Dressed in a lightweight, protective zipper-suit designed to keep dirt, insects and contaminants off his body, Dr. Michael Ketterer, a chemist, slowly lowered himself into an empty, abandoned water storage tank on a residential property near Carrizozo, New Mexico, to collect dust samples from the bottom of it.
“I don’t know if I was affected, but I may have been. There’s been a lot of cancer, you know, among relatives and people that live around here,” said Ortiz, 74, who allowed Ketterer to take samples from his properties. The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, or RECA, was established in 1990 to provide restitution to people who suffered specific illnesses and could prove they also lived or worked in specific areas near nuclear test sites or uranium mining locations in the United States. While some New Mexico uranium miners received restitution through the program, residents who said they suffered illnesses while living “downwind” of the Trinity testing site were never included.
"This isn’t about a handout. This isn’t about some kind of welfare program. This is about doing basic justice by the working people of this nation, whom their own government has poisoned," said Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., a sponsor of the bill, after it was passed by the Senate."This is the day when we break the cycle of lies from the government, when we break the cycle of passing the buck and irresponsibility from the government.
Ketterer, meanwhile, said he hopes his scientific expertise helps many communities better understand the levels of contamination that might exist in their backyards. A Princeton University study published in 2023 suggested the fallout area from the Trinity test may have been much wider than initially believed.
In September of 2023, Ketterer collected additional samples from the crevices of an old school, in a residential home attic, at a church, at a children’s park, in a lava field, and from other natural sites in corridors about 60 miles south of the explosion site. “We can say that it’s there, but it’s not the dominant source of plutonium,” he said. “There’s a lot more samples to take, and there’s additional work that’s needed to be done."
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: nbcsandiego - 🏆 524. / 51 Read more »
Source: sdut - 🏆 5. / 95 Read more »
Source: 10News - 🏆 732. / 50 Read more »
Source: 10News - 🏆 732. / 50 Read more »
Source: 10News - 🏆 732. / 50 Read more »
Source: 10News - 🏆 732. / 50 Read more »