Contreras writes: "People who lived near the site
of the first atomic bomb test in the New Mexico desert and later developed
cancer and other health problems need to be compensated, a U.S. senator said
Thursday."
An early atomic bomb detonation in Nevada desert. (photo: Getty)
70 Years Later, Health Impacts of First US Nuclear
Detonation Still Being Felt
By
Russell Contreras, Associated Press
17 July 15
eople who lived near the site of the first atomic bomb
test in the New Mexico desert and later developed cancer and other health
problems need to be compensated, a U.S. senator said Thursday.
The federal government neglected residents of the
historic Hispanic village of Tularosa near the Trinity Site, where the weapon
was detonated on July 16, 1945, Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., said in a speech on the
Senate floor on the 70th anniversary of the test.
"The rest of the world didn't know about the
tragedies that happened in the Tularosa Basin. For a long time, the government
denied that anything happened at all," Udall said. "Attention was not
paid then. It must be paid now."
Udall met with residents and family members who lived
near the test site and shared stories about relatives dying from cancer. He
said he believes they should be included in the federal Radiation Exposure
Compensation Act program, which could provide a $50,000 payout.
Nicole Navas, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Justice
Department's Civil Division, which oversees the program, said lawmakers would
have to amend the act to expand payouts to New Mexico residents. Now, the law
only covers areas in Nevada, Arizona and Utah that are downwind from a
different test site.
"Because this downwind area is defined by federal
statute, the Department of Justice lacks discretion to expand the area to
include locations in New Mexico downwind of the Trinity test," Navas said.
The blast sent out a flash of light seen as far as
nearly 300 miles away, and Army officials said at the time it was a result of
an ammunition explosion. Residents did not learn it was an atomic bomb until
the U.S. dropped the weapon on Japan a month later, helping end World War II.
Many of those living near the Trinity Site were not
told about the dangers and later suffered rare forms of cancer, Tularosa
residents say. They say they want acknowledgement and compensation from the
U.S. government.
Researchers from the National Cancer Institute are
studying past and present cancer cases in New Mexico that might be related to
the test. A previous study done by the federal Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention found exposure rates near the Trinity Site were thousands of times
higher than allowed.
Tina Cordova, co-founder of the Tularosa Basin Downwinders,
said she was pleased the country finally was talking about the effects of the
bomb on nearby residents.
"This is part of the story that shouldn't be
ignored any longer," Cordova said.
The test took place in southern New Mexico as part of
the Manhattan Project, the secretive World War II program that provided
enriched uranium for the atomic bomb.
During the project, Los Alamos scientists worked to
develop the weapon dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It
involved three research and production facilities at Los Alamos; Oak Ridge,
Tennessee; and Hanford, Washington.
New Mexico's three congressional representatives
joined Udall in supporting changes to the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act
to include New Mexico residents.
Rep. Ben Ray Lujan, D-Santa Fe, said in a statement
that the 70th anniversary of the Trinity Test should include commemorations to
the scientific accomplishments as well as to unknowing suffering by residents.
"We remember those who continue to bear the costs
of nuclear testing decades later and recommit to seeking recognition and
compensation for the men and women who have been gravely impacted," Lujan
said.
Under the act, individuals who reside in a specified
downwind county for the required period of time and contracted a covered
disease are eligible for a one-time $50,000 lump sum award.
To date, the Justice Department has awarded nearly
$950 million for about 19,000 downwind claims, officials said.
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