Atomic Fears and the Arms Race: Nuclear Testing

As the Cold War heated up, fear of a nuclear war rose, the U.S. government was determined to develop weapons to meet any threat from the Soviet Union.

So it began testing nuclear weapons on land and at sea, exposing its own troops to the atomic blasts to determine how they would perform in nuclear combat.

The U.S. conducted some 200 tests from 1946 to1962, exposing thousands of military men to nuclear explosions, often with little if any protective gear. The government told troops the tests were safe but kept them secret from the public.

By the 1980s, however, some atomic veterans were getting sick, suffering from a variety of ailments, including various cancers. They blamed their health problems on the secret atomic tests and demanded federal compensation for their medical expenses.

The government initially refused to address the problems, saying it was impossible to connect military duty to a specific illness or cancer. But as some veterans spoke out, risking jail by breaking secrecy oaths they were forced to sign, Congress stepped in to establish a compensation program in 1988 that eventually covered some 21 cancers.

Today, the issue raised by the atomic veterans– when is the federal government responsible for exposing its soldiers to life-changing illness? – continues for many veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan.