Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Rotary-wing Operator Toxic Occupational Research Act” or the “ROTOR Act”.
Rotary-wing Operator Toxic Occupational Research Act
A BILL
To direct the Director of the Defense Health Agency to conduct a study on the prevalence and mortality of cancer among military rotary wing pilots and aviation support personnel, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Study on prevalence and mortality of cancer among military rotary-wing pilots and aviation support personnel
Study required— The Director of the Defense Health Agency, in coordination with the Directors of the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute, shall conduct a study among covered individuals in two phases as provided by this section.
Initial phase of study—
Goal of initial phase— Under the initial phase of the study under subsection (a), the Director of the Defense Health Agency shall determine, for each cancer specified in paragraph (2), whether there is an increased prevalence of, or increased rate of mortality caused by, such cancer for covered individuals as compared to similarly aged individuals in the general population (or, in the case of the cancer specified in paragraph (2)(B), for female covered individuals as compared to similarly aged women in the general population).
Cancers specified— The cancers specified in this paragraph are the following:
Brain cancer.
Breast cancer.
Colon and rectal cancer.
Kidney cancer.
Lung cancer.
Melanoma.
Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Ovarian cancer.
Pancreatic cancer.
Prostate cancer.
Testicular cancer.
Urinary bladder cancer.
Report on initial phase— Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the Defense Health Agency shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on the findings of the phase of the study under this subsection.
Second phase of study—
Goal of second phase— If, pursuant to the phase of the study under subsection (b), the Director of the Defense Health Agency determines there is an increased prevalence of, or increased mortality rate caused by, any cancer specified in subsection (b)(2) among covered individuals (or, with respect to the cancer specified in subsection (b)(2)(B), among female covered individuals), the Director shall conduct a second phase of the study to—
identify any carcinogenic toxin or other hazardous material associated with the operation of military rotary-wing aircraft, such as fumes, fuels, or other liquids;
identify any operating environment, including frequencies or electromagnetic fields, in which covered individuals may have received excess exposure to non-ionizing radiation in the course of such operation, including non-ionizing radiation associated with airborne, ground, or shipboard radars; and
identify potential exposures as a result of military service by covered individuals to carcinogenic toxins or other hazardous materials not associated with the operation of military rotary-wing aircraft (such as exposure to burn pits, toxins in contaminated water, or toxins embedded in soils), including by determining—
the locations of such service; and
any duties of covered individuals unrelated to such operation and associated with an increased prevalence of, or increased mortality rate caused by, cancer.
Report on second phase— If the Director of the Defense Health Agency conducts the phase of the study under this subsection, not later than one year after the date on which the Director submits the report under subsection (b)(3), the Director shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report on the findings of such phase.
Data format— The Director of the Defense Health Agency shall format any data resulting from the phase of the study under this subsection consistent with the formatting of data under the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program, including by disaggregating such data by race, gender, and age.
Sources of data— In conducting the study under this section, the Director of the Defense Health Agency shall use data from—
the database of the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program;
the study conducted under section 750 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (Public Law 116–283; 134 Stat. 3716); and
any other study previously conducted by the Secretary of a military department that the Director determines relevant for purposes of this section.
Definitions— In this section:
The term “appropriate congressional committees” means—
the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives; and
the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate.
The term “covered Armed Force” means the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, or Space Force.
The term “covered individual” means any individual who—
served in a covered Armed Force on or after February 28, 1961, as an aircrew member of a rotary-wing aircraft (including as a pilot or aviation support personnel), without regard to the status, position, rank, or grade of the individual within such crew; and
receives health care benefits under chapter 55 of title 10, United States Code.
The term “Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program” means the program of the National Cancer Institute referred to in section 399B(d)(1) of the Public Health Service Act (40 U.S.C. 280e(d)(1)), or any successor program.