Radioactive Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) Renewal and Expansion
The passage of the “One Big Beautiful Bill” (OBBB) brings many understandable fears within Tribal communities. As new information emerges, our team at Sovereign Energy analyzes and draws connections between former laws, decisions, and the current situation of our energy landscape. We will share our Tribal energy conclusions soon.
Despite the harms of this bill, we want to celebrate years-long advocacy culminating in the provision renewing and expanding the Radioactive Exposure Compensation Act (RECA), benefiting many Indigenous and frontline communities. The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, implemented in 1990 and expired in 2024, provided compensation to those exposed to, downwind of, or working in government-created radioactive environments. The OBBB reauthorized RECA, allocated $50 billion a year for compensation, and expanded the criteria for who qualifies.
Under the original bill, those living downwind of the New Mexico Trinity Test area, the location of the world’s first ever nuclear weapon detonation, and uranium mining and milling workers who entered the industry after 1971 did not qualify for compensation. Now, those communities are eligible for up to $100,000. This includes numerous Tribal and Pueblo individuals and families across New Mexico and the Southwest. This piece of the bill is a momentous win for victims of the nuclear weapons development chain.
Here are the RECA highlights:
Downwinders in all of Utah, New Mexico, and Idaho are now eligible for payments.
Coverage is widened in Arizona to include all of Coconino, Yavapai, Navajo, Apache, Gila, and Mohave counties.
The compensation amount — initially $50,000 to $75,000 — is increased to $100,000 in most cases.
Residents who lived in certain parts of Missouri, Tennessee, Alaska, and Kentucky who were sickened due to the Manhattan Project are also eligible to receive coverage capped at $25,000.
In some cases, people who lived in affected areas for just one year are eligible for compensation — the program previously required that they live there for at least two years.
Uranium miners and workers based in Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Wyoming, South Dakota, Washington, Utah, Idaho, North Dakota, Oregon, and Texas are covered. The timeframe of eligibility is extended from 1971 to 1990.
Expanded to include newer conditions like renal (kidney) cancer and chronic kidney disease for miners—though some specific eligibility details vary by state.
The program’s new expiration date is Dec. 31, 2028.
We celebrate this reparation won by many local advocacy groups and our NM congressional delegation, and we build our communities stronger for the battles ahead.