RECA pays a one-time lump sum of $100,000 to qualifying downwinders, onsite participants and uranium workers, and a new Manhattan Project waste category pays at least $50,000 to living claimants. This RECA compensation amounts calculator shows the payment for each category under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act as reauthorized by Public Law 119-21 on July 4, 2025, subtracts offsets for prior payments, splits the award among survivors in the order the regulations set, and shows the most an attorney may charge. A ZIP code checker covers the Manhattan Project waste areas in Missouri, Tennessee, Alaska and Kentucky.
RECA is not a lawsuit. The Department of Justice describes it as a non-adversarial alternative to litigation: claimants do not have to prove that radiation caused their illness. They qualify by showing a diagnosis of a compensable disease after working or living in a designated place for a specific period. That is why the amounts below are fixed by statute rather than negotiated, and why the main questions are which category you fit, who files, and what gets subtracted.
Lawsuit or settlement payments, or VA disability or DIC, for the same radiation illness.
Enter a ZIP code to check it against the list in Public Law 119-21.
| Category | Payment | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Downwinders | $100,000 | One-time lump sum; survivors may apply for equal shares of the single payment |
| Onsite participants | $100,000 | Offset by any amounts received from the VA for the same illness |
| Uranium workers (miners, millers, core drillers, ore transporters, remediation) | $100,000 | Separate $50,000 EEOICPA payment and medical benefits through the Department of Labor |
| Manhattan Project waste, living claimant | Greater of $50,000 or documented out-of-pocket medical expenses | Medical expense records due by December 31, 2028 |
| Manhattan Project waste, deceased claimant | $25,000 | To the surviving spouse, or in equal shares to the children if there is no spouse |
These are the amounts the Department of Justice lists on its RECA page. The same page notes that DOJ is working on revised regulations during 2026 and will use the existing regulations at 28 CFR Part 79 where possible until they are published, so some older amounts still appear in the regulation text.
Public Law 119-21 rewrote several parts of RECA. It replaced the older downwinder and onsite amounts of $50,000 and $75,000 with $100,000, added a window for people physically present in New Mexico for at least one year between September 24, 1944 and November 6, 1962, extended the uranium employment period to December 31, 1990, added core drillers and remediation workers, and made renal cancer and other chronic renal disease compensable for uranium miners as well as millers and ore transporters. It created the new Manhattan Project waste category, set the claim filing deadline at December 31, 2027, and set the RECA Trust Fund to terminate on December 31, 2028. The law also adds a condition that no payment has previously been made to the individual, on behalf of the individual, or to a survivor.
A downwinder must have been physically present in an affected area for one of these periods: in New Mexico for one year between September 24, 1944 and November 6, 1962; in any affected area for one year between January 21, 1951 and November 6, 1962; or in any affected area for the entire period from June 30, 1962 to July 31, 1962. The affected areas are the states of Idaho, New Mexico and Utah; in Arizona, the counties of Coconino, Yavapai, Navajo, Apache, Gila and Mohave; and in Nevada, the counties of White Pine, Nye, Lander, Lincoln, Eureka and the part of Clark County in townships 13 through 16 at ranges 63 through 71.
The compensable diseases are leukemia (other than chronic lymphocytic leukemia), multiple myeloma, lymphomas (other than Hodgkin's disease), and primary cancers of the thyroid, male or female breast, esophagus, stomach, pharynx, small intestine, pancreas, bile ducts, gall bladder, salivary gland, urinary bladder, brain, colon, ovary, liver (except if cirrhosis or Hepatitis B is indicated) or lung.
Onsite participants were present above or within a government installation during a U.S. atmospheric nuclear test conducted before January 1, 1963. The Hiroshima and Nagasaki detonations are not included. The disease list is the same as for downwinders. The $100,000 payment is offset by any amounts received from the Department of Veterans Affairs for the same illness, and the Congressional Research Service notes that for onsite participants with claims based on diseases other than leukemia, the offset uses the actuarial present value of prior payments.
Uranium workers must have worked as a uranium miner, miller, core driller, ore transporter, or in remediation at a uranium mine or mill in Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Wyoming, South Dakota, Washington, Utah, Idaho, North Dakota, Oregon or Texas, for at least one year between January 1, 1942 and December 31, 1990. A mine worker may instead show exposure to 40 or more working level months of radiation, and periods in different covered jobs can be combined. The compensable diseases are lung cancer, pulmonary fibrosis, fibrosis of the lung, silicosis, pneumoconiosis, cor pulmonale related to fibrosis of the lung, renal cancer and other chronic renal disease including nephritis and kidney tubal tissue injury.
Approved uranium workers have a second program to check. Under 42 U.S.C. 7384u, a person who received $100,000 under section 5 of RECA, or the survivor, receives $50,000 under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act, plus medical benefits for that illness. The calculator lists it as a separate line because the Department of Labor, not DOJ, administers it.
This category is new. A claimant must have been physically present for at least two years after January 1, 1949 in a listed ZIP code, through a primary residence, a place of employment or a school in the area, and later been diagnosed with a specified disease. The ZIP codes in the statute are:
The specified diseases include any leukemia (if the first exposure came after age 20 and onset was at least two years after first exposure), multiple myeloma, lymphoma other than Hodgkin's disease, and primary cancers of organs including the thyroid, breast, esophagus, stomach, pancreas, bladder, brain, colon, ovary, bone, kidney, liver and lung, with onset at least two years after the first exposure. A living claimant receives the greater of $50,000 or all documented out-of-pocket medical expenses for the disease that were not covered by insurance, workers' compensation or another health program. If the individual has died, the surviving spouse may receive $25,000; if there is no surviving spouse, the surviving children share $25,000 equally.
If the claimant has died, only certain relatives can file. The regulation at 28 CFR 79.71 lists them in order: the spouse, if married to the claimant for at least one year immediately before death; then a child; then a parent; then a grandchild; then a grandparent. The Congressional Research Service describes the payment as going to children, parents, grandchildren and grandparents in equal shares within each group. Only the first group with a living member receives the payment. The calculator applies that order and divides the award equally within the group. Manhattan Project waste claims follow the separate spouse-then-children rule written into that section of the law.
RECA subtracts certain prior payments. The regulations direct the program to subtract payments made under a final award or settlement on a claim (other than a workers' compensation claim) based on injuries from the covered radiation exposure, and for onsite participants, payments by the Department of Veterans Affairs such as disability compensation and Dependency and Indemnity Compensation. The Congressional Research Service summarizes the rule: benefits are offset by payments from any lawsuit or settlement, or by VA disability compensation or Dependency and Indemnity Compensation, for illnesses covered by RECA. Enter those amounts in the offsets field to see the reduced award.
A claimant or survivor may, but need not, be represented by an attorney, and the fee rules are strict. Under 28 CFR 79.74, an attorney may receive no more than 2 percent of the total award for a successful claim, exclusive of costs. The cap is 10 percent if the attorney resubmits a previously denied claim, or if the attorney's contract for the claim was signed before July 10, 2000. No fee may be charged for an unsuccessful claim, although the attorney may recover costs, and a violation of the fee rules carries a fine of not more than $5,000. On a $100,000 award, the 2 percent cap is $2,000.
The Congressional Research Service report on RECA states that benefits are not subject to the federal income tax, citing 26 U.S.C. 104(a)(2), the exclusion for damages received on account of personal physical injuries or physical sickness. State tax treatment and benefit program rules can differ, so confirm your own situation with a tax professional.
DOJ accepts claims through its electronic RECA Claim Portal or by mail with the claim form for your category and original or certified supporting documents, sent to the U.S. Department of Justice, Radiation Exposure Compensation Program, P.O. Box 146, Ben Franklin Station, Washington, DC 20044-0146. The program's toll-free number is 1-800-729-7327. Useful records include proof of residence, employment or onsite participation during the qualifying period, medical records showing the diagnosis, and identification documents.
Awards are one-time lump sum payments. Under 28 CFR 79.75, once the program receives the claimant's or survivor's election to accept the payment, the claim is to be paid within six weeks, although all time frames are suspended during periods when the trust fund is not funded.
The Department of Justice lists a one-time lump sum of $100,000 for qualifying downwinders, onsite participants and uranium workers. Manhattan Project waste claimants who are living receive the greater of $50,000 or their documented out-of-pocket medical expenses for the covered illness, and if the individual is deceased, the surviving spouse receives $25,000, or the children share $25,000 equally if there is no spouse.
The regulations list eligible survivors in order: a spouse who was married to the claimant for at least one year before death, then children, then parents, then grandchildren, then grandparents. The Congressional Research Service describes payments to children, parents, grandchildren and grandparents in equal shares. Manhattan Project waste claims follow their own rule: $25,000 to a surviving spouse, or equal shares to surviving children.
The Congressional Research Service report on RECA states that benefits are not subject to the federal income tax, citing 26 U.S.C. 104(a)(2). Ask a tax professional about your own return.
The Department of Justice says all claims must be filed by December 31, 2027. For Manhattan Project waste claims, medical expense records for additional compensation must be submitted on or before December 31, 2028, and the RECA Trust Fund terminates on December 31, 2028.
Under 28 CFR 79.74, an attorney may receive no more than 2 percent of the total award for a successful claim, exclusive of costs. The limit is 10 percent for a previously denied claim that is resubmitted, or for a contract signed before July 10, 2000. No fee may be charged for an unsuccessful claim, and violations carry a fine of up to $5,000.
The 2025 law added Manhattan Project waste claims for 21 listed Missouri ZIP codes, including 63031, 63033, 63034, 63042 and 63114, along with listed ZIP codes in Tennessee, Alaska and Kentucky. You need at least two years of physical presence after January 1, 1949 and a specified disease. Use the ZIP checker on this page to test a ZIP code.
Yes. Under 42 U.S.C. 7384u, a person who received $100,000 under section 5 of RECA, or the survivor, receives $50,000 under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act plus medical benefits for that illness. That program is run by the Department of Labor and is separate from the RECA payment.