonuclear weapons in the vicinity of Thule Air Force Base, Greenland, during the period beginning January 21, 1968, and ending September 25, 1968.

(iii) The term atmospheric detonation includes underwater nuclear detonations.

(iv) The term onsite participation means:
(A) During the official operational period of an atmospheric nuclear test, presence at the test site, or performance of official military duties in connection with ships, aircraft or other equipment used in direct support of the nuclear test.
(B) During the six month period following the official operational period of an atmospheric nuclear test, presence at the test site or other test staging area to perform official military duties in connection with completion of projects related to the nuclear test including decontamination of equipment used during the nuclear test.
(C) Service as a member of the garrison or maintenance forces on Eniwetok during the periods June 21, 1951, through July 1, 1952, August 7, 1956, through August 7, 1957, or November 1, 1958, through April 30, 1959.
(D) Assignment to official military duties at Naval Shipyards involving the decontamination of ships that participated in Operation Crossroads.
(v) For tests conducted by the United States, the term operational period means:
(A) For Operation TRINITY the period July 16, 1945 through August 6, 1945.
(B) For Operation CROSSROADS the period July 1, 1946 through August 31, 1946.
(C) For Operation SANDSTONE the period April 15, 1948 through May 20, 1948.
(D) For Operation RANGER the period January 27, 1951 through February 6, 1951.
(E) For Operation GREENHOUSE the period April 8, 1951 through June 20, 1951.
(F) For Operation BUSTER-JANGLE the period October 22, 1951 through December 20, 1951.
(G) For Operation TUMBLER-SNAPPER the period April 1, 1952 through June 20, 1952.
(H) For Operation IVY the period November 1, 1952 through December 31, 1952.
(I) For Operation UPSHOT-KNOTHOLE the period March 17, 1953 through June 20, 1953.
(J) For Operation CASTLE the period March 1, 1954 through May 31, 1954.
(K) For Operation TEAPOT the period February 18, 1955 through June 10, 1955.
(L) For Operation WIGWAM the period May 14, 1955 through May 15, 1955.
(M) For Operation REDWING the period May 5, 1956 through August 6, 1956.
(N) For Operation PLUMBBOB the period May 28, 1957 through October 22, 1957.
(O) For Operation HARDTACK I the period April 28, 1958 through October 31, 1958.
(P) For Operation ARGUS the period August 27, 1958 through September 10, 1958.
(Q) For Operation HARDTACK II the period September 19, 1958 through October 31, 1958.
(R) For Operation DOMINIC I the period April 25, 1962 through December 31, 1962.
(S) For Operation DOMINIC II/PLOWSHARE the period July 6, 1962 through August 15, 1962.

(vi) The term “occupation of Hiroshima or Nagasaki, Japan, by United States forces” means official military duties within 10 miles of the city limits of either Hiroshima or Nagasaki, Japan, which were required to perform or support military occupation functions such as occupation of territory, control of the population, stabilization of the government, demilitarization of the Japanese military, rehabilitation of the infrastructure or deactivation and conversion of war plants or materials.

(vii) Former prisoners of war who had an opportunity for exposure to ionizing radiation comparable to that of veterans who participated in the occupation of Hiroshima or Nagasaki, Japan, by United States forces shall include those who, at any time during the period August 6, 1945, through July 1, 1946:
(A) Were interned within 75 miles of the city limits of Hiroshima or within 150 miles of the city limits of Nagasaki, or
(B) Can affirmatively show they worked within the areas set forth in paragraph (d)(3)(vii)(A) of this section although not interned within those areas, or
(C) Served immediately following internment in a capacity which satisfies the definition in paragraph (d)(3)(vi) of this section, or
(D) Were repatriated through the port of Nagasaki.

Radiation-related Illnesses of Radiation-Exposed Veterans

There are certain illnesses and medical conditions that are known to be caused by ionizing radiation exposure.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has categorized some conditions as presumptive. This means that if you suffer from the condition and you participated in a radiation-risk activity, you do not have to prove its service connection.

Presumptive Conditions for Radiation-Exposed Veterans

  • Leukemia
  • Non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas
  • Multiple myeloma
  • Lung cancer
  • Liver cancer
  • Urinary tract, pelvic, kidney, and renal cancers
  • Bone cancer
  • Brain cancer
  • Breast cancer
  • Ovarian cancer
  • Stomach cancer
  • Thyroid cancer
  • Colon cancer
  • Cancers of the esophagus, pancreas, pharynx, bile ducts, gallbladder, salivary glands, and small intestines

Non-presumptive Conditions for Radiation-Exposed Veterans

Conditions that are not considered presumptive may still qualify radiation-exposed veterans for VA disability benefits. This could be from other radiation exposure, such as in a medical facility or working near nuclear weapons or nuclear reactors. However, since there is no presumed relationship between these conditions and the veteran’s military service, they require proof of service connection.

VA Lawyers Serving America’s Radiation-Exposed Veterans

If you’re an atomic veteran and you are suffering from a medical condition after being exposed to radiation, you need the legal aid of an experienced VA lawyer from Vetus Legal.

You, your spouse, and your dependents are entitled to VA disability benefits for what you’ve been exposed to, and we want to help you through the claims process to ensure you get the benefits you deserve.

Contact a VA lawyer today to start the claims or appeals process for your radiation-exposed veterans’ benefits.