The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Supplemental Screening Program (NSSP), managed by ORAU, is celebrating 20 years of continued service and encourages those eligible to participate in the program.
The NSSP, part of the DOE Former Worker Medical Screening Program (FWP), offers medical screening exams at no cost to DOE former federal, contractor and subcontractor workers who may be at risk for occupational diseases. To date, more than 25,000 individuals have enrolled in the NSSP, over 22,000 individuals have received medical screening exams and more than 33,000 exams have been performed.
Hundreds of thousands more former DOE workers are eligible for these free medical screenings.
“As we celebrate 20 years of the NSSP and all that we have accomplished, we want to raise awareness of the NSSP and the FWP,” said Dr. Jamie Stalker, NSSP senior director. “We know that many DOE former workers across the country have not been screened and are potentially eligible to participate. We encourage anyone who thinks they might be eligible to contact us, even if they are currently under the care of their personal medical provider.”
Participants are eligible for rescreening every three years. The NSSP completed a seventh screening for a participant recently, a first for the NSSP.
"We have people choosing to return to the NSSP for screenings on schedule every three years, demonstrating the value this program holds for former workers,” said Zac Hubbell, Ph.D., ORAU NSSP coordinator. “Whether the screening identifies a potential health issue that needs to be addressed, or everything comes back normal, it provides important information."
Some of the health conditions found during these screenings include restrictive lung disease, obstructive lung disease, noise-induced hearing loss, elevated creatinine (possible kidney disease), asbestos-related disease and beryllium sensitization.
“For some key health indicators, such as kidney function, we have found the proportion of NSSP participants who show signs of disease is much higher than the global rate of those conditions with some job groups (production line workers for example) linked to especially elevated occurrence,” said Hubbell. “A large percentage of these conditions were identified through the NSSP screening.”
For more information or to register for the program, call 1-866-812-6703 or visit orau.org/nssp.
The NSSP is funded by Cooperative Agreement DE-FC01-05EH04022 between ORAU and DOE.