The Health Resources and Services Administration today announced six grants totaling $2.6 million to aid individuals harmed by the mining, transport and processing of uranium and the testing of nuclear weapons.

Today’s awards are the first under the new Radiation Exposure Screening and Education Program created by the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act Amendments of 2000.  HRSA manages the program through its Bureau of Primary Health Care.

Grant recipients include three medical centers, a health center, a university and a health system in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah.

Specifically, the program requires grant recipients to:

• develop education programs and disseminate information on cancers and other diseases caused by radiation and the importance of early detection;
• screen eligible individuals for cancer and other diseases caused by radiation;
• provide appropriate referrals for medical treatment; and
• help document Radiation Exposure Compensation Program claims.

For more information on the Radiation Exposure Screening and Education Program, go to http://bphc.hrsa.gov/resep/ on the web. The list of today’s grantees follows:

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