Ames Laboratory

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q:  Why am I receiving mailings from the Ames Laboratory - Former Worker Program?

A:  The purpose of The Ames Laboratory - Former Worker Program (FWP) is to contact all former employees who worked for the Ames Laboratory and inform them of their eligibility to receive a free medical screening.  The medical screening is provided by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) under the 1993 Defense Authorization Act, which requires the DOE to conduct medical screenings for chronic health conditions of at-risk former employees as a result of their employment at DOE-facilities.  This medical screening is being carried out by The University of Iowa College of Public Health.

If you are interested in receiving the free medical screening please complete and return the enclosed yellow Participant Response Form or call us toll-free at 1-866-282-5818.

Q:  I only worked at the Ames Laboratory for a short period of time and don’t feel I was there long enough to be exposed to anything.  Do I still need to be screened?

A:   You are eligible to receive the free medical screening regardless of the length of time you worked at or around the Ames Laboratory.  There is no minimum period of employment for eligibility to receive the screening tests.  Even if you worked at the Ames Laboratory for a few months, you are eligible to receive the screening.

The screening is available to all individuals who worked at the Ames Laboratory (such as scientific and technical staff, paid undergraduate and graduate Lab assistants, administrative staff with shared workspaces in/near the Lab, construction workers, custodians, or subcontractors) no matter how long or short the employment period or current health status.

Even occasional or short-term occupational exposures at the Ames Laboratory could have resulted in certain health conditions; thus, the recommendation for medical screening.  Occupational medicine specialists will review your health history and screening results and address questions relating to health conditions associated with working at Ames Laboratory.

Q:  I never worked with beryllium or in any high exposure areas.  Do I need to be screened?

A:  In addition to physically handling the metal beryllium, Ames Laboratory employees may have also been exposed to beryllium through inhaling airborne dust particles from work done at the Lab years ago.

In 2001, swipe samples from enclosed spaces in the walls and ceiling of the Ames Laboratory detected beryllium residue in several areas in concentrations greater than the analytical methods detection limit.  Even if you did not work directly with beryllium, inadvertent exposure may have been possible.

Q: I didn’t work in a lab at the Ames Laboratory.  I only worked in offices (administrative, secretarial, communications- PR, media, etc.).

A:  The Ames Laboratory is the name of a set of buildings and departments who initially collaborated on the national effort to develop atomic energy and related research activities later on, including purification of lanthanide metals and applied research from chemical and physical sciences to materials, environmental and engineering sciences.

The screening is available to all individuals who worked for the Ames Laboratory including, administrative staff with shared workspaces in/near the Lab, construction workers, custodians, or subcontractors, no matter how long or short the employment period or current health status.

If you received this mailing, then you qualify for the medical screening.  If you are interested in receiving the free medical screening, please complete and return the enclosed yellow Participant Response Form or call us toll-free at 1-866-282-5818.

Q:  I have my own doctor who provides regular checkups.  Why do I need to be screened by the Ames Laboratory-FWP as well?

A:  The free screening includes a chest x-ray, pulmonary function test / spirometry, and a panel of blood tests.  Although your personal doctor may run these similar tests, one unique screening test offered with the Ames Laboratory-FWP is the Beryllium Lymphocyte Proliferation Test (BeLPT).  The BeLPT is a blood test that measures sensitization to beryllium, a metal historically at the Ames Laboratory.  The BeLPT is not offered during routine physical examinations and is available to you for free through the Ames Laboratory-FWP medical screening.

Ames Laboratory former workers may have been exposed to uranium, thorium, beryllium, ionizing radiation, and other toxic substances that were historically used at the Ames Laboratory.  The Ames Laboratory-FWP occupational medicine doctors, who are familiar with the above mentioned potential exposures, will review your medical history and screening results in the context of the exposures at the Ames Laboratory.

Q:   Are these screenings really necessary?  My health is fine.  I don’t have any health problems or symptoms.  Since I am healthy, do I still need to be screened?

A:  You are eligible to receive the free medical screening regardless of your current health status. The medical screening is still important, as the screening may lead to early detection of treatable health conditions.

The benefit of medical screenings is to detect early stages of treatable health conditions.  Former workers may have been exposed to uranium, thorium, plutonium, beryllium, ionizing radiation, and other toxic substances that were historically used at the Ames Laboratory.  These exposures in some working conditions at the Ames Laboratory are associated with certain health conditions (i.e., lung diseases and cancers).  Some of these diseases may have a 10-40 year latency period.  In particular, beryllium sensitization is not dose dependent, meaning that even if a person was exposed once to beryllium dust, they have almost as high a rate of beryllium sensitization as a person who worked with it frequently.  There is still value in this medical screening many years after working at or around the Ames Laboratory.

Q:  I was already screened by the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) program or another screening program.  Do I still need to be screened by the Ames Laboratory-FWP?

A:  ORISE only offered the BeLPT and did not include screenings for other occupational lung diseases or cancers or repeat BeLPT.

The Ames Laboratory-FWP offers the full panel of screening tests, which includes: chest x-ray; Pulmonary Function Test (PFT) / spirometry; Beryllium Lymphocyte Proliferation Test (BeLPT); and general laboratory tests.

Q:  I live too far away to be screened.  Can I get screened any closer to my home?

A:  If you live within two to three hours of our screening sites in Iowa (i.e., Ames, Iowa City, Burlington, Mt. Pleasant), then we urge you to participate in the medical screenings conducted by the Ames Laboratory-FWP and meet with the occupational medicine doctors.  They are experts in their field and can provide you with specific information about toxic exposures and possible related health conditions.  Additionally, the Ames Laboratory-FWP staff is able to help you file compensation claims for occupational illnesses.

Please note that even if you are not able to attend the screening in Iowa, our occupational medicine doctors and staff will still review your health history and screening results and also assist with the compensation claims process.

However, if you live outside of Iowa, all of the same screening tests can be performed at a clinic near you through the National Supplemental Screening Program (NSSP).  The NSSP has a network of clinics throughout the United States, there is a clinic within 50 miles of every zip code. You may also choose to see your personal physician through the NSSP.  If you would like to be referred to the NSSP, please check the NSSP screening location on the yellow “Participant Response Form” or call us toll-free at 1-866-282-5818.

Q:  Will being screened affect my health insurance?

A:  No.  Please be reassured that receiving the FWP medical screening will not affect your health insurance.  All of the medical results and information are completely confidential and locked in files and on secure databases at the Ames Laboratory-FWP and NSSP offices.  You will receive a copy of the screening results.  With your written permission, the Ames Laboratory-FWP will also send a copy of the screening results to your personal physician, but this is completely optional.  If you choose, you may show your doctor the results instead.  The screening results will not be sent to your health insurance. By law, doctors may only release patient’s medical records from their own clinic/institution.  It is illegal for doctors to release the Ames Laboratory-FWP screening results to any outside source because it was not ordered through their clinic.

By law, doctors may only release patient’s medical records from their own clinic/institution.  It is illegal for doctors to release the Ames Laboratory-FWP screening results to any outside source because it was not ordered through their clinic.

Q:  What are the implications of detecting an occupational disease?  What are advantages of receiving the medical screening?

A:  Eligible former workers receive the following free medical screening tests: chest x-ray; Pulmonary Function Test (PFT) / spirometry; Beryllium Lymphocyte Proliferation Test (BeLPT); and general laboratory tests (see page 4 for more details).

One unique screening test offered is the BeLPT, as it is not commonly offered during routine physical examinations.  The BeLPT is offered to you for free through the Ames Laboratory-FWP medical screening.

A separate program, the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program (EEOICP) is a federal law that provides compensation to former workers who were potentially exposed to hazardous materials as a result of their employment.

If the former worker’s medical history and/or Ames Laboratory-FWP screening results suggest an occupational illness, then they may be used to support a claim for compensation for toxin- or radiation-induced occupational illnesses that may have resulted from work for the DOE, including sensitization to beryllium, chronic beryllium disease, asbestosis, pulmonary fibrosis, and radiogenic cancers.  Compensation may be available to eligible workers or their surviving spouses or dependent children.

The Ames Laboratory-FWP medical screening is an independent and separate program from state and federal compensation programs, including the EEOICP, which is currently administered by the Department of Labor (DOL).  Filing a claim with the DOL is a separate process from completing the Ames Laboratory-FWP Health and Work History Questionnaire.  The Ames Laboratory-FWP can provide claims forms and guidance on how to fill them out.

For more information, you may call us toll-free at 1-866-282-5818 or the DOL Resource Center directly toll-free at 1-866-540-4977 or visit the DOL-EEOICP website.