By Tom Brodersen
Sometimes "days past" leave traces that cannot be forgotten. 2001 marked the 50th anniversary of nuclear weapons testing at the Nevada Test Site and many still suffer from cancer and other diseases caused by fallout from the United States atomic testing program half a century later. It may come as a surprise that Yavapai County residents are included in the official list of people affected. The areas in Arizona recognized by the government as affected by fallout are Yavapai, Coconino, Apache, Gila, and Navajo counties. One out of every seven tests dumped radioactive fallout on northern Arizona.
In spite of decades of denials by government officials who routinely assured the public that radioactive fallout from nuclear weapons testing was harmless, in 1990 Congress passed the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA). RECA provides $50,000 per person compensation payments to "Downwinders" who later suffered from a specific radiation related cancers and other diseases. The term "Downwinder" refers to anyone who was living in one of the areas contaminated by fallout from the Nevada Test Site during the period of atmospheric (above ground) nuclear testing.
People living or working "downwind" of Nevada Test Site - in northern Arizona, southern Utah, and most of Nevada - for at least two years between January 21, 1951, and October 31, 1958, or in the month of July, 1962 may have suffered cancer and other diseases caused by exposure to radiation.
The specific diseases recognized as resulting from fallout include: leukemia (other than chronic lymphocytic leukemia), lung cancer, multiple myeloma, lymphomas (other than Hodgkin's disease), and primary cancer of the thyroid, male or female breast, esophagus, stomach, pharynx, small intestine, pancreas, bile ducts, gall bladder, salivary gland, urinary bladder, brain, colon, ovary, or liver.
In addition to "Downwinders," workers at the Nevada Test Site and uranium miners, millers, and transporters are also eligible for compensation. All were exposed to radiation which may have caused cancer and other diseases.
People in Prescott probably thought they had little reason to fear fallout from the Nevada Test Site - approximately 250 miles northwest, as the dust flies. However winds often carried the radioactive dust into Yavapai County. Even if people knew that fallout was coming to town they might not have been concerned because throughout 1950s the federal government issued continual assurances that there was no danger to the public. A booklet issued by the Federal government for people near the test site stated plainly, "Your best action is not to be worried about fallout." It was widely considered unpatriotic to think otherwise.
The areas hardest hit by radioactive fallout were immediately downwind from the Nevada Test Site in southern Nevada, southern Utah and northern Arizona. The prevailing winds carried cloud after cloud of radioactive dust into this relatively low population zone. When the wind blew toward Las Vegas, about seventy miles southeast, tests were usually postponed.
As early as 1952, when a radioactive dust cloud rolled through Salt Lake City, a Deseret News editorial declared, "residents will now be more keenly aware of potential deadliness in the air each time a nuclear device is exploded." In 1955 Utah sheep ranchers filed the first in a long series of unsuccessful suits against the government for human injuries and animal deaths caused by fallout.
Although we know much more about the effects of radiation now than we did then, there was already worldwide concern about the effects of nuclear tests. International fear of fallout was one of the reasons the government shifted atomic testing from the Pacific to American soil. As early as 1954 the United States paid compensation to Japanese fishermen who were contaminated by an atomic blast at the Bikini Atoll. The government paid compensation to Marshall Islanders suffering from our atomic testing in the Pacific in 1964 and expanded that compensation 1977 and again in 1984. Not until 1990 was compensation available to American Citizens.
Republican Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah introduced an early version of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act in 1981, cosponsored by Democratic Senator Dennis DeConcini of Arizona and others. When he first introducing the bill in 1981 Hatch said:
"A great wrong was committed by the Federal Government in exposing thousands of Americans to radioactive fallout while simultaneously conducting a massive campaign to assure the public that no danger existed . . . We must make sure that it does not happen again, and make certain that those who have suffered . . . will receive just compensation."
After years of political struggle against opposition from both Republican and Democratic administrations, the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act was finally passed in 1990. Senator Hatch said, "The government did lie to them, and frankly we proved it." The act was revised and expanded in 1999 and 2000. If an application is accepted, the United States government will pay $50,000 to the person who suffered from the disease - or surviving family members. For applications or more information, call the U. S. Department of Justice at (800) 729-7327. Or visit the Department of Justice web site.
The government requires that downwinders provide documents proving that they were living in an affected area during the specified times. People who need to establish that they were residents in Yavapai County during the time periods of testing and suffered from the cancers listed above should contact the Sharlot Hall Museum Archives or call us at 928-445-3122. All applicants are encouraged to visit the archives.
The Sharlot Hall Museum Archives web site has a comprehensive list of material helpful to downwinders. Among the items available are city and telephone directories for most county cities, towns, and even smaller communities between 1951 and 1958, and 1962. They have other records which may be helpful including Civil and Criminal Dockets from the 1950s, hospital records (if you have an approximate date), St. Luke's Episcopal Parrish records, Yavapai area yearbooks, the Prescott Courier, and other genealogical materials. In some cases it might be puzzling as to why one would want to check some of these records, but the point is to prove that the person you are filing for was in Yavapai County during that time period. Even some student records exist for Yavapai County at the archives, however records for students at Prescott High School can only be found at the High School.
At the Archives web site applicants can find links to the Arizona State Library, Archives, and Public Records Department in Phoenix, which has property tax records for 1951-1959, but not for 1962. There is also a link to the Yavapai County Recorder's office which has most title and deed records for Yavapai County for the time period as well as voter registration records. There are also links to the Jerome Historical Society, the Arizona Office of Vital records, and what was the Whipple Veterans Hospital.
This author has started an oral history project with the Museum to interview downwinders in hopes of documenting Yavapai County residents' memories of the 1950s nuclear tests and experiences with filing a compensation claim. If you or someone that you are filing for is interested in participating, contact the archives at the Museum.
As of June 17, 2002 over 4200 downwinder claims have been awarded for a total of $214 million dollars.
(Tom Brodersen is a student and was the 2001 and 2002 summer intern at the Sharlot Hall Museum Archives)
Our readers' thoughts...
My mother,witch i won't name at this time was just informed that she has breast cancer due to the testing that took place in Nevada. I would just like to say to all those out there that our government can take lives of the ones closest to us and think that a little 50,000 dollars makes it just. I don't know about all of you out there, but family has no price. Thanks,Robert
Robert
December 13, 2010
Sharlot Hall Museum Photograph Call Number:(pa107pa). Reuse only by permission.
This idyllic July 4, 1955 post parade get together on the Courthouse steps does not show that Yavapai county was exposed multiple times to downwind radiation from nuclear tests in Nevada. Individuals who can prove residence in the county at that time are eligible for compensation if they later suffered from a specific list of diseases.