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Do I Qualify? Uranium Workers Compensable Illnesses Onsite Participants • Individuals employed in uranium Onsite Participants and Downwinders: mines, uranium mills, or uranium ore • Leukemia, multiple myeloma, non- transporting operations located in a • Military or civilian personnel and Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and primary covered state between January 1, 1942, contractors who participated onsite in cancers of the: thyroid, male or and December 31, 1971: an above-ground nuclear test female breast, esophagus, stomach, conducted by the United States. pharynx, small intestine, pancreas, bile ducts, gall bladder, salivary gland, urinary bladder, brain, colon, ovary, liver, or lung. Uranium Miners: • Lung cancer and certain nonmalignant respiratory diseases. Downwinders Uranium Millers and Ore Transporters: • Individuals that lived or worked in specified counties for at least two years Map of • Lung cancer, certain nonmalignant during the period January 21, 1951 – Uranium Worker respiratory diseases, renal cancer October 31, 1958, or for the entire time States and chronic renal disease. period of June 30 – July 31, 1962. • The individual must have been employed as a miner, miller, or ore transporter for at least one year during Proof of identity, exposure the statutory exposure period. and illness are required to Map of • If employed as a uranium miner, the receive compensation. Downwind individual may alternatively show Areas exposure to 40 or more working level months (WLMs) of radiation during covered employment. U.S. Department of Justice Civil Divison Summary The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act was passed to compensate people who may have been exposed to radiation during the U.S. Cold War efforts. As a result of atmospheric nuclear tests, or the production of uranium for weapons development, thousands were exposed to known radiation hazards. In response, Congress created RECA to Please contact us to provide an apology and monetary obtain a claim form: Have you or a loved one compensation to these individuals and suffered from an illness their families for the presumed U.S. Department of Justice following the testing of consequences of exposure. Radiation Exposure nuclear weapons or Compensation Program production of uranium for P.O. Box 146 the Nation’s defense? Deadline for Claims Ben Franklin Station Washington, D.C. 20044-0146 All claims under RECA Phone: 1-800-729-RECP If so, must be filed by (1-800-729-7327) July 9, 2022. E-mail: [email protected] you may be eligible www.justice.gov/civil/common/reca for compensation..

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Nuclear Weapon Test Site
Alamogordo, USA Nuclear weapon test site The world’s rst nuclear explosion took place near Alamogordo on July 16, 1945. This detonation marked the beginning of the “nuclear age,” epitomized by weapons of in- humane destructive power. Since the rst detonation in Alamogordo, more than 2,000 nuclear test explosions have led to the radioactive contamination of the entire Earth. History Alamogordo is a small town in southern New Mexico. Located in the nearby Jornada del Muerto desert, the U.S. Army’s White Sands Missile Range was the site of the world’s fi rst nuclear explosion. The so-called “Trin ity” Test was carried out as part of the Manhattan Proj ect, a nuclear weapon research operation begun In 2010, the Los Alamos Document Retrieval and As- in 1939. The project took place simultaneously in sev- sessment Project (LAHDRA) of the U.S. Centers for eral locations: the weapons were developed in Los Al- Dis ease Control and Prevention published their fi nal amos, New Mexico; uranium-235 was enriched at Oak report on radioactive exposure. They found that peo- Ridge, Tennessee; and plutonium-239 was pro duced ple were exposed to levels of up to 1,000 mSv in the at Hanford, Washington. The desert near Alamogordo, fi rst two weeks after the blast (10,000 times natural New Mexico was chosen as the test site. background radiation) and were also exposed to inter- nal radiation through ingestion of contaminated fl uids On July 14, 1945, the world’s fi rst nuclear bomb, a and food. There is, however, a lack of studies evaluat- plutonium implosion device code-named “The Gad- ing the internal doses of residents.
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Radiation Exposure Compensation
Human Impacts of our Nuclear System How are communities in the US How are downwinders affected by affected by the nuclear system? nuclear testing? ● Downwinders are individuals who were ● Studies since the 1930’s have shown a exposed to radiation from the clear link between deadly illnesses, such explosion of nuclear weapons tests. as cancers, and nuclear radiation. In the ● During nuclear tests, radioactive 1960s, numerous studies on Uranium materials are released and the wind miners in the US found increased carries the fallout hundreds of miles illnesses and deaths linked to exposure. away from the nuclear testing site ● A 1997 study estimated that testing from exposing people in the surrounding the Nevada Test Site could have led to areas to unsafe levels of radiation. 11,000 to 212,000 thyroid cancer cases ● Uranium miners were exposed to (only one type of cancer of the many dangerous levels of radiation. Many of caused by radiation exposure). these mines are still open and ● Another study found that just the New continue to release radiation into, Mexico Trinity Test likely caused up to mainly indigenous, communities. 1,000 cancer cases. ● Since the government did not adequately What is RECA? measure the levels of human radiation exposure or start counting certain cancer ● RECA, or the Radiation Exposure deaths as attributed to radiation Compensation Act, provides exposure until much after the initial compensation to approved individuals tests, we do not know the true impact of that have illnesses caused by nuclear these tests on downwinders, but it is weapons activities. likely higher than many studies suggest.
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Radiation Exposure Screening and Education Program (RESEP)
Radiation Exposure Screening And Education Program (RESEP) RESEP Coordinator Office: 928-283-2939 Have you or a loved one suffered from an illness following the testing of nuclear weapon or RESEP Patient Navigator production of uranium for the Nation’s defense? Office: 928-283-1802 If so, you may be eligible for compensation. P.O. Box 600 • 167 N Main St. Tuba City, AZ 86045 Deadline for Claims All Claims under RECA must be filed by July 2022 For more information about RESEP or to see if you qualify, call 928-283-1802 Visit our website: https://www.tchealth.org/radiation-exposure This Radiation Exposure Screening and Education Program (RESEP) is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of an award totaling $221,661 with 0 percentage financed with non-governmental sources. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government. For more information, please visit HRSA.gov. Logo on White Logo with Reverse Type on dark background What is RESEP? See If You Qualify for Downwinders RECA Compensation Categories The Radiation Exposure $50,000 Compensation Downwinders $50,000 Screening & Education Program Uranium Miners $100,000 (RESEP) helps individuals who Have you or a family member living in any of the downwind live (or lived) in areas where U.S. Uranium Millers $100,000 regions during January 21, 1951, through October 31, nuclear weapons testing occurred.
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In Pursuit of Justice for All Those Who Were Damaged Tularosa Basin
In Pursuit of Justice for All Those Who Were Damaged Date: March 22, 2021 To: The Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties U.S. House of Representatives From: Tina Cordova Co-Founder Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium (TBDC) Re: Hearing Scheduled for March 24, 2021 2:00 PM EST Examining the Need to Expand Eligibility Under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act Written Testimony along with Attachments Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium | 7518 2nd St. NW | Albuquerque, New Mexico 87107 Phone 505.897.6787 | fax 505.890.0157 | [email protected] | www.trinitydownwinders.com 1 Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium 7518 2nd St. NW Albuquerque, NM 87107 (505) 897-6787 [email protected] www.trinitydownwinders.com March 22, 2021 The Honorable Jerrold Nadler Chairman House Committee on the Judiciary Washington, DC 20515 The Honorable Steve Cohen Chair Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties The Honorable Mike Johnson Ranking Member Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties Re: Examining the Need to Expand Eligibility Under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act Good Afternoon Chairman Nadler, Chair Cohen, Ranking Member Johnson and Members of the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties, It is an honor and a privilege to provide this testimony on behalf of the many people I represent. Thank you for inviting me to participate. I want to acknowledge that I also feel very honored to be a part of this distinguished panel to offer testimony on behalf of all the Downwinders of New Mexico. My name is Tina Cordova.
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NAS Report Calls for Scientific Approach to Radiation Exposure
Date: April 28, 2005 Contacts: Bill Kearney, Director of Media Relations Megan Petty, Media Relations Assistant Office of News and Public Information 202-334-2138; e-mail <[email protected]> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Report Calls for Scientific Approach to Radiation Exposure Compensation Act WASHINGTON -- Congress should establish new scientific criteria for decisions about awarding federal compensation to people who developed certain cancers or other specific diseases as a result of exposure to radioactive fallout from U.S. nuclear weapons tests, says a new report from the National Academies' National Research Council. Because fallout from the tests covered a wide geographic area, the new approach should consider people in all parts of the United States and its territories. However, the changes that Congress may make in eligibility criteria based on this report would probably result in few additional successful claims, said the committee that wrote the report. Currently, only "downwinders" who lived in certain counties of Arizona, Nevada, and Utah at the times of the tests -- along with civilian test-site participants and some workers who mined and milled uranium for the nuclear weapons program -- are eligible for compensation under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act; military personnel are covered under a separate program. But the committee found that residents in other counties and states, even some far from the Nevada Test Site, may have been exposed to higher amounts of radiation than those in the currently eligible areas. Other factors -- age at the time of exposure, consumption of contaminated milk or food, and age when a disease is diagnosed -- are also important when determining whether someone's illness was likely caused by radiation, the committee said.
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9. References
IODINE 325 9. REFERENCES Abbott A, Barker S. 1996. Chernobyl damage 'underestimated'. Nature 380:658. Abdel-Nabi H, Ortman JA. 1983. Radiobiological effects of 131I and 125I on the DNA of the rat thyroid: I. Comparative study with emphasis on the post radiation hypothyroidism occurrence. Radiat Res 93:525-533. *Abdullah ME, Said SA. 1981. Release and organ distribution of 125I from povidone-iodine under the influence of certain additives. Arzneim Forsch 31(1):59-61. Abel MS, Blume AJ, Garrett KM. 1989. Differential effects of iodide and chloride on allosteric interactions of the GABAA receptor. J Neurochem 53:940-945. *Aboul-Khair SA, Buchanan TJ, Crooks J, et al. 1966. Structural and functional development of the human foetal thyroid. Clin Sci 31:415-424. Aboul-Khair SA, Crooks J, Turnbull AC, et al. 1964. The physiological changes in thyroid function during pregnancy. Clin Sci 27:195-207. Absil AC, Buxeraud J, Raby C. 1984. [Charge-transfer complexation of chlorpromazine in the presence of iodine; thyroid side effect of this molecule.] Can J Chem 62(9):1807-1811. (French) ACGIH. 1992. Iodine. In: Documentation of the threshold limit values and biological exposure indices. Sixth Edition. Volume II. American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists Inc. Cincinnati, OH. *ACGIH. 2000. Threshold limit values for chemical substances and physical agents and biological exposure indices. American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists Inc. Cincinnati, OH. Adamson AS, Gardham JRC. 1991. Post 131I carcinoma of the thyroid. Postgrad Med J 67:289-290. *Ader AW, Paul TL, Reinhardt W, et al. 1988. Effect of mouth rinsing with two polyvinylpyrrolidone iodine mixtures on iodine absorption and thyroid function.
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Information to Users
INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. in the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand comer and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6” x 9” black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. ProQuest Information and Learning 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 USA 800-521-0600 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with with permission permission of the of copyright the copyright owner. owner.Further reproductionFurther reproduction prohibited without prohibited permission. without permission. COLLISIONS OF HISTORY AND LANGUAGE: NUCLEAR WEAPONS TESTING, HUMAN ENVIRONMENTAL RIGHTS ABUSES, AND COVER-UP IN THE REPUBLIC OF THE MARSHALL ISLANDS by Holly M.
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Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium (TBDC) Potential Impact of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) Amendments on the Health of the People of New Mexico
Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium (TBDC) Potential Impact of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) Amendments on the Health of the People of New Mexico About TBDC • It was co-founded in 2005 by Fred Tyler and Tina Cordova. • Our mission is to bring attention to the negative health effects from the radioactive fallout that resulted from the July 16, 1945, Trinity Test. • We are working on a Health Impact Assessment with the financial assistance of the Santa Fe Community Foundation and the New Mexico Health Equity Partnership. Facts about the Trinity Test • On July 16, 1945, a plutonium bomb nicknamed “The Gadget” was detonated at the Trinity Site near Socorro, New Mexico. • The bomb was created in Los Alamos as part of Site-Y of the Manhattan Project; it was a prototype for Fat Man, the plutonium bomb that was exploded in Nagasaki, Japan, on August 9, 1945. • The bomb contained 13.2 pounds of weapons-grade plutonium-239. • Only 2.6 pounds of the total 13.2 pounds of plutonium fissioned during the blast; the remaining 10.6 pounds were dispersed into the environment, blanketing the farmers and ranchers who grew their own food, milked cows, and collected rainwater in cisterns for drinking. Concerns • Neighboring residents, such as William Wyre, reported a white, flour-like substance that fell from the sky for five days after the blast. • Other residents reported the appearance of “snow” or “frost” on the ground or on fence posts. • The fallout from the explosion was tracked by Manhattan Project affiliates as far as New York and New England and out to sea.
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Joint Statement: Downwinders and Scientists on the Enduring Legacy of Harm from Nuclear Weapons Testing July 16, 2020
Joint Statement: Downwinders and Scientists on the Enduring Legacy of Harm from Nuclear Weapons Testing July 16, 2020 On July 16, 1945 we entered the nuclear age. Scientists with the US government-sponsored Manhattan Project conducted the Trinity nuclear test in New Mexico, marking the first ever detonation of a nuclear weapon. In 2020, on the 75th anniversary of that test, we have come together as scientists and Downwinders to recognize the harm caused by this and other nuclear weapons tests, to urge that victims of nuclear weapons activities be compensated and provided with medical care, and to call for the enactment of policies that will build a safer, more just world free of nuclear weapons. We now know that the Trinity Test had a profoundly negative impact on communities in the region. The US government claimed that the Trinity site was remote and uninhabited, but census data shows that there were tens of thousands of people living within a 50-mile radius of the site. The test produced fallout that fell for days and contaminated drinking water, crops, and livestock. It is now known that exposure rates in public areas around the test were up to 10,000 times higher than currently allowed. Residents report increased rates of cancer and other illnesses relating to radiation exposure, causing severe economic challenges and generational trauma. Infant mortality rates also spiked sharply in the months following the Trinity test, after a steady decline over the previous several years. Recent studies have exposed a willful neglect of the health and safety of residents, and shown that any assessments of exposure have been woefully incomplete.
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Hanford Site Richland, Benton County, Washington Epa Facility Id: Wa3890090076 May 17, 2011 the Atsdr Public Health Assessment: a Note of Explanation
HANFORD SITE RICHLAND, BENTON COUNTY, WASHINGTON EPA FACILITY ID: WA3890090076 MAY 17, 2011 THE ATSDR PUBLIC HEALTH ASSESSMENT: A NOTE OF EXPLANATION This Public Health Assessment was prepared by ATSDR pursuant to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA or Superfund) section 104 (i)(6) (42 U.S.C. 9604 (i)(6)), and in accordance with our implementing regulations (42 C.F.R. Part 90). In preparing this document, ATSDR has collected relevant health data, environmental data, and community health concerns from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), state and local health and environmental agencies, the community, and potentially responsible parties, where appropriate. In addition, this document has previously been provided to EPA and the affected states in an initial release, as required by CERCLA section 104 (i)(6)(H) for their information and review. The revised document was released for a 30-day public comment period. Subsequent to the public comment period, ATSDR addressed all public comments and revised or appended the document as appropriate. The public health assessment has now been reissued. This concludes the public health assessment process for this site, unless additional information is obtained by ATSDR which, in the agency’s opinion, indicates a need to revise or append the conclusions previously issued. Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry .....................................................Thomas R. Frieden, M.D., M.P.H., Administrator Christopher J. Portier, Ph.D., Director Division of Health Assessment and Consultation…. ..................................................................... William Cibulas, Jr., Ph.D., Director Sharon Williams-Fleetwood, Ph.D., Deputy Director Health Promotion and Community Involvement Branch………………………………………..Hilda Shepeard, Ph.D., M.B.A., Chief Exposure Investigations and Consultation Branch..............................................................................
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The Limited Test Ban Treaty (LTBT)
The Limited Test Ban Treaty (LTBT) The Limited Test Ban Treaty (LTBT) (also known as the Partial Test Ban Treaty) is a multilateral treaty banning explosive nuclear testing or “other nuclear explosions” in the atmosphere, outer space, and underwater. The treaty only permits underground nuclear testing if the test does not cause radioactive debris to be present outside the jurisdiction of the country that conducted the test. Signed by the United States, United Kingdom, and Soviet Union in Moscow on August 5, 1963, the treaty went into effect on October 10 of the same year. Today, 125 countries are party to the treaty. Official negotiations for a test ban treaty began in 1955, with a meeting between the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France, and the Soviet Union. The countries disagreed about the necessity and form of compliance verification measures for underground testing. Specifically, the Soviet Union objected to on-site inspections. As a result of these disagreements, the initial negotiations ended without a treaty. In October of 1962, the Soviet Union and the United States came extremely close to a full-blown nuclear war when the Soviet Union deployed strategic missiles in Cuba. The conflict was successfully avoided, but President Kennedy and Premier Khrushchev realized the pressing importance of slowing the nuclear arms race. The two world leaders began exchanging private letters discussing the idea of a test ban treaty. Three- party negotiations among the United States, the Soviet Union, and United Kingdom resumed in July of 1963. The treaty was negotiated in 10 days. Although the treaty did not eliminate all explosive nuclear testing, it pledged to work towards a complete test ban and put an end to the arms race.
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National Downwinder Compensation Program During the Informative
National Downwinder Compensation Program During the informative Remembering Downwinders web event, sponsored by UCAN on January 27, 2021, participants discussed the continuing need for a national compensation scheme for civilians injured by radioactive fallout downwind of US nuclear weapons production, testing and waste storage sites. Nevada Test Site (NTS) Downwinders and their congressional representatives have been working for years to expand eligibility under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, (RECA), introducing a series of bills in Congress to expand and extend RECA to Trinity downwinders, NTS downwinders within all of Utah, and to NTS downwinders within Montana, Idaho, Colorado, and other regions shown by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Study of NTS I‐131 fallout dispersion to have received higher levels of fallout than the levels of fallout in areas currently eligible for compensation and care within RECA. The NCI I‐131 fallout dispersion study was made public in 1997, after many years of delay, seven years after RECA was enacted. Geographic areas revealed by the NCI study to have received higher radiation levels than radiation levels within current RECA eligibility areas have yet to be included within RECA. The following chart, taken from the county by county fallout information within the NCI study, illustrates that NTS fallout exposures in counties NOT currently eligible for RECA were in many cases substantially higher than fallout exposures in counties currently included within RECA eligibility. This is not an exhaustive list of counties. Further information on NTS fallout doses within US states and counties can be found here: NTS Fallout Exposure By County (NCI 1997).
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