Questions about RECA? ‘Downwinders clinic’ hosting informational meetings across Utah

Utahns seeking federal compensation after they or their loved ones were affected by Cold War-era nuclear weapons testing can get help with their applications through Intermountain Health’s Downwinders Clinic.

The health provider’s Radiation Exposure Screening and Education Program has scheduled its next series of public information meetings to answer questions and review applications for payments from the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act.

The program known as RECA was revived and expanded in July 2025 after a one-year lapse when Congress initially failed to reauthorize it. Eligible applicants who developed certain cancers due to radiation exposure from nuclear testing or development, or their families on their behalf, can apply to receive a one-time $100,000 compensation payment.

The program began in 1990 but only covered certain communities, including 10 counties in Utah. Now, after years of advocates and downwinders calling for expanded eligibility as evidence showed a much wider area was affected by the testing, it is now available in areas of Arizona, Missouri and Nevada, and all of Idaho, New Mexico and Utah. Uranium workers in a number of states are also eligible.

Meanwhile, a bipartisan group of lawmakers is also working on amending the program to include individuals from all of Montana, Arizona, Colorado, Guam and Nevada, and to extend the application period which is now set to end on Dec. 31, 2027. 

Representatives from the Downwinders Clinic will provide information at the meetings about the expanded program, eligibility, applications, the government’s online RECA portal and the claim process. 

Those who have completed their applications can also schedule one-on-one reviews with the clinic before they submit them. Call 435-251-4760 to request a review.