outpatient services to veterans who may have been exposed to ionizing radiation while in service at a nuclear test or during the Hiroshima/Nagasaki occupation (9). This care is not, however, available for disorders determined to be the result of causes other than exposure to ionizing radiation. Figure 4 underscores this point under the heading "Health Care Exceptions." To receive VA health care, a veteran must have been at the site of nuclear testing or in occupied Hiroshima or Nagasaki. The veteran is asked to supply the following information to a VA official, who will transmit the data for confirmation to the appropriate NTPR team: name, branch of service, service number, social security number, name of test series, date of test series, and unit during test series (10). A medical history, complete physical examination, and diagnostic studies will be done for each veteran requesting VA medical care under the provisions of Public Law 97-72. The examining physician is directed to pay particular attention to parts of the body most sensitive to ionizing radiation: blood, the , thyroid, salivary glands, lung, bone marrow, and skin (10). VA Circular 10-85-83, dated 28 May 1985, provides additional detail on VA health care services available to eligible veterans. This circular, current until 27 May 1986, is sent to all new callers on the NTPR toll-free telephone line, (800) 336-3068. (In Virginia, Hawaii, and Alaska, call collect to 703-285-5610. ) 3.2.2 VA Service-Connected Disability Program. Public Law 97-72 extends only to health care. Its provisions do not cover compensation for service-connected disease or disability, as indicated in figure 4 under "Claims for Compensation Benefits." Public Law 98-542, enacted on 24 October 1984 as the "Veterans’ Dioxin and Radiation Exposure Compensation Standards Act," required the VA to conduct rulemaking regarding its guidelines for the adjudication of compensation claims (11). The VA procedures formalized in response to this act were published in the Federal Register on 26 August 1985 and became effective on 25 September 1985. According to these procedures, the VA Chief of Benefits 59