The Office of Health, Safety and Security (HSS) was created to bring the vital Department of Energy (DOE) corporate functions of health, safety, environment, and security together under one office. To ensure effective coordination of these functions, HSS focuses on policy development, technical assistance, education and training, enforcement, and independent oversight programs. To provide consistency across the Department, HSS maintains a close working relationship with the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), the Under Secretaries of Energy and Science, line managers, and the Department's field sites.

Deputy Secretary Encourages Worker Participation in Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act Interviews

In 2009, HSS launched an outreach and awareness campaign that teamed staff from multiple agencies in support of the FWP and EEOICPA. The Joint Outreach Task Group, which includes employees from HSS, DOL, NIOSH, the Office of the Ombudsman for DOL and NIOSH, and the DOE-funded FWP projects, was established under the premise that agencies/programs with common goals can work together by combining resources and coordinating outreach efforts.

The task group met early on in the year to establish objectives for their campaign, which were solidified and put into action earlier this summer. The Joint Outreach Task Group's goals included:

Goal #1: To hold Joint Outreach Task Group events in the communities near DOE sites across the country.

• The Joint Outreach Task Group held 18 "Town Hall" meetings in and near the communities of 9 DOE sites within a 6-month period

Goal #2: To create educational tools to aid workers and their families through the EEOICPA claims process.

• The Joint Outreach Task Group developed a Fact Sheet entitled: "Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA) - Agency Roles/Programs for Assisting DOE Nuclear Weapons Workers".

Goal #3: To organize a Joint Outreach Task Group calendar of events that can be used by the agencies, as well as the public, to find events in their local community.

• The Joint Outreach Task Group has made a monthly calendar of community events available on the DOE HSS website to facilitate interagency and community involvement on events.

HSS is committed to serving our workers and is proud to be a member of one of the only multi-agency task groups whose mission is solely to provide for our DOE workers. The group will continue to work on outreach initiatives for the workers they serve and meet monthly to discuss and plan for future events.

The February calendar of activities hosted by the agencies and programs involved in the Joint Outreach Task Group can be viewed at:

http://www.hss.doe.gov/healthsafety/FWSP/Formerworkermed/events_calendars.html

Malcolm Nelson, the Ombudsman for the Department of Labor, speaks to an audience of over 200 former Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant workers and their families during the Joint Outreach Task Group Town Hall meeting held on November 3, 2009 at the United Steelworkers Local 550 Union Hall.

FOCUS ON:

HSS Focus On Archives

Pandemic Influenza

HSS Visiting Speaker Program Event

This page was last updated on February 9, 2010