From 1951 to 1992, more than 1000 nuclear tests were performed on the Nevada Test Site.1 The site is on Western Shoshone lands, known as Newe Sogobia, located 65 miles north of Las Vegas.2 Both underground and atmospheric nuclear tests were performed. Underground tests were conducted throughout the entire 41 years, making this land one of the most radioactive areas in the world.3 However, atmospheric tests stopped in 1962. During these eleven years large quantities of radioactive material was released into the air and carried with the wind to surrounding communities, such as Duckwater and other Native American reservations.4 This fallout included a radioactive isotope of iodine, 131I2, which, as all radioactive isotopes, decays releasing radiation. When 131I2 is ingested by humans and animals it collects in the thyroid gland. The radiation released from the decaying isotope damages tissues, increasing the risk of cancer and, for pregnant women, birth defects.5
During the period of atmospheric testing, there was little to no information released about health risks and protective measures against nuclear fallout.4 In 1979 after rising public concern and lawsuits, the Department of Energy began a project to reconstruct the dose exposure of radioactive fallout: the Off-site Radiation Exposure Review Project (ORERP).6 The government used its findings to determine how much compensation and support was given to impacted communities. However, this dose review was limited. Its assessment was based on the typical lifestyles of people in majority white communities. It did not adequately consider different lifestyles, despite the fact that the extent of exposure was known to be dependent upon it.6
This was confirmed when several studies demonstrated that the ORERP underestimated the dose of radiation to Native Americans.4,6 The ORERP made assumptions about beef and cow milk consumption that did not apply to Native American lifestyles and it did not account for the hunting of game, a major source of food for the native populations in the area.4,6 Specifically, it did not consider the collection of 131I2 in the thyroid of the game that would be ingested in Native American diets.6 Therefore the dose reconstruction for native populations was inaccurate and led to the insufficient acknowledgment of health defects and compensation of costs for health care.
A more effective estimate of radiation exposure to native populations should be developed through community consultation, and dose can be reconstructed by incorporating missing pathways and feeding patterns.6
For more information about the impacts of the Nevada Test Site on native peoples, see this podcast:https://historiumunearthia.com/episodes/episode-12-the-forgotten-downwinders-of-americas-nuclear-testing-program/.
Resources:
- “Nevada Test Site.” Atomic Heritage Foundation, 2019, https://www.atomicheritage.org/location/nevada-test-site.
- “Nevada Test Site | Nuclear Princeton.” Princeton University, The Trustees of Princeton University, 2022, https://nuclearprinceton.princeton.edu/nevada-test-site.
- Taylor, Ted. “Nevada Test Site Downwinders.” Atomic Heritage Foundation, 31 July 2018, https://www.atomicheritage.org/history/nevada-test-site-downwinders.
- Russ, Abel, and Patricia George, Rob Goble, Stefano Crema, Chunling Liu, and Dedee Sanchez. “Native American Exposure to 131Iodine from Nuclear Weapons Testing in Nevada”. Human and Ecological Risk Assessment: An International Journal, vol. 11, no. 5, 2005, 1047-1063. DOI: 10.1080/10807030500257721.
- “I-131 Radiation Exposure from Fallout.” National Cancer Institute, 28 Aug. 2019, https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/radiation/i-131#:~:text=I%2D131%20collects%20in%20the,cancer%20that%20is%20highly%20treatable.
- Frohmberg, Eric, and Robert Goble, Virginia Sanchez, and Dianne Quigley. “The Assessment of Radiation Exposures in Native American Communities from Nuclear Weapons Testing in Nevada”. Risk Analysis, vol. 20, no. 1, May 2002, 101-112. https://doi.org/10.1111/0272-4332.00010.