Renewed push for aid for radiation victims of U.S. nuclear program

With the acclaimed film "Oppenheimer" winning big at the 2024 Oscars, earning awards in major categories such as best director, best actor and best picture, there's a renewed focus on Capitol Hill on the generations of Americans affected by living near nuclear test sites.

In July 1945, the Trinity test in south-central New Mexico marked the dawn of the nuclear age, a pivotal moment dramatized in "Oppenheimer."

Not far from the test site, in the desert community of Tularosa, lived the family of Tina Cordova. For generations, Cordova's family, like others in the area, has battled cancer, a grim legacy of the atomic tests. 

Diagnosed with thyroid cancer at 39, Cordova was painfully aware of the connection to the tests. "We don't ask if we're going to get cancer," she said, "we ask when it's going to be our turn."

Since 1990, the U.S. government has compensated some families under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, paying for medical expenses incurred due to nuclear fallout. However, with the program's future threatened by budget standoffs, Congress faced a ticking clock to extend its lifeline.

A breakthrough came last Thursday when the Senate approved a plan to fund the program for another five years, significantly expanding its reach to include families like Cordova's thanks to efforts from New Mexico Sen. Ben Ray Lujan, a Democrat, and Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley, a Republican. This expansion will now cover victims in states such as Idaho, Montana, Guam, Colorado, Tennessee, Kentucky and Alaska, acknowledging the widespread impact of U.S. nuclear activities.

"This is about doing basic justice by the working people of this nation, whom their own government has poisoned," said Hawley.

Illnesses plague parts of Missouri where World War II–era radioactive waste was processed. Hawley said that St. Louis in particular has seen a "huge" number of cancer cases.

"We are one of the leading sites for breast cancer in the nation, a huge number of childhood cancers and several childhood cancer categories, we lead the nation," said Hawley 

Despite some opposition in Congress, mainly over the financial cost of the legislation, Lujan and Hawley are pressing for approval in the House, leveraging the attention brought by "Oppenheimer" to the early days of the nuclear program.

"Those artists deserve the wins. But what about the people whose stories were not included in that film, who are dying, who are willing to lose all their energy to educate others? I certainly hope that everyone that was a part of 'Oppenheimer' doesn't forget these folks across the country," said Lujan. 

The cost of the legislation is estimated to be in the tens of billions of dollars. Congress has less than three months to formally approve and extend these new benefits, or the money runs out.

The White House has expressed support for the plan, promising the President Biden's  signature if it passes. 

Scott MacFarlane

Scott MacFarlane is a congressional correspondent. He has covered Washington for two decades, earning 20 Emmy and Edward R. Murrow awards. His reporting resulted directly in the passage of five new laws.

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