Oak Ridge Today

ORAU announces Jenni Hoff as new acting director for NIOSH project along with Chris Tornes as acting deputy director

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OAK RIDGE, Tenn. — Jenni Hoff, Ph.D., assumed the duties of acting project director for the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) on the Energy Employee’s Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA). Hoff replaced Kate Kimpan, who retired after 18 years as project director, effective June 8.

Since 2002, ORAU has served as the prime contractor to NIOSH on the EEOICPA. This Act, passed by the US Congress in 2000, created a compensation program based on radiation exposure dose reconstruction, for workers in the U.S. nuclear weapons complex who were diagnosed with cancer.
The ORAU Team (ORAU in tandem with their teaming partners MJW Technical Services and NV5/Dade Moeller) has spent the past 22 years working for NIOSH and their Division of Compensation Analysis and Support to process claims for ill workers and their survivors.

ORAU has named Hoff, currently deputy project director, as the acting project director.

“ORAU is excited for Jenni Hoff to take on this new position since she has been on the NIOSH project since May 2003 in various leadership roles with increasing responsibility, and she is incredibly knowledgeable about every aspect of the program,” said ORAU President and CEO Andy Page.

Hoff received her undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees in nuclear engineering from the University of Tennessee.

Taking over the vacated deputy director position in an acting capacity will be Chris Tornes, who brings more than 20 years of experience serving on the project. Tornes received his undergraduate degree in nuclear engineering and master’s degree in health physics from the University of Cincinnati.

ORAU provides innovative scientific and technical solutions to advance national priorities in science, education, security and health. Through specialized teams of experts, unique laboratory capabilities and access to a consortium of more than 150 colleges and universities, ORAU works with federal, state, local and commercial customers to advance national priorities and serve the public interest. A 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation and federal contractor, ORAU manages the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education for the U.S. Department of Energy. Learn more about ORAU at www.orau.org.

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Jennifer Hoff named deputy project manager of the ORAU Team Dose Reconstruction Project for NIOSH

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Oak Ridge, Tenn.—Jennifer Hoff, Ph.D, has been named the new deputy project manager of the ORAU Team Dose Reconstruction Project for National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Hoff has served as associate director on the NIOSH Dose Reconstruction Project since 2021 and has worked on this project in different capacities since 2003.

In her new position, Hoff will work with the project manager in both strategic and operational leadership of her team. She will also guide her team to exceed expectations in their duties of continuing the key missions of the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act. She will take over the role in October, when current Deputy Project Manager Matt McFee retires.

“We are thrilled that Jennifer will be taking on this role,” said Jeff Miller, Ph.D., senior vice president and director of ORAU Government Services. “She has been an important part of the NIOSH project for almost 20 years, and her experience and knowledge made her the best choice. We cannot wait to see what Jennifer will do as deputy project manager.”

Before starting her current role as an associate director, Hoff worked as a manager on the project for 12 years. Prior to that, she served as a health physicist.

Hoff earned a doctorate in nuclear engineering from the University of Tennessee — Knoxville in 2003. She also holds a master’s degree and bachelor’s degree from the same school, both in nuclear engineering with a concentration in radiological engineering.

ORAU provides innovative scientific and technical solutions to advance national priorities in science, education, security and health. Through specialized teams of experts, unique laboratory capabilities and access to a consortium of 152 major institutions, ORAU works with federal, state, local and commercial customers to advance national priorities and serve the public interest. A 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation and federal contractor, ORAU manages the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education for the U.S. Department of Energy. To learn more, visit www.orau.org.

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CDC awards $167 million dose reconstruction contract to ORAU

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Part of the ORAU campus in central Oak Ridge is pictured above on May 29, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

ORAU and its partners have received a $167 million multi-year contract for work that includes radiation dose reconstructions for a federal compensation program that involves certain illnesses and work at sites affiliated with the U.S. Department of Energy.

ORAU announced the contract in a press release on Wednesday.

ORAU and its partners started work on the original contract in 2002, or 17 years ago. The new contract is for one year with four, one-year options, the press release said.

The contract is with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The work will support the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, or NIOSH.

[Read more…]

Final notice: New class of Y-12 workers added to compensation program

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The sign at the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A new class of workers at the Y-12 National Security Complex has been added to a federal energy employees compensation program that was established about two decades ago, officials announced Thursday.

The affected employees would have worked at Y-12 between January 1, 1958, and December 31, 1976. They would have been employees of the U.S. Department of Energy, its predecessor agencies, or their contractors and subcontractors. They would have had an aggregate of at least 250 work days. That could have occurred either only through this employment or in combination with work days that meet the parameters established for one or more other classes of employees in what is known as the Special Exposure Cohort.

The notice that the new class of employees has been added to the Special Exposure Cohort was published in the Federal Register by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday. Oak Ridge Today reported in December that the class was being evaluated, based on exposure to radiation from thorium metal parts and plutonium-241 isotopes, and reported in March that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services had designated the class of employees to be added. The new designation became effective March 28.

[Read more…]

(For members) NIOSH evaluating another class of Y-12 workers for compensation program

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The sign at the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The sign at the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The sign at the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

Federal health and safety officials are evaluating another class of Y-12 employees for a workers compensation program that involves certain illnesses and work at sites that are affiliated with the U.S. Department of Energy.

The petition being evaluated now could include all laborers who fabricated or processed uranium between January 1, 1977, and December 31, 1994, in any area at Y-12. The petition was received November 1 and qualified for evaluation on March 25.

The rest of this story, which you will find only on Oak Ridge Today, is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or recent contributor to Oak Ridge Today. 

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(For members) Y-12 class could be added to worker compensation program based on thorium, Pu-241 exposure

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The sign at the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The sign at the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

The sign at the main entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2017. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A new class of Y-12 employees could be added to a federal worker compensation program based on exposure to radiation from thorium metal parts and plutonium-241 isotopes between 1958 and 1976, health officials said.

The worker compensation program involves certain illnesses and work at sites like Y-12 that are affiliated with the U.S. Department of Energy.

The program is a result of the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act, which was enacted in October 2000. The act includes what is known as the Special Exposure Cohort. The new class of Y-12 employees could be part of that Special Exposure Cohort.

That designation would allow eligible claimants to be compensated without the complete reconstruction of a radiation dose or a determination of the probable cause. A covered employee would have to have at least one of 22 specified cancers.

The class of employees being evaluated now would have worked at Y-12 between January 1, 1958, through December 31, 1976, when Y-12 was manufacturing nuclear weapons components during the Cold War. The employees would have had an aggregate total of at least 250 work days, according to a notice published in the Federal Register this month. The class could change, however, based upon the evaluation.

The rest of this story, which you will find only on Oak Ridge Today, is available if you are a member: a subscriber, advertiser, or recent contributor to Oak Ridge Today. 

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P.O. Box 6064
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New class of Y-12 employees being evaluated for worker compensation program

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Y-12 Aerial Photo June 2012

The Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge is pictured above in June 2012. (Photo courtesy NNSA)

 

A new class of employees at the Y-12 National Security Complex is being evaluated for possible inclusion in a worker compensation program that involves certain illnesses and work at sites affiliated with the U.S. Department of Energy.

The class of employees being evaluated now would have worked at Y-12 between January 1, 1958, through December 31, 1976, and they would have had an aggregate total of at least 250 work days, according to a notice published in the Federal Register on Friday. The class could change, however, based upon the evaluation.

The decision to evaluate the petition for the Y-12 employees was announced by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, which is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

It’s not clear when the petition was filed, who filed it, or how long the evaluation might take. Oak Ridge Today has requested more information from the CDC. [Read more…]

Health Physics Society names ORAU’s Davis as recipient of Elda E. Anderson Award

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ORAU Health Physicist Jason Davis and his wife, Samantha, display the 2017 Elda E. Anderson Award he received at the Health Physics Society Annual Meeting. (Photo by ORAU)

ORAU Health Physicist Jason Davis and his wife, Samantha, display the 2017 Elda E. Anderson Award he received at the Health Physics Society Annual Meeting. (Photo by ORAU)

 

RALEIGH, N.C.—The Health Physics Society has named Jason Davis, an ORAU health physicist, as the 2017 recipient of the Elda E. Anderson Award, an annual honor bestowed to one of its young members for excellence in research or development, discovery or invention, or significant contributions to the health physics profession.

The award was presented to Davis during the 62nd annual meeting of the Health Physics Society, July 9-13 in Raleigh.

Davis joined ORAU in 2009 to work on projects associated with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). As a member of the NIOSH Special Exposure Cohort team, Davis researches the historic monitoring practices of sites to determine whether sufficient information exists to adequately bound radiation exposures to employees, a press release said. He communicates this information, along with analyses of the methods to bound radiation doses using the data available, through evaluation reports, project reports, and white papers.

At ORAU, Davis works closely with Eric W. Abelquist, executive vice president and chief research officer. Abelquist is a former recipient of the Elda E. Anderson Award and is the new president of the Health Physics Society national organization. Davis recently assisted Abelquist in the execution of the Radiation Protection Research Needs Workshop held earlier this year and has helped organize a Visiting Faculty Research Program pilot that will be completed in August. [Read more…]

NIOSH renews ORAU contract for sick worker program

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Andy Page

Andy Page

Contract could be worth about $150 million over five years

For the second time in about five years, a federal health and safety institute has renewed its contract with Oak Ridge Associated Universities for the support it provides on a sick worker program. The new contract could be worth about $150 million during a five-year period.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health awarded the contract to a team headed by ORAU in Oak Ridge. Under the new contract, ORAU and its partners Dade Moeller and Associates Inc. and MJW Technical Services Inc. will continue to support NIOSH and its work under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act, or EEOICPA, a press release said.

Last renewed in 2009, this contract has been managed by ORAU for more than a decade, and this is the second time NIOSH has renewed with ORAU and its partners, the release said. [Read more…]