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General Atomics

On This Page

Special Exposure Cohort
Advisory Board Work Group on Uranium Refining Atomic Weapons Employers
Technical Documents
Advisory Board and NIOSH Discussions
Public Comments

(Site Profile/Docket Number 89)

Location: La Jolla, California

Also known as: Division of General Dynamics, GA, John Jay Hopkins Laboratory for Pure and Applied Science

Special Exposure Cohort Petition Information

The Special Exposure Cohort (SEC) is a unique category of employees established by The Act (42 CFR Part 83). Claims compensated under the SEC do not have to go through the dose reconstruction process. To qualify for compensation under the SEC, a covered employee must meet specific requirements (e.g., must have at least one of 22 “specified cancers,” and have worked for a specified time period at one of the SEC sites). Classes of employees and work sites can be considered for addition to the SEC through a NIOSH petition process. More information about the Special Exposure Cohort can be found on our Frequently Asked Questions page.

Open/Active SEC Petitions

There are currently no open/active SEC petitions from General Atomics.

Class(es) Added to the SEC

Atomic Weapons Employer (AWE) employees who were monitored or should have been monitored for exposure to ionizing radiation while working at the General Atomics facility in La Jolla, California at the following locations: Science Laboratories A, B, and C (Building 2); Experimental Building (Building 9); Maintenance (Building 10); Service Building (Building 11); Buildings 21 and 22; Hot Cell Facility (Building 23); Waste Yard (Buildings 25 and 26); Experimental Area (Buildings 27 and 27-1); LINAC Complex (Building 30); HTGR-TCF (Building 31); Fusion Building (Building 33); Fusion Doublet III (Building 34); SV-A (Building 37); SV-B (Building 39); and SV-D (no building number) for a number of work days aggregating at least 250 work days from January 1, 1960, through December 31, 1969, or in combination with work days within the parameters established for one or more other classes of employees in the SEC.

Note: This class was established by Petition 64.
All Atomic Weapons Employees who worked for General Atomics at its facility in La Jolla, California, during the period from January 1, 1960, through December 31, 1969, for a number of work days aggregating at least 250 work days, occurring either solely under this employment, or in combination with work days within the parameters established for one or more other classes of employees included in the Special Exposure Cohort.

Note: This class was established by Petition 218.

Petitions Qualified for Evaluation

Below is a list of the petitions that qualified for evaluation. Select a petition on the list to view the table for that particular petition.

Petition 64
Steps in Petition Process:	Petition Details:
Date Received	July 17, 2006
Date Qualified for Evaluation	July 18, 2006
Summary of Information in Petition	Job Titles and/or Job Duties: Potentially worked in the locations: Building 2 (Science laboratories A, B, and C) Building 9 (Experimental Building) Building 10 (Maintenance) Building 11 (Service Building) Building 21 Building 22 Building 23 (Hot Cell Facility) Building 25 Building 26 Building 27 (Experimental Area Building #1) Building 27-1 (Experimental Area Building #1) Building 30 (LINAC Complex) Building 31 (HTGR-TCF) Building 33 (Fusion Building) Building 34 (Fusion Doublet III) Building 37 (SV-A) Building 39 (SV-B) SV-D Period of Employment: January 1, 1960, through December 31, 1969 Note: The information above is what qualified for evaluation. During our evaluation of whether dose reconstructions can adequately be completed for the above job titles and period of employment, information may cause NIOSH to change some the dates or job titles/duties. Therefore, as this petition proceeds through the SEC petition process and if an SEC class is proposed, the proposed class may not exactly match the above information.
Copy of the Petition Received	July 17, 2006 [604 KB (1 page)] (January 1, 1960, through December 31, 1969)
Federal Register Notice Announcing that a General Atomics SEC Petition has met the Minimum Qualifications for Review and Evaluation	August 4, 2006 [56 KB (2 pages)] (January 1, 1960, through December 31, 1969)
SEC Petition Evaluation Report	November 3, 2006 [125 KB (23 pages)] (January 1, 1960, through December 31, 1969)
Evaluation Report Sent to the Advisory Board	November 3, 2006 (January 1, 1960, through December 31, 1969)
Petition Discussed by the Advisory Board	The petition was discussed by the Advisory Board during its December 11-13, 2006, meeting in Naperville, Illinois. Note: Agendas and transcripts for Board meetings will be posted on the Advisory Board and Public Meetings page as soon as they become available.
Advisory Board Recommendation on SEC Petition	January 17, 2007 [237 KB (2 pages)] (January 1, 1960, through December 31, 1969)
HHS Letters to Congress Regarding the SEC Petition	February 16, 2007 [289 KB (6 pages)] (January 1, 1960, through December 31, 1969)
HHS Designation/Determination of Additional Members to the SEC	Designation: February 16, 2007 [186 KB (4 pages)] (January 1, 1960, through December 31, 1969) Note: A “designation” means that HHS is recommending a class be added to the SEC. A “determination” means that HHS is recommending a class not be added to the SEC.
Federal Register Notice: Designation/Determination of a Class of Employees for Addition to the Special Exposure Cohort	Designation: March 2, 2007 [42 KB (1 page)] (January 1, 1960, through December 31, 1969) Note: A “designation” will be published if there is a recommendation to add a class to the SEC. A “determination” will be published if there is a recommendation not to add a class to the SEC.
Effective Date for the SEC Class	March 18, 2007 (January 1, 1960, through December 31, 1969) Note: This only applies if the class is added to the SEC.
Federal Register Notice: Final Effect of Designation of a Class of Employees for Addition to the Special Exposure Cohort	April 10, 2007 [43 KB (1 page)] (January 1, 1960, through December 31, 1969) Note: This only applies if the class is added to the SEC.
Letter to DOL Regarding the Addition of a New Class of Employees to the SEC	March 29, 2007 [20 KB (1 page)] (January 1, 1960, through December 31, 1969) Note: This only applies if the class is added to the SEC.

Petition 218
Steps in Petition Process:	Petition Details:
Date Received	June 27, 2014
Date Qualified for Evaluation	July 1, 2014
Summary of Information in Petition	Location: La Jolla, California Job Titles and/or Job Duties: All Atomic Weapons Employees Period of Employment: January 1, 1960 through December 31, 1969 Note: The information above is what qualified for evaluation. During our evaluation of whether dose reconstructions can adequately be completed for the above job titles and period of employment, information may cause NIOSH to change some the dates or job titles/duties. Therefore, as this petition proceeds through the SEC petition process and if an SEC class is proposed, the proposed class may not exactly match the above information.
Copy of the Petition Received	June 27, 2014 [298 KB (3 pages)] (January 1, 1960 through December 31, 1969)
Federal Register Notice Announcing that a General Atomics SEC Petition has met the Minimum Qualifications for Review and Evaluation	July 9, 2014 [206 KB (1 page)] (January 1, 1960 through December 31, 1969)
SEC Petition Evaluation Report	July 17, 2014 [260 KB (42 pages)] (January 1, 1960 through December 31, 1969)
Evaluation Report Sent to the Advisory Board	July 17, 2014 (January 1, 1960 through December 31, 1969)
Petition Discussed by the Advisory Board	The Advisory Board discussed the petition on July 29, 2014, during its regular meeting. Note: Agendas and transcripts for Board meetings will be posted on the Advisory Board and Public Meetings page as soon as they become available.
Advisory Board Recommendation on SEC Petition	August 28, 2014 [38 KB (2 pages)] (January 1, 1960, through December 31, 1969)
HHS Letters to Congress Regarding the SEC Petition	September 25, 2014 [70 KB (10 pages)] (January 1, 1960, through December 31, 1969)
HHS Designation/Determination of Additional Members to the SEC	Designation: September 25, 2014 [44 KB (5 pages)] (January 1, 1960, through December 31, 1969) Note: A “designation” means that HHS is recommending a class be added to the SEC. A “determination” means that HHS is recommending a class not be added to the SEC.
Federal Register Notice: Designation/Determination of a Class of Employees for Addition to the Special Exposure Cohort	Designation: October 20, 2014 [97 KB (2 pages)] (January 1, 1960, through December 31, 1969) Note: A “designation” will be published if there is a recommendation to add a class to the SEC. A “determination” will be published if there is a recommendation not to add a class to the SEC.
Effective Date for the SEC Class	October 25, 2014 (January 1, 1960, through December 31, 1969) Note: This only applies if the class is added to the SEC.
Federal Register Notice: Final Effect of Designation of a Class of Employees for Addition to the Special Exposure Cohort	November 5, 2014 [77 KB (1 page)] (January 1, 1960, through December 31, 1969) Note: This only applies if the class is added to the SEC.
Letter to DOL Regarding the Addition of a New Class of Employees to the SEC	October 27, 2014 [45 KB (1 page] (January 1, 1960, through December 31, 1969) Note: This only applies if the class is added to the SEC.

SEC Petitions Not Qualifying for Evaluation

There were two additional petitions received but did not qualify for evaluation. The petitions did not meet the minimum petition requirements for evaluation.

Advisory Board Work Group on Uranium Refining Atomic Weapons Employers (AWEs)–formerly TBD 6001 Work Group

This Work Group reviews technical documents and Special Exposure Cohort (SEC) petitions for uranium refining AWEs assigned to it by the Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health. The Work Group makes recommendations to the Board on SEC petitions, reviews reports developed by the Board’s contractor (SC&A), and assists NIOSH and SC&A in resolving issues that arise through the review process.

Sites currently being considered by the Work Group include: General Atomics, Hooker Electrochemical, Reduction Pilot Plant, Westinghouse Electric Corp. (New Jersey), and W.R. Grace (Erwin, TN).

Meeting information (including agendas and transcripts) for this Work Group can be found on either the individual work site pages or on the Advisory Board and Public Meetings page.

Note: Baker-Perkins Co., Du Pont Deepwater Works, Electro Metallurgical Company, Nuclear Materials and Equipment Corp. (NUMEC) – Apollo, Nuclear Materials and Equipment Corp. (NUMEC) – Parks Township, and United Nuclear Corp. were previously discussed by this Work Group, but are not currently under discussion.

Work Group Members:

Henry A. Anderson, M.D. (Chair)
David Kotelchuck, Ph.D., M.P.H., C.I.H.
David Pompa

Meeting Information:

No meetings have been scheduled to discuss this work site at this time.

Technical Documents

If the energy employee’s personal radiation information is incomplete, NIOSH will use other sources to estimate the radiation dose. This may involve using technical documents called Site Profiles, Technical Basis Documents, and Technical Information Bulletins.

Site Profile

Note: The Site Profile below can be used to complete dose reconstructions for Area IV of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory, the Canoga Avenue Facility (Vanowen Building), the Downey Facility, and the General Atomics (these are sometimes referred to as Energy Technology Engineering Center [ETEC] or Atomics International).

Site Profile for General Atomics [2.6 MB (143 pages)]
Approved September 26, 2008

Advisory Board and NIOSH Discussions on General Atomics

The General Atomics discussion papers listed below are working documents prepared by NIOSH or its contractor for use in discussions with the Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health or its Working Groups or Subcommittees. Draft, preliminary, interim, and white paper documents are not final NIOSH or Advisory Board (or their technical support and review contractors) positions unless specifically marked as such. These documents represent preliminary positions taken on technical issues prepared by NIOSH or its contractor.

The discussion papers have been reviewed to identify and redact any information that is protected by the Privacy Act 5 USC §552a and have been cleared for distribution.

NIOSH/DCAS: General Atomics Special Exposure Cohort Evaluation Report–1960-1969 (Petition 218) (Presentation for the July 29, 2014, Meeting of the Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health) [123 KB (24 pages)]

Public Comments on General Atomics Documents

How to Submit Comments

Comments on General Atomics Documents can be submitted to the NIOSH Docket Officer electronically by email at nioshdocket@cdc.gov or printed comments can be mailed to:

NIOSH Docket Office
Robert A. Taft Laboratories, MS-C34
1090 Tusculum Avenue
Cincinnati, OH 45226
Please include the Site Profile/Docket Number (89) on all comments.

Comments Received

At this time, no comments have been submitted.