The nuclear fallout from the Manhattan Project's test, codenamed Trinity, of a plutonium-implosion device in July 1945 reached 46 states and crossed into Mexico and Canada within just days of detonation, a new study has found. It was the nation's first nuclear weapon test.
Researchers sought to examine the fallout from nuclear tests in New Mexico and Nevada from 1945 to 1962. More than 101 atmospheric nuclear weapon tests were conducted in the United States, which led to environmental contamination and exposed people to radiation.
The study was led by Sébastien Philippe, a researcher and scientist at Princeton University's Program on Science and Global Security. It was preemptively released Thursday ahead of submission to a scientific journal for peer review.
"It's a huge finding and, at the same time, it shouldn't surprise anyone," said Philippe in comments to The New York Times.
Of the 101 atmospheric nuclear tests, 94 generated mushroom clouds but the pursuit of understanding radioactive fallout then was "limited in time and scope." Physicists and doctors underestimated the reach of atmospheric nuclear explosions and national systems to track such things were not in place.
The researchers believe the limited understanding of the nuclear fallout had consequences for people seeking compensation from the government under the 1990 Radiation Exposure and Compensation Act.
"For example, the Trinity test, which is now believed to have been about 24.8 kilotons of TNT equivalent in yield, is not included as a source of possible exposure in this legislation," the study reads.
The team poured through U.S. government data, high-resolution reanalyzed historical weather fields, and atmospheric transport modeling to reconstruct heat maps and graphs of the nuclear fallout.
"Our estimates indicate that there are locations in New Mexico and other states, including federally recognized tribal lands, where radionuclide deposition reached levels higher than that in counties covered by RECA," the study reads.
It's not yet known whether the U.S. Congress will once again take up legislation to compensate those affected.
Earlier this month, Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri announced a bill to compensate victims of Manhattan Project nuclear waste dumping in his state.
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