The main location for testing nuclear bombs in the United States between 1951 and 1962 was the Nevada Test Site. Eighty six nuclear bombs were exploded either at ground level or above and fourteen nuclear devices were exploded underground. Radioactive materials were injected into the atmosphere from all the tests. The government told people to sit outside and watch the mushroom clouds caused by the explosions. Many badges which registered radiation exposure were distributed and collect by the Atomic Energy Commission to study radiation levels near the explosions.
A study by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) published in 1997 determined that these Nevada tests released large amounts of radioactive iodine-131 over a large are of the continental United States, especially in the early 1950s. The NCI study estimated that up to seventy five thousand additional cases of thyroid cancer may be caused by the radiation released in these tests. A report released by the Scientific Research Society suggests that over twenty thousand radiation caused cancers and two thousand deaths from leukemia will be caused by the Nevada tests and other causes of global radioactive fallout.
The Nevada Test Site is covered with contaminated dust that is still poses a threat when moved by winds, storms or non-radioactive bomb tests. A proposed test of a seven hundred pound conventional bomb scheduled for 2007 was cancelled after public protest over the radioactive fallout that would result.
In 1990, the United States passed the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) to provide monetary compensation for people who contracted cancer or a number of other specific diseases as a result of their exposure to nuclear fallout from U.S. nuclear tests. RECA provides for $50,000 for individuals who were working or residing downwind from nuclear tests. Workers who were actually involved in the nuclear tests are entitled to $75,000 compensation.
The bill was amended in 2000 to include more geographic areas, additional categories of workers, lower levels of exposures and changes to the disease list. In order to qualify for compensation, there are a number of requirements including proof of location and duration of residence or work in a designated area. Medical records must be provided documenting the probable origin and progression of the disease. The requirement requirements are stringent and some individuals have had difficulty meeting them.
The geographic area covered by the RECA with respect to downwinders includes “in Arizona - Apache, Coconino, Gila, Navajo, Yavapai; In Nevada - Eureka, Lander, Lincoln, Nye, White Pine or the northern portion of Clark; In Utah - Beaver, Garfield, Iron, Kane, Millard, Piute, San Juan, Sevier, Washington or Wayne.”
The disease conditions covered by the RECA include “Primary cancers that are covered under this program: Bile ducts, Bladder, Brain, Breast(male and female), Colon/Rectal, Esophagus, Gall Bladder, Leukemia’s(other than CLL or chronic lymphocytic leukemia), Liver(except if there is evidence of cirrhosis or Hepatitis B), Lung, Multiple Myeloma, Nasal Pharynx, Lymphomas(other than Hodgkin's disease), Ovary, Pancreas, Salivary Gland, Small Intestine, Stomach and Thyroid.”
There are a number of websites set up to provide information on the RECA and to assist in recovering compensation under the act. These links are provided for the sole purpose of information and do not constitute a recommendation or an endorsement of the organizations or services provided.
The National Cancer Benefits Center for Downwinders.
Blue shaded area of the map is the geographic extent covered by the RECA:
