DISABILITYVA program
Radiation Exposure (Atomic Veterans) Benefits
Presumptive service connection for radiogenic diseases for veterans who participated in atmospheric nuclear weapons testing, the occupation of Hiroshima or Nagasaki, or other qualifying radiation exposure events.
Available to veterans with qualifying nuclear exposure events during service
Step-by-step guide
What VA looks for: Presumptive route: a radiation-risk activity
- A radiation-risk activity during serviceOnsite at an atmospheric or underwater nuclear test, the 1945 to 1946 occupation of Hiroshima or Nagasaki, POW internment in Japan, certain service at three gaseous diffusion plants or on Amchitka Island, or work like that of the Energy Department Special Exposure Cohort. Since the PACT Act, also the Enewetak Atoll cleanup, the Palomares, Spain, response, and the Thule, Greenland, response.
- One of the 21 listed diseasesLeukemia (other than chronic lymphocytic leukemia), multiple myeloma, lymphomas (other than Hodgkin's disease), bronchiolo-alveolar carcinoma, or cancer of the thyroid, breast, pharynx, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, pancreas, bile ducts, gall bladder, liver (primary, unless cirrhosis or hepatitis B is indicated), salivary gland, urinary tract, bone, brain, colon, lung, or ovary.
Source: 38 CFR 3.309(d)(3) (opens in new tab); M21-1 VIII.iii.4.A (opens in new tab); VA.gov: ionizing radiation exposure (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 3.309(d)(2) (opens in new tab)
Which kind of claim is this?
- Presumptive route: a radiation-risk activity
Use this when you took part in a radiation-risk activity during service and have one of 21 listed diseases. VA presumes the connection to service and confirms your part in the activity with the Defense Department. Active duty, active duty for training, and inactive duty training all count.
Source: 38 CFR 3.309(d)(2) (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 3.309(d)(3) (opens in new tab); M21-1 VIII.iii.4.A (opens in new tab); VA.gov: ionizing radiation exposure (opens in new tab); VA Form 21-526EZ (opens in new tab)
- Dose-based route: other radiogenic diseases
Use this when your disease is not on the presumptive list, or your exposure came from other duties, such as work as an x-ray technician, in a reactor plant, or in nuclear medicine. VA gets an estimate of the dose you received, and a VA review weighs whether the disease is at least as likely as not from that exposure. VA also looks at the claim as a direct claim.
- Exposure to ionizing radiation in serviceRecords that place you where radiation exposure happened during service: at a test, in the Japan occupation, as a POW in Japan, or in other duties with radiation.
- A radiogenic disease within its time frameAny cancer, posterior subcapsular cataracts, non-malignant thyroid nodular disease, parathyroid adenoma, or another listed radiogenic disease, or a disease that scientific or medical evidence you cite or send links to radiation. Leukemia can show up any time after exposure, bone cancer within 30 years, cataracts 6 months or more after, and the other listed diseases 5 years or more after.
Source: 38 CFR 3.311(a) (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 3.311(b) (opens in new tab); M21-1 VIII.iii.4.B (opens in new tab); VA.gov: ionizing radiation exposure (opens in new tab)
Time limits
On the dose-based route, leukemia can show up any time after exposure, bone cancer within 30 years, posterior subcapsular cataracts 6 months or more after, and the other listed radiogenic diseases 5 years or more after exposure.
What to gather, and what it shows VA
| Document | What it shows | How VA gets it | Have it? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Service records that place you at the activity Personnel records, orders, and unit records showing where you served, your duties, and the dates. | That you took part in the activity | VA will request your service records once you file, and it asks the Defense Department to confirm test, Japan occupation, or Japan POW participation. You can also get your own copy through eVetRecs or SF180. | |
| Medical records with the diagnosis Records from VA or your own doctor showing the diagnosis, the specific type of disease, and when it was found. | Which disease you have, and when it started | VA will request VA records once you file. For private records, send copies to VA, or complete VA Form 21-4142 and VA Form 21-4142a so VA can request them. | |
| Radiation exposure records (DD Form 1141) A record of occupational radiation exposure, such as DD Form 1141, if one was kept, and other service records about your dose. | How much radiation you received | VA requests these records itself and sends them for a dose estimate. Send any copies you have to VA. | |
| The dose estimate An estimate of the dose you received. The Defense Department provides dose data for tests and the Japan occupation; VA's Under Secretary for Health prepares the estimate for other exposure. | Your likely dose | VA requests it after you file, and when the estimate is a range, VA uses the highest dose. A dose estimate from a certified health physics, nuclear medicine, or radiology professional can also go to VA; if the two estimates differ by double or more, an independent expert prepares another. | |
| Your account of the activity Your written account of the test, site, or duty, your unit, the dates, and what you did. | Where you were and what you did | Write it on VA Form 21-4138 and send it to VA. VA includes it when it asks the Defense Department to confirm participation. The Defense Department's nuclear radiation secrecy agreement lets you give VA your command, location, duties, and dates. |
Records and statements go to VA. BeneVets never asks you to upload or type them here.
Steps, in order
- Set your start date
Submit an intent to file on VA Form 21-0966, by phone, or by starting the online application. You then have 1 year to file the full claim, and VA treats a complete claim filed in that year as filed on the intent to file date.
Source: 38 CFR 3.155(b) (opens in new tab); VA.gov: your intent to file (opens in new tab); VA Form 21-0966 (opens in new tab)
- Get free help from a VSO
Free help: an accredited VSO can file this with you. Find one near you in the BeneVets VSO directory at Find an accredited VSO near you.
Source: VA.gov: accredited representatives (opens in new tab)
- Write down the activity
On paper, note the test, site, or duty, your unit, the dates, and what you did, and name the specific disease, such as cancer of the thyroid. VA uses these details to ask the Defense Department for confirmation and dose records. Keep the notes with your papers; BeneVets does not ask for them.
Source: M21-1 VIII.iii.4.A (opens in new tab); 38 CFR 3.311(a) (opens in new tab)
- File your claim
File VA Form 21-526EZ and name each disease and the radiation-risk activity or duty. If the presumption does not fit, VA considers the dose-based and direct routes.
Source: VA Form 21-526EZ (opens in new tab); M21-1 VIII.iii.4.A (opens in new tab); M21-1 VIII.iii.4.B (opens in new tab)
- Answer VA's radiation questions
For a dose-based claim, VA sends a Radiation Risk Activity Information Sheet. It asks about the exposure, your work after service, family health history, and smoking history, and it goes back to VA.
- If VA denied this before
If VA denied a radiation claim in the past and the condition or activity is now presumptive, file a Supplemental Claim on VA Form 20-0995.
Source: VA.gov: ionizing radiation exposure (opens in new tab); VA Form 20-0995 (opens in new tab)
Good to know
The Enewetak Atoll cleanup from January 1, 1977, through December 31, 1980; the Palomares, Spain, response from January 17, 1966, through March 31, 1967; and the Thule Air Force Base, Greenland, response from January 21, 1968, through September 25, 1968.
Source: 38 CFR 3.309(d)(3) (opens in new tab); M21-1 VIII.iii.4.A (opens in new tab); VA.gov: ionizing radiation exposure (opens in new tab)
For nuclear test and Hiroshima or Nagasaki claims, if military records do not show whether you were at the site, VA concedes that you were. You do not have to produce evidence of exposure when your service records fit your account of where and when.
These routes cover a cancer at the site where it started. A cancer that spread from a primary cancer not connected to radiation is not service connected on these routes.
Source: M21-1 VIII.iii.4.A (opens in new tab); M21-1 VIII.iii.4.B (opens in new tab); M21-1 V.ii.2.B (opens in new tab)
Both routes are part of a VA disability compensation claim on VA Form 21-526EZ. The disability compensation chapter covers the rest of the claim, including decision reviews.
Source: VA Form 21-526EZ (opens in new tab); M21-1 V.ii.2.B (opens in new tab)
BeneVets is informational and is not an accredited representative. Free help: an accredited VSO can work through VA benefits with you at no cost. Find an accredited VSO near you
Sources checked October 1, 2026: 38 CFR 3.155(b) (opens in new tab), 38 CFR 3.159(c)(1) (opens in new tab), 38 CFR 3.159(c)(2) (opens in new tab), 38 CFR 3.309(d)(2) (opens in new tab), 38 CFR 3.309(d)(3) (opens in new tab), 38 CFR 3.311(a) (opens in new tab), 38 CFR 3.311(a)(4) (opens in new tab), 38 CFR 3.311(b) (opens in new tab), M21-1 V.ii.2.B (opens in new tab), M21-1 VIII.iii.4.A (opens in new tab), M21-1 VIII.iii.4.B (opens in new tab), VA.gov: ionizing radiation exposure (opens in new tab), VA.gov: your intent to file (opens in new tab), VA.gov: request your military service records (opens in new tab), VA.gov: accredited representatives (opens in new tab), VA Form 21-526EZ (opens in new tab), VA Form 21-0966 (opens in new tab), VA Form 21-4142 (opens in new tab), VA Form 21-4142a (opens in new tab), VA Form 21-4138 (opens in new tab), VA Form 20-0995 (opens in new tab), Standard Form 180 (SF180) (opens in new tab)