Some Nevadans know about the Nevada National Security Site, or what used to be called the Nevada Test Site. It’s where the U.S. government detonated hundreds of nuclear weapons from 1951 to 1992. But while some believe the dangers of atomic testing are in the past, anti-nuclear activists say the fight against atomic testing lives on and must continue.
At a November 20 screening of the new documentary Downwind at the Beverly Theater, Rep. Dina Titus and Principal Man of the Western Bands of the Shoshone Nation Ian Zabarte spoke before and after the film about the importance of awareness of the harms of atomic testing.
“It’s important, because if we don’t address and educate the young people, we run the risk of letting them believe there’s nothing else after Oppenheimer,” saidZabarte said in his pre-film remarks. “[It] is an oversimplified view of the nuclear age. And it doesn’t address what happened to us, the American people.”
Christopher Nolan’s period drama Oppenheimer follows the American theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer during World War II and his time as director of the top secret Manhattan Project, which resulted in the creation of the first atomic bomb and the first nuclear explosion. The film quickly reached box office success and brought awareness to nuclear testing. But although its director, writers and researchers went to great lengths for accuracy, the aftermath of this nuclear research goes untouched on screen.
The Downwind documentary uncovers the harrowing reality of nuclear fallout—particles from atomic bomb clouds—and specifically highlights the 928 nuclear weapons that were tested near Mercury, Nevada, over the course of 41 years, exposing residents in the area and surrounding states to downwind radiation. The government also closed off sacred Western Shoshone land for the testing, violating the tribe’s treaty rights.
“Oppenheimer is an iconic individual, but we sort of take off where the film ends and represent the people downwind of those 928 detonations,” co-director Mark Shapiro tells the Weekly. “Science has many sides to it, a responsible side and a potentially damaging side. … It’s important to showcase these people and give them a platform to share their stories about the impact of nuclear weapons testing and fallout.”
Shapiro believes a lack of education about nuclear testing and its effects has led to disengagement in the face of possible further testing and nuclear waste storage, leading to shortfalls when it comes to helping and compensating victims.
Radiation-related illnesses span generations, and can be traced to clusters of people living in the areas surrounding nuclear detonations. The film makes a connection between the downwind location of St. George, Utah, to the city’s high leukemia and cancer rates. The town was also a hotspot for Hollywood movie sets, including the 1956 film The Conqueror starring John Wayne. Wayne and half of the crew were later diagnosed and died from various cancers.
These troubling statistics are far from dated and the pervasive radiation still lingers in the environment and in the exposed and their kin.
Ahead of the Downwind screening, U.S. Rep. Dina Titus said Congress has responded with legislation to compensate people sickened by exposure to the blasts and by uranium mining during the Cold War. The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act originally passed in 1990 and is set to expire June 2024. It provides a $50,000 one-time lump sum in compensation for downwinders who are found eligible. To determine eligibility, RECA asks for evidence of exposure to radiation, which can be difficult to prove.
Titus said the government has shown unwillingness to admit a mistake in exposing veterans, workers and residents to nuclear radiation.
“In Congress, we continue to try to compensate the people who were harmed. The RECA Act has been several decades in the works and we piece by piece try to cover all the victims. They are dying off,” Titus said. “The amount of money you get certainly can’t pay for a life. But it is an acknowledgment that it was perhaps not a mistake—they won’t acknowledge a mistake—but that it’s something that deserves some assistance.”
In effort to ease the process for compensation and benefits for veterans exposed to radiation, Titus introduced the Providing Radiation Exposed Servicemembers Undisputed Medical Eligibility (PRESUME) Act in July. The VA currently requires applicants to submit proof of being involved in onsite radiation risk activity and to provide an estimation of radiation exposure. The PRESUME Act aims to eliminate the latter obstacle for RECA applicants.
At the same time, anti-nuclear activists are sounding the alarm about proposed plans to store nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain approximately 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas. In a panel discussion after the film, Zabarte raised concerns about potential nuclear waste storage at Yucca Mountain.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency’s website, Yucca Mountain is “the proposed spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste repository where both types of radioactive waste could be disposed.”
Sen. Jacky Rosen, who in March helped introduce the Downwinders Parity Act to expand and amend RECA, says she and Nevada’s delegation have introduced legislation to prevent Yucca Mountain from being used as a nuclear waste repository.
With support from Sen. Rosen and Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, Rep. Titus in 2021 introduced the Nuclear Waste Informed Consent Act, which would “require local consent before the federal government could move forward with disposing nuclear waste at a specific site,” according to a press release from Titus’ office.
Sen. Rosen says she remains vigilant in the face of attempts to revive a Yucca Mountain repository project.
“As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, I’ve worked every year to ensure that the annual national defense bill does not authorize funds for defense nuclear waste storage at Yucca Mountain,” Rosen said in a statement to the Weekly. “Earlier this year, I joined other members of the Nevada delegation in introducing legislation to prevent the federal government from attempting to revive the ill-conceived Yucca Mountain project without clear, written consent from state and local leaders. Nevadans have made clear that they don’t want harmful nuclear waste dumped in our state, and I’ll continue working to make sure it doesn’t happen.”
Activists and the filmmakers say Nevadans need to awaken to the dangers surrounding nuclear testing and nuclear waste, and not sleep on the issue.
“It is time for us to say no. We need to check our government, and we need to stop the testing. It can’t start again,” Downwind co-director Douglas Miller said during the panel.
Downwind is available on Comcast, Verizon, Cox, Bell, Amazon, Amazon Home Video, iTunes, Google Play, Microsoft Xbox, Vimeo and Redbox.
Shannon Miller contributed to this story.
Click HERE to subscribe for free to the Weekly Fix, the digital edition of Las Vegas Weekly! Stay up to date with the latest on Las Vegas concerts, shows, restaurants, bars and more, sent directly to your inbox!
