Downwinders

Downwinders. . In several Wayne High School graduating classes, approximately one-half of the students have suffered or died from cancer. In total, a much higher percentage than normal of Wayne County and Bicknell residents and former residents have died from downwinder-related cancers., In the 1950s and early 1960s, students attending schools in Bicknell often watched beautiful orange clouds move across the valley. These attractions were remnants of mushroom clouds coming from above-ground nuclear explosions at the Nevada Test Site, located 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas., These clouds were releasing significant amounts of radioactive material into the atmosphere as they settled across this area. Particles that spread entered the body through contaminated food, drinks, water or air, and eventually led to cancer or birth defects. After numerous medical studies, it was determined that these nuclear tests caused various kinds of cancer, especially in growing, school-age children., Captions , (Photo #1) Radiation Exposure Compensation Act Map - Federal law passed in 1990 to compensate downwinder victims and surviving family members. , (Photo #2) Nuclear testing either killed or had a profound effect on animals. , (Photo #3) "Duck and Cover" - a popular 1951 U.S. Office of Civil Defense film for schoolchildren. , (Photo #4) 15 kiloton blast from the Nevada Test Site, May 1953.