Radiation Exposure Compensation Reauthorization Act
Updated for 2025
Please visit our RECA Missouri Resources website for helpful information
https://reca-missouri-resources.org/
The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (“the Act” or “RECA”), 42 U.S.C. § 2210 note, was originally enacted in 1990 to provide monetary compensation to individuals who developed serious illnesses due to exposure to radiation from atmospheric nuclear testing and uranium industry employment. The Act authorized the U.S. Attorney General to establish procedures for evaluating claims and determining eligibility.
RECA initially covered:
- Downwinders exposed to fallout from Cold War-era nuclear testing
- Uranium miners, millers, and ore transporters exposed to radon gas and radioactive isotopes
- Atomic veterans and on-site participants at test sites
The program was set to expire in July 2024 and officially lapsed on June 7, 2024, leaving thousands of affected individuals without access to compensation.
RECA Reauthorization and Expansion – 2025
In March 2024, the U.S. Senate passed S. 3853, a bipartisan bill to reauthorize and expand RECA. After months of delay, the legislation was finally included in the 119th Congress federal reconciliation bill and passed by both chambers of Congress in July 2025.
Key updates in the 2025 RECA expansion:
- Program extended through December 31, 2028
- Compensation increased to $100,000 for most eligible individuals
- Expanded geographic coverage, including:
- All of Utah, New Mexico, and Idaho
- Additional counties in Arizona, including Mohave, Navajo, Apache, Gila, Yavapai, and Coconino
- New coverage for affected areas in Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Alaska linked to Manhattan Project waste
- Expanded eligibility for uranium workers, including those employed between 1971 and 1990, and core drillers
- Additional covered illnesses added to the list of qualifying medical conditions
You can view the full bill text and legislative history on 119th Congress bill HR 1 – RECA is under: SEC. 100102. APPROPRIATION TO THE FEDERAL JUDICIAL CENTER towards the bottom of the bill.
This expansion marks a historic victory for communities long excluded from federal recognition and compensation. Advocates in Missouri, including those impacted by contamination at Coldwater Creek, West Lake Landfill, Weldon Spring, and Mallinckrodt, played a pivotal role in securing this legislation.
To learn more about RECA’s history and the 2025 expansion, visit The Hill’s coverage of the RECA expansion.
Missouri RECA Website Launched
The RECA website dedicated to Missouri communities with a focus on St. Louis City, St. Louis County, and St. Charles County.
Just Moms STL Co-Founders Dawn Chapman and Karen Nickel are shifting gears to lead this next phase of advocacy. Their goal: to make the RECA application process as clear and accessible as possible for impacted residents. They’ve already begun meeting with local stakeholders to ensure the rollout is community-informed and responsive. Please check out the RECA website for more details.
RECA’s PAST
The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (“the Act” or “RECA”), 42 U.S.C. § 2210 note, established an administrative program for claims relating to atmospheric nuclear testing and uranium industry employment. The Act delegated authority to the Attorney General to establish procedures and make determinations regarding whether claims satisfy statutory eligibility criteria. Source Link
The United States Radiation Exposure Compensation Act is a federal statute implemented in 1990, set to expire in July 2024, providing for the monetary compensation of people, including atomic veterans, who contracted cancer and a number of other specified diseases as a direct result of their exposure to atmospheric nuclear testing undertaken by the United States during the Cold War as residents, or their exposure to radon gas and other radioactive isotopes while undertaking uranium mining, milling or the transportation of ore. Wikipedia
To learn more, please check out the history of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA).
The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) expired as of June 07, 2024. The U.S. Senate passed an amendment – Senate S. 3853 bill in March 2024.
The Senate bill was then sent to the House of Representative, where it has sat on Speaker of the House – Mike Johnson’s desk, ever since, instead of being put onto the House Floor for a vote.
By statute, the period to file a claim under RECA has ended. Only claims postmarked on and before June 10, 2024, will be filed and adjudicated. Source Link
June 7, 2024
Radiation Victims Call House Speaker’s Choice to Let Help Expire “a Betrayal”
Frontline Communities Vow to Continue to Fight for Justice
Published Jun 7, 2024 – Article Link
May 29, 2024
The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, or RECA, originally passed by Congress in 1990, offers compensation to uranium miners and civilians who were downwind of nuclear bomb testing in Arizona, Utah and Nevada. It expires June 10, and for months, advocates and members of Congress — especially from Missouri and New Mexico — have been lobbying Congress to expand it.
U.S. senators have twice passed legislation that would expand RECA, but it hasn’t gone anywhere in the House of Representatives. The legislation would add the remaining parts of Arizona, Utah and Nevada to the program and bring coverage to downwinders in Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico and Guam. It would also offer coverage for residents exposed to radioactive waste in Missouri, Tennessee, Alaska and Kentucky. https://www.ucsusa.org/about/news/speaker-johnson-lets-radiation-aid-expire
Source Link: Missouri Independent Article
Senate Passes Amendment to the RECA bill:
Amendment under S. 3853 would add additional coverage; See chart below*.
*Note: Some of the coverage in Green would be for certain zip codes and not apply to the entire state.
