Justice Department Update Puts Expanded Radiation-Exposure Compensation Awards at $925.5 Million

The Justice Department has approved $925.5 million in radiation-exposure compensation under the expanded federal program, according to figures updated November 4, 2026. The awards cover 13,279 claims received under the law that reopened and broadened the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, or RECA, in 2025.

The approved total marks substantial progress for a program that had been closed to new applications before Congress revived it. Yet 51,242 claims remain pending, far outnumbering those decided in favor of applicants. The figures describe compensation approved, rather than establishing how much money has already been disbursed to recipients.

In its latest awards-to-date report, the Justice Department lists 64,809 claims received under the expanded law, including 288 denials. The numbers cover several distinct groups of claimants, ranging from residents of areas affected by nuclear testing to people seeking compensation for illnesses associated with Manhattan Project waste.

Downwinders account for the largest share of approved awards

People covered by RECA’s downwinder provisions account for $561.7 million of the new approved compensation, or roughly three-fifths of the total. DOJ lists 5,617 approved downwinder claims, 78 denials and 29,623 pending applications. For every downwinder claim approved, more than five remain unresolved.

Downwinder eligibility is based on qualifying residence or presence in designated places during specified periods and a subsequent diagnosis of a covered disease. The law includes Idaho, New Mexico and Utah, as well as designated parts of Arizona and Nevada. It does not provide an award simply because someone lived near a test site; applicants must satisfy the statutory geographic, time and medical requirements.

Claims relating to Manhattan Project waste represent the second-largest category by approved dollars. Approved Manhattan Project waste claims total $319.025 million across 7,213 applications, with another 19,826 pending and 149 denied. This category alone accounts for nearly two out of every five applications awaiting a decision under the expanded program.

The remaining categories are smaller. Uranium-worker claims account for $36.2 million in approved awards on 362 claims, alongside 1,673 pending applications and 17 denials. For onsite participants in atmospheric nuclear tests, 87 claims have been approved for approximately $8.59 million, while 120 are pending and 44 have been denied.

Those differences reflect both the number of applications in each category and the rules governing compensation. The standard one-time award is $100,000 for a qualifying downwinder or uranium worker. Onsite participants can qualify for $100,000 as well, subject to an offset for certain Veterans Affairs payments for the same illness. Manhattan Project waste compensation follows a different formula, so its total cannot be inferred by multiplying approved claims by a single fixed award.

The 2025 expansion created a new route for waste-related claims

Congress reauthorized RECA through legislation enacted on July 4, 2025, after the previous filing period had ended. The changes added eligible populations and established compensation for certain people who developed covered illnesses after living, working or attending school in areas affected by waste from the Manhattan Project, the wartime effort that developed the first atomic weapons.

The waste provisions apply to specified ZIP codes in Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky and Alaska, rather than to every resident of those states. Applicants generally must establish at least two years of presence in a qualifying area after January 1, 1949, together with a diagnosis of a covered illness. For a qualifying person living when the claim is filed, compensation is the greater of $50,000 or documented, unreimbursed medical expenses related to the illness. Different survivor payments apply if the affected person had died before filing.

The amended law also broadened other RECA categories. Downwinder coverage now includes specified periods of presence in New Mexico associated with early nuclear testing, alongside other eligible locations. The uranium-worker rules encompass additional occupations, including certain core drilling and remediation work, and extend the covered employment period through the end of 1990.

RECA is not structured like a conventional lawsuit over an individual’s exposure history. The Justice Department says applicants do not have to establish that radiation caused their particular illness. Instead, eligibility depends on meeting the statutory requirements for a compensable disease and qualifying residence, employment or participation. Survivors may file in circumstances allowed by the program, with payments determined by the applicable category.

More than 51,000 claims are still awaiting decisions

The scale of the outstanding caseload is the central qualification to the $925.5 million figure. The report shows a 97.9% approval rate among claims that have been disposed of under the expanded law. That percentage excludes the 51,242 pending applications. It should not be read as an approval rate for all claims received or as an indication that pending applications will necessarily qualify.

The workload has continued to grow as awards have increased. On June 15, the department reported $418.6 million approved across 5,951 claims received under the expanded law, with 31,311 applications pending. By November 4, approved dollars had more than doubled, and the pending count had climbed by almost 20,000. More decisions have been issued, but incoming claims have kept the unresolved total elevated.

For perspective, the Justice Department maintains a separate historical tally for claims received before July 3, 2025. That older group accounts for about $2.74 billion in approved compensation and 42,600 approved claims, according to the November 4 report. The $925.5 million headline figure refers only to the later group of claims, not to the total awards across the program’s entire history.

Processing can also involve a substantial documentation burden for applicants. Applicants need records establishing the relevant residence, employment or test participation, as well as a qualifying medical diagnosis. It now accepts applications electronically through its RECA claim portal, although applicants may still mail forms with supporting documents. High application volumes may delay acknowledgement letters, DOJ cautions, and original or certified records may be requested even when scanned copies have been uploaded.

Revised regulations are still being developed for the expanded program, with existing rules being used where possible in the meantime. Applicants face a concrete deadline: the Justice Department states that RECA claims must be filed by December 31, 2027. With most applications in the new claims group still pending, subsequent award updates will show how much of that caseload has been resolved before the filing window closes.