Wash. Court Dismisses NIOSH from Suit by Energy Employees

SPOKANE, Wash. - A federal judge has dismissed the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health from a lawsuit brought on behalf of former workers at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, ruling that NIOSH's dose reconstruction role, which is used in determining eligibility for benefits, does not subject it to suit. Harger v. U.S. Department of Labor, et al., No. CV-06-5071-RHW (E.D. Wash.).

Judge Robert H. Whaley of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington issued the dismissal order on Jan. 25, finding that the court lacked subject matter jurisdiction and plaintiffs failed to state a claim upon …