Thread by @ajplus

The #ChernobylHBO series showed us the human cost of nuclear disaster. But the U.S. also put Americans' health at risk during the Atomic Age.

@JenLouiseWilson explores this forgotten history in a thread for AJ+: (1/12)

"Downwinders" is a term that generally refers to the millions of people affected by nuclear fallout associated with atomic weapons production and testing, particularly in the western United States. (2/12)
atomicheritage.org/history/nevada…

On July 16, the first nuclear bomb was detonated by the U.S. Army in New Mexico as part of the Manhattan Project. Many residents of nearby towns, who were largely Latino and Native American, weren't warned in advance. (3/12)
npr.org/2018/07/28/633…

Residents near U.S. testing sites weren't informed about potential health risks: cancer, thyroid disease, birth defects. In fact, people had picnics nearby and even took home radioactive green glass, "trinite," as souvenirs. (4/12)
atlasobscura.com/articles/objec…

Likewise, workers at the nuclear lab in Los Alamos weren't warned about the potential for radiation-related cancer. The lab's first director, J. Robert Oppenheimer, wrote a memo in 1946 saying health records should be kept "top secret." (5/12)
features.propublica.org/los-alamos/cha…

During the Cold War, the arms race led to a rapid uptick in nuclear development and testing. At the Nevada Test Site near Las Vegas, over 100 tests were carried out in the 1950s and early '60s. (6/12)

The tests became a tourist attraction. Las Vegas, rebranded as "Atomic City, USA," served atomic cocktails and held atomic-themed beauty pageants. Residents and visitors were encouraged to sit outside and watch the detonations. (7/12)
popularmechanics.com/science/energy…

In places where nuclear weapons were produced, like Hanford, Washington, radioactive materials were released into the air, soil and the Columbia River, extending the fallout zone as far as Canada. (8/12)
bbc.com/news/magazine-…

Though decommissioned, the Hanford site still contains 56 million gallons of nuclear and chemical waste. Workers regularly report radiation-related illnesses, and in 2017, the EPA said radioactive waste was still entering the Columbia River. (9/12)
nbcnews.com/news/us-news/w…

While there have been increased efforts in the last two decades to acknowledge the impact on "downwinders," during the Cold War it was considered un-American to raise concerns about the health impact of nuclear testing and uranium mining. (10/12)
theatlantic.com/video/index/59…

Nuclear waste continues to be a major public health problem in the United States. In 2017, the HBO documentary "Atomic Homefront" looked at the continued impact of radioactive waste on residential communities in the U.S. (11/12)

For more on the "downwinders" and their continued struggle for environmental justice, read: (12/12)

Downwind: A People's History of the Nuclear West books.google.com/books?id=56RvB…