What is RECA?
RECA is a bipartisan program established in 1990 that provides partial restitution for the devastating health impacts of radiation exposure from U.S. nuclear weapons testing and production. The U.S. government bears responsibility for the downwinders, uranium workers, and atomic veterans whose lives and health were sacrificed for our national security.
We know from scientific studies and first-hand accounts that currently, RECA does not go far enough. Though RECA was significantly expanded in 2025, highly irradiated places such as Montana, Colorado and Guam were left out, and many victims of nuclear production and waste storage have never been included.
What resources are available through RECA?
Downwinders — those exposed to fallout from nuclear testing - from certain counties in Arizona, Nevada, and Utah were eligible for $50,000 (green and blue areas on the map).
“Onsite participants” of atmospheric nuclear weapons tests — many of whom are also known as atomic veterans — were eligible for $75,000.
Uranium miners, millers, and ore transporters who worked in the uranium industry from 1942 to 1971 (in the yellow states on the map) were eligible for $100,000, as well as additional benefits through the EEOICPA.
No-cost medical screenings for compensable illnesses at select clinics through RESEP.
What is covered now under RECA?
Downwinders
Geographic areas now cover:
The entire states of Utah, Idaho and New Mexico
In Nevada: Eureka, Lander, Lincoln, Nye, White Pine counties, and a small Northeast portion of Clark County (no change from the previous coverage)
In Arizona: Apache, Coconino, Gila, Navajo, Yavapai, and all of Mohave County
Compensation
$100,000 (up from $50,000)
Survivors: $100,000
No new claims if already compensated
Eligibility time periods:
Lived in one of the listed areas for one year between Jan 21, 1951 – Nov 6, 1962
(Previously ended Oct 31, 1958)Present in the affected area for the whole period of June 30 – July 31, 1962
New Mexico only: An individual must have lived in the state for one year between Sept 24, 1944 – Nov 6, 1962
This time period starts earlier than the rest of the downwind area (1944 vs 1951) because of earlier testing done in New Mexico.
Covered Illnesses
Blood cancers: Leukemia (not CLL), Multiple myeloma, Lymphomas (not Hodgkin’s)
Age limit for leukemia claims removed
Primary cancers of: Thyroid, Breast, Esophagus, Stomach, Pharynx, Small intestine, Pancreas, Bile ducts, Gall bladder, Salivary gland, Bladder, Brain, Colon, Ovary, Liver (except cirrhosis or hepatitis B), Lung
2. Onsite Participants (“Atomic Veterans” and Civilian Test Workers)
Participated onsite in atmospheric nuclear tests before Jan 1, 1963
Compensation: $100,000 (up from $75,000)
Survivors: $100,000
Covered illnesses: same list as downwinders
3. Uranium Workers
Covered states:
Colorado
New Mexico
Arizona
Wyoming
South Dakota
Washington
Utah
Idaho
Northa Dakota
Oregon
Texas
Expanded Access:
Workers with mixed or partial work histories now eligible if total exposure equals one year’s work.
Creates new eligibility pathways for uranium workers with mixed or partial work histories, allowing workers with combined time of at least a year in eligible roles to be eligible for compensation.
Miners can also qualify if their total radiation exposure—when combined with time in other roles—is equivalent to that of a one-year worker. This expands access for workers who had fragmented job histories but significant cumulative exposure.
Eligible work categories:
Uranium miner
Uranium miller
Ore transporter
Core drillers
Uranium mine and mill remediation workers
Eligibility period:
Jan 1, 1942 – Dec 31, 1990 (previously ended 1971)
Compensation:
Same compensation amount of $100,000. Survivors receive $100,000 if the individual has passed away.
4. Manhattan Project Waste / Contaminated Communities
Covered States & ZIP Codes:
Alaska: 99546, 99547
Kentucky: 42001, 42003, 42086
Missouri: 63031, 63033, 63034, 63042, 63045, 63074, 63114, 63135, 63138, 63044, 63121, 63140, 63145, 63147, 63102, 63304, 63134, 63043, 63341, 63368, 63367
Tennessee: 37716, 37840, 37719, 37748, 37763, 37828, 37769, 37710, 37845, 37887, 37829, 37854, 37830, 37831
Compensation:
$50,000 or total medical costs (whichever is higher)
Medical claims must be submitted by Dec 31, 2028 (the expiration of the program)
Survivors may receive $25,000 (total) if the individual has passed away.
Eligibility:
Claimants must establish physical presence in the designated areas for two or more years after Jan 1, 1949.
“Physical presence” in a covered area can include their primary residence, employment or attending school.
Have a specified disease with an onset at least two years after date of initial exposure:
Any leukemia, multiple myeloma; lymphoma
Individuals are only eligible for leukemia if their exposure occurred after the age of 20.
Primary cancer of the thyroid, breast, esophagus, stomach, pharynx, small intestine, pancreas, bile ducts, gall bladder, salivary gland, bladder, brain, colon, ovary, bone, renal, liver (except if cirrhosis or hepatitis B is indicated), lung
What is NOT covered under RECA?
Downwind Areas:
In Nevada, most of Clark County, as well as other Western and Northern counties of Washoe, Humboldt, Elko, Pershing, Churchill, Storey, Carson City, Douglas, Lyon, Mineral, and Esmeralda
In Arizona, Southern counties of La Paz, Yuma, Maricopa, Pinal, Pima, Santa Cruz, Graham, Greenlee, and Cochise
The states of Colorado and Montana and the territory of Guam
Marshallese communities. There was a separate compensation program under the Compact of Free Association, but it ran out of money decades ago and has stopped paying out any claims.
2. Onsite participants:
Atomic cleanup veterans, such as those deployed in the Marshall Islands in the 1970s and 80s, and those deployed to nuclear accidents in Palomares, Spain or Thule, Greenland
Veterans involved in the bombings of Hiroshima or Nagasaki, Japan
3. Uranium workers
Those employed after 1990
Uranium workers in the states of California, Oklahoma, Florida, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Nevada
4. Manhattan Project Waste/Production Sites
Sites in states like Washington, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and many others across the country
Additional zip codes in Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Alaska
Photo: Tony Hood, uranium miner from Red Water Pond Road Community, Navajo Nation
What policy change have we advocated for?
Thanks to the tireless work of impacted communities, Senator Crapo (R-ID), Senator Lujan (D-NM), and Senator Hawley (R-MO) introduced S. 3853, the Radiation Exposure Compensation Reauthorization Act, in 2024.
Their proposal would have strengthened RECA and better cover those harmed by:
Extending RECA by 6 years;
Increasing payments to $100,000 for all claimants;
Adding downwind eligibility for all of Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Guam, Arizona, Nevada, and Utah, which were shown to have received high levels of fallout from nuclear testing (see map below);
Extending the period for uranium worker eligibility from 1971 to 1990, and adding uranium core drillers and remediation workers;
Adding chronic lymphocytic leukemia as a compensable disease for downwinders and atomic veterans, and adding renal (kidney) diseases as compensable diseases for uranium workers; and
Extending coverage to communities exposed to nuclear waste in Missouri, Alaska, Tennessee, and Kentucky.
On March 7, 2024, this bill passed in the Senate with a vote of 69-30. It was never scheduled for a vote in the House, and RECA expired in July 2024.
Though RECA was significantly expanded in 2025, the expansion did not include all of these provisions.
About Us
Our movement brings together affected community members, policy advocates, and concerned citizens to speak out about the need to further extend RECA and strengthen coverage to support previously excluded communities and individuals.
RECA expired in June 2024, and then was reinstated and significantly expanded in July 2025. However, the existing program is still flawed, and many communities are still fighting for inclusion in the program.
Photo: Blake McCord, Grand Canyon Trust
How did the United States expose RECA claimants to dangerous radiation?
From 1945 - 1962, the U.S. government conducted over 200 above-ground nuclear tests. Winds carried nuclear fallout hundreds of miles away from the test sites, exposing local communities to unsafe levels of radiation.
Beginning in the late 1940s, uranium workers - many of whom were Indigenous - were unknowingly exposed to dangerous levels of radiation while working to produce materials for America’s nuclear arsenal.
Hundreds of thousands of service members were also exposed to radiation through nuclear weapons testing and the cleanup of radioactive materials.
Starting with the Manhattan Project in the early 1940s, the production of nuclear weapons created environmental contamination and radioactive waste, which in many cases exposed communities surrounding production sites to radiation and other toxins.
RECA Factsheets and Resources
Overview
One-page overview of U.S. nuclear weapons activities and the Radiation Exposure Compensation Reauthorization Act - S. 3853
House Cosponsor List
View the U.S. House cosponsors of RECA Amendments (H.R. 4426) in the 118th Session
Senate Cosponsor List
View the U.S. Senate cosponsors of the RECA Amendments (S. 1751) in the 118th Session