Tularosa Basin Downwinders honor those affected by Trinity Site nuke tests in New Mexico

TULAROSA, NM- The Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium (TBDC) held a peaceful demonstration on Saturday, April 1 behind the Tularosa high school football field to recognize New Mexicans impacted by nuclear activities in the state.

The annual demonstration was held in support of the "downwinders" affected by the atomic bomb test at the nearby Trinity Site on July 16, 1945.

That test, the U.S.' first nuclear bomb test, occurred near the rural communities Tularosa and Carrizozo, and was believed the cause of health problems for generations of local residents known as "downwinders."

The group met behind the Tularosa High School football field at about 7:30 a.m., then caravanned out to the Trinity site at White Sands Missile Range.

According to the TBDC website, the Downwinders Consortium was created to "seek justice for the unknowing, unwilling and uncompensated victims of the Trinity Test at WSMR."  

The Downwinders asked Congress to compensate New Mexican downwinders via an expansion of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA), which does offer reparation payments to some downwinders of the Nevada Test Site, but does not include those from New Mexico.

Family members said they dealt with health issues that have been passed down through generations, include a high number of people with various formes of cancer.

Downwinders member Mary Martinez-White of Tularosa said several of her family members succumbed to or continue to battle cancers she said were the results of nuclear testing.

“I’m the youngest of 10 children. I have three sisters who have thyroid disease, my oldest sister and mother died of metastasized cancer. My father died of leukemia," she said.

"I have a sister who is a breast cancer survivor, brother who is a lung cancer survivor, and a sister who is a uterine cancer survivor. So far, I am not affected, but unfortunately as we always say, it’s not a matter of if, but a matter of when."

The trip to Trinity occurs twice a year in October and April.

The Downwinders also hosted a luminaria event days before the trip to Trinity, to honor those that have lost their lives outside of the state.

“When the atomic test happened, crops failed and people could not make a living here so they moved. We know many more have died that moved away and died in other states, so for those people we don’t have a knowledge for, relatives come and sign them up for the luminaria event,” said Katherine Tyler, member of the Downwinders.

RECA was passed in 1990 in order to help those affected by atmospheric nuclear testing and anything related to uranium industry employment according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).

RECA covers a dozen states, but only covers certain uranium industry employees in New Mexico, according to the DOJ.

The act requires uranium mine employees to have worked for at least a year in a uranium mine or to have been exposed to 40 or more working level months of radiation while employed in a uranium mine.

In addition to uranium mine workers, ore transporters and millers were granted a lump sum of money if they also worked for one year at any uranium mill or mine. Employees must also have one of the following problems to claim any benefits.:

Any of the employees who were exposed or faced diseases under the conditions could be awarded up to $100,000.

According to the DOJ website, RECA will only cover for tests that were conducted by the U.S. prior to 1963 considering consider Utah, Arizona and Nevada downwinder states.

Those that lived in downwinder areas are compensated if they established a minimum of two years of residency during 1951 through 1958 and again in 1962.

According to Martinez White, the Tularosa Basin Downwinders have support among congressmembers pushing for expansion on RECA. She said the group is planning to release a documentary this summer, hoping to raise awareness of the plight of the state's downwinders.

U.S., Representative for New Mexico's 3rd Congressional District, Teresa Leger Fernández supported expanding the coverage of RECA, introducing a bill in 2021 to expand eligibility under RECA to include downwinders from New Mexico and other states as well as post-71 uranium miners for another two years, according to Leger Fernandez's website.

"These aren’t abstract issues for New Mexicans," she said. "Our communities, especially communities of color, suffered when we tested nuclear weapons and mined uranium for those bombs on our lands."

Leger Fernández also supported an extension of RECA in 2022 that allowed the program to continue for three more years, more time she said could be used to include New Mexico's downwinders in the program.

"With the enactment of the two-year extension we must renew our commitment to pass my comprehensive legislation to expand eligibility under RECA to cover all impacted New Mexicans. I will keep working to bring justice to our New Mexico communities,” she said.

Juan Corral can be reached at JCorral@gannett.com or on twitter at @Juan36Corr.