On January 27, 1951, the first nuclear weapons test at the Nevada Proving Grounds took place. Also known as the Nevada Test Site (NTS), and located just 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas, the 1,350 square mile site was the location of 928 nuclear weapons test between 1951 and 1992. Last November, the U.S. Senate passed Resolution S. Res. 330 which designated January 27, 2012, as a
"national day of remembrance for Americans who, during the Cold War, worked and lived downwind from nuclear testing sites and were adversely affected by the radiation exposure generated by the above ground nuclear weapons testing."
The body of S. Res. 330 continues:
Whereas many Americans who, during the Cold War, worked and lived downwind from nuclear testing sites (referred to in this preamble as "downwinders") were adversely affected by the radiation exposure generated by the above ground nuclear weapons testing, and some of the downwinders sickened as a result of the radiation exposure;
Whereas the downwinders paid a high price for the development of a nuclear weapons program for the benefit of the United States; and
Whereas the downwinders deserve to be recognized for the sacrifice they have made for the defense of the United States: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate-
(1) designates January 27, 2012, as a national day of remembrance for many Americans who, during the Cold War, worked and lived downwind from nuclear testing sites and were adversely affected by the radiation exposure generated by the above ground nuclear weapons testing; and
(2) encourages the people of the United States to support and participate in appropriate ceremonies, programs, and other activities to commemorate January 27, 2012."
Though nuclear test continued at the NTS until 1992, "only" 100 were above ground, or atmospheric, tests. The last atmospheric test at NTS occurred on July 17, 1962. These are the test that produced the "downwinders". Though I lived on the east coast during these test, I was born only 7 months after the first test, and turned 11 one month after the last atmospheric test. Nice world to be born into.
When an atomic weapon implodes, it releases tremendous amounts of light, radiation, heat and pressure waves. These impact a highly localized region based on the power of the weapon, which is usually designated in "tons of TNT" equivalents. The bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were in the 10-15 kilo-tons of TNT range. These bombs, and all of the nuclear devices tested above ground at the NTS were fission bombs. Fusion bombs, also called hydrogen bombs, are far more powerful than fission bombs and can range from hundreds of kilo-tons to tens of mega-tons in TNT equivalents. But the most distinctive feature of an atomic weapon is the mushroom cloud. And it was the mushroom clouds produced by the atmospheric test at the NTS that created the downwinders.
Unlike the radiation that accompanies the "flash" of an atomic bomb, the radiation contained in the mushroom cloud is far-ranging. Carried on the wind, this radiation "falls out" of the cloud based factors such as the weight of the irradiated material, rain and other atmospheric conditions. Because this "fallout" is carried on the wind, there is not a linear relationship between the the distance one is from ground zero and the amount of fallout radiation one receives. The following map more clearly explains this.
US Radiation Exposure From All Atmospheric Test Conducted At NTS
Though the NTS is located in the Southeast section of Nevada, the map indicates that some of the most affected areas were in Idaho and Montana - almost due North of the NTS. Areas in Upstate New York and all of Vermont received higher radiation exposure from the test than did parts of Utah which are over a thousand miles closer to the NTS. As I read the map, unless one is in a blue county, one is a downwinder. But I'm not a radiation expert, and I certainly don't want to play one here. So I'll just let the experts speak.
In 1979 The New Journal of Medicine concluded that:
A significant excess of leukemia deaths occurred in children up to 14 years of age living in Utah between 1959 and 1967. This excess was concentrated in the cohort of children born between 1951 and 1958, and was most pronounced in those residing in counties receiving high fallout.
Though a lawsuit was filed by over 1200 people in 1982 accusing the government of negligence in atomic and/or nuclear weapons testing at the Nevada Test Site in the 1950s, it took until 1990 for the claimants to receive compensation. With the passing of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA), monetary compensation was granted to people, including atomic veterans, who contracted cancer and a number of other specified diseases as a direct result of their exposure to atmospheric nuclear testing undertaken by the United States during the Cold War, or for their exposure to high levels of radon while doing uranium mining.
$50,000 to individuals residing or working "downwind" of the Nevada Test Site
$75,000 for workers participating in atmospheric nuclear weapons tests
$100,000 for uranium miners, millers, and ore transporters
RECA covered the following areas:
I'm no topologist either, but there doesn't appear to be much overlap between the two maps above in terms of exposure and compensation. The primary reason for this discrepancy is that the radiation exposure map didn't exist in 1990. The exposure map was the product of a study by the National Cancer Institute in 1997 which determined that ninety atmospheric tests at the NTS deposited high levels of radioactive iodine-131 across a large portion of the contiguous United States, especially in the years 1952, 1953, 1955, and 1957—doses large enough, they determined, to produce 10,000 to 75,000 cases of thyroid cancer. Since then, amendments to RECA has expanded coverage and increased restitution to others who suffered from this MAD period of U.S. history known as the Cold War. And though over $1.5 billion has been spent covering over 21,000 claims under RECA, it has not been enough.
Proposed legislation seeks to expand eligible downwind areas to include all of Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, and Utah for the Nevada Test Site; New Mexico for the Trinity Test Site; and Guam for the Pacific tests. That's better. But returning to the radiation exposure map, it appears that there remains plenty of downwinders who have yet to be recognized.
Thankfully, with the declaration of January 27th as National Downwinders Day, more people will realize just how far-ranging the NTS atmospheric test actually were. Hopefully, this increase awareness will further expand the boundaries of "downwind".