The Fallout
The Fallout
WHAT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT KNEW
Beginning in 1951, more than 900 documented nuclear detonations took place at the Nevada Test Site, located within the Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR). Decades of nuclear weapons testing and military activity left areas contaminated with radioactive and hazardous materials.
Federal records show the government knew contamination existed.
1975: PLUTONIUM CONTAMINATION DOCUMENTED
A 1975 federal Environmental Assessment identified three areas contaminated with plutonium from tests conducted in 1963. At the time, the government reported the areas were fenced and characterized the contamination as contained.
But that was not the end of the story.
WHAT HAPPENED LATER
In 1992, Air Force operations in the area were shut down as the Department of Energy began a major reclamation effort at those same sites.
The cleanup lasted 17 years and included removing and relocating the top six inches of contaminated soil.
If the contamination warranted a 17-year cleanup, what about the people who had already served and worked there?
THERE WAS NO ASSESSMENT OF THE HUMAN COST
The government identified the contamination. It fenced affected areas. It eventually shut down operations and remediated the sites.
But military personnel, DoD employees and contractors had already spent years living and working in and around these environments—many without knowing the potential risks.
For some veterans, the consequences would not become apparent until years or even decades later.
WHAT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT LEFT UNDONE
Veterans who later developed serious illnesses faced another obstacle: proving where they had served.
Classified, restricted, redacted and data-masked records have made it difficult for some veterans to verify their assignments at potentially contaminated locations and connect their service to exposure-related illnesses when seeking VA benefits.
They served where their country sent them.
The secrecy surrounding that service should never become the reason they cannot prove it.
THIS IS THE FALLOUT.
It is not only what was left behind in the soil.
It is what was left unresolved for the people who served there.
WHAT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT KNEW
Beginning in 1951, more than 900 documented nuclear detonations took place at the Nevada Test Site, located within the Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR). Decades of nuclear weapons testing and military activity left areas contaminated with radioactive and hazardous materials.
Federal records show the government knew contamination existed.
1975: PLUTONIUM CONTAMINATION DOCUMENTED
A 1975 federal Environmental Assessment identified three areas contaminated with plutonium from tests conducted in 1963. At the time, the government reported the areas were fenced and characterized the contamination as contained.
But that was not the end of the story.
WHAT HAPPENED LATER
In 1992, Air Force operations in the area were shut down as the Department of Energy began a major reclamation effort at those same sites.
The cleanup lasted 17 years and included removing and relocating the top six inches of contaminated soil.
If the contamination warranted a 17-year cleanup, what about the people who had already served and worked there?
THERE WAS NO ASSESSMENT OF THE HUMAN COST
The government identified the contamination. It fenced affected areas. It eventually shut down operations and remediated the sites.
But military personnel, DoD employees and contractors had already spent years living and working in and around these environments—many without knowing the potential risks.
For some veterans, the consequences would not become apparent until years or even decades later.
WHAT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT LEFT UNDONE
Veterans who later developed serious illnesses faced another obstacle: proving where they had served.
Classified, restricted, redacted and data-masked records have made it difficult for some veterans to verify their assignments at potentially contaminated locations and connect their service to exposure-related illnesses when seeking VA benefits.
They served where their country sent them.
The secrecy surrounding that service should never become the reason they cannot prove it.
THIS IS THE FALLOUT.
It is not only what was left behind in the soil.
It is what was left unresolved for the people who served there.