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Have you seen the movie Oppenheimer yet? Well, I have an important update on the story the movie didn’t tell. The film showed a remote test site in the New Mexico desert. An isolated area 210 miles south of Los Alamos, according to government accounts. Not quite the case: As many as 500,000 people lived within 150 miles of the test site — some only 12 miles away. None were warned, and none were evacuated before or after the Trinity Test, the first time a nuclear weapon had ever been detonated. The fallout reached 46 states, and the blast was felt as far as 200 miles away. Ash fell from the sky for days. In the Tularosa Basin, those now known as Downwinders were exposed to dangerous levels of radiation, marking them and their descendants with tragedy ever since. They developed cancers and other illnesses. Infant mortality spiked. 78 years later, they’ve still not been compensated. In 1990, the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) was passed, establishing a federal fund for people affected by radiation exposure. For reasons I can’t even begin to understand, New Mexico Downwinders were excluded. How is it possible that the communities at the center of the first nuclear test were not covered by a program designed for those harmed by nuclear tests? We finally have a chance to do the right thing. A bill to expand RECA passed the Senate to finally give what is owed to our Downwinders. Now, it’s on its way to the House.
Thank you for making your voice heard, Martin |
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Senator Martin Heinrich is committed to helping New Mexico become a leader in defense, tech, and energy with opportunities in every corner. If you would like to stay in touch but receive fewer emails from us, click here. If you would like to unsubscribe from emails altogether, click here. Martin Heinrich for Senate |