The RESEP (Radiation Exposure Screening and Education Program) Clinic at Intermountain St. George Regional Hospital is holding public informational meetings in several southern Utah cities on June 27 and 28. 

These meetings are to inform the public about the status of the RECA program and pending bills that have been submitted to Congress.

At the one-year anniversary of the expiration of RECA, come receive information regarding the program’s status and possible bills to get it reinstated or expanded. They will give general information about the history of RECA and what Congress is currently doing to try to get it reinstated. 

If you or someone you know has cancer and would have qualified for RECA before the expiration, please come and give your contact information so that the Downwinder’s Clinic can contact you when the RECA law is passed and again taking applications.

The term “Downwinder” is used to describe the more than 60,000 people who were exposed to radioactive fallout in Arizona, Nevada and Utah during the nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site.  Local residents, and their families, are encouraged to come have their questions answered about the program and its status.

Meetings will be held at the following dates and sites:

  • Friday, June 27, 2025   Kanab Public Library, 374 North Main Street, 1-2 pm

 •  Friday, June 27, 2025   Panguitch City Office, 25 South 200 East, 4-5 pm

  • Saturday, June 28, 2025   Richfield, Snow College Admin Rm 147 A&D, 10-11 am

  • Saturday, June 28, 2025   Salina, North Sevier Recreation Center, 373 W. 400 N, 2-3 pm

For questions, please call 435-251-4760. Social distancing and masks are optional. 

The Intermountain Health’s Downwinders Clinic is still open and available to assist those in the community who have questions about how radiation fallout from previous nuclear testing may have impacted them or their families.  

The Intermountain Downwinders Clinic is located in the Intermountain St. George Regional Hospital’s Cancer Center and has been providing vital education and assistance about the federal Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, or RECA.

The RECA federal statute provided compensation for qualifying people and their families who contracted certain cancers and/or other diseases as a direct result of their exposure to atmospheric nuclear testing performed by the federal government decades ago.

The RECA compensation ended without an extension on June 10, 2024. There have been different bills debated in Congress to continue and/or expand the program, but for now, the United States Department of Justice is not accepting applications.

Rebecca Barlow, project director for the Radiation Exposure Screening Clinic at Intermountain St. George Regional Hospital is still available to meet with claimants and their families to discuss qualifications, if an extension is granted, or the new, extended compensation act is passed.

“The Department of Justice cannot accept RECA applications at this time due to the expiration of the program. But anyone who thinks that they would have qualified for the program if it was still active, are welcome to call me to discuss what they could be doing while we wait for the bill to start again,” said Barlow. “We are also still open to do cancer screening education and a physical for downwinders.”

Cancers that previously qualified under RECA include leukemia (but not chronic lymphocytic leukemia), multiple myeloma, lymphomas (other than Hodgkin's), and primary cancers of the pharynx, small intestine, salivary gland, brain, stomach, urinary tract/bladder, colon, thyroid, pancreas, breast, esophagus, bile ducts, liver, gall bladder, lung, and ovary. However, it’s too early to know which cancers will be included in the law when it is reinstated, according to Barlow.

People can contact the Intermountain Downwinder’s Clinic by calling 435-251-4760 and leaving a message. Your call will be returned at the earliest opportunity.

                                                                               ###