Radiation Exposure Compensation Act and Cancer Registries

The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) is a program operated by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Civil Division. This restitution program has existed for many years, and our colleagues in several states are probably already familiar with RECA. For years, the RECA program has compensated individuals affected by radiation exposure under three specific categories: Downwinders, Onsite Participants, and Uranium Workers. These programs have been in existence for many years and were due to sunset in 2025. In July 2025, the program was reauthorized and amended to now include Downwinders exposed to radiation in, “the states of Idaho, New Mexico, and Utah, as well as the following counties: In the state of Arizona, the counties of Coconino, Yavapai, Navajo, Apache, Gila & Mohave; in the state of Nevada, the counties of White Pine, Nye, Lander, Lincoln, Eureka, and Clark County townships 13 through 16 at ranges 63 through 71.” (Division, 2026).

Under the Downwinders program, individuals affected by qualifying cancers will receive $100,000 compensation if they lived in a covered area during the exposure window and can substantiate their cancer diagnosis. Claimants can submit claims on themselves or on behalf of a deceased relative. This is where cancer registries often come in. Many qualifying cancer diagnoses occurred decades ago, and hospitals and physicians no longer have the records documenting the illness. In Utah there are about 200,130 cases that meet the site/histology and age eligibility that were diagnosed prior to 2019. If only 10% of those cases meet other eligibility criteria, then Utah Cancer Registry would be essential to those claimants being compensated over $2 billion. Similarly, in Idaho the estimate is over $1.7 billion.

Because there is a new population of people eligible for RECA compensation and an extended time-frame for those previously eligible, we wanted to make our colleagues aware of the program. A person could have lived in an exposure area during the correct time-frame but then lived in another state at the time of the cancer diagnosis. As a result, registries in all states might receive requests for records. The cancer registry is often the last hope for claimants to prove they had a compensable cancer. While providing individual records clearly is not a central cancer registry’s primary reason for existence, affected cancer patients and their relatives are incredibly grateful that we exist and that we can help substantiate their claim. This is yet one more way to demonstrate the value of cancer registries. We would like to encourage our colleagues to review your laws regarding release of cancer registry records to see if there is any pathway allowing you to help these people. We know that laws vary by state, and even if you are not allowed to release documentation directly to the patient or their relatives, perhaps you would be allowed to confirm a diagnosis directly with the DOJ.

For more information, please visit the Department of Justice website Department of Justice | Homepage | United States Department of Justice.

Co-authors: Carrie Bateman, Utah Cancer Registry and Randi Rycroft, Cancer Data Registry of Idaho

References

Division, U. D. (2026, March 9). U.S. Department of Justice. Retrieved from Radiation Exposure Compensation Act: https://www.justice.gov/civil/reca