Push for Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) renewal!

And what it has to do with Tactical Nukes

During the period 1945-1962 the US military conducted more than 100 above-ground nuclear weapons tests within the boundaries of the lower 48 states, mostly in Nevada but also in New Mexico. The effects of nuclear radiation were relatively unknown in the early days, but by the mid-50s it was apparent that radiation is extremely bad for your health. I know this to be true because the topic of biological radiation effects, based on studies tracing back to Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, was discussed in The Effects of Nuclear Weapons, which was first published in 1957 [1]. Two questions might be asked: First, about the morality of incidentally exposing millions of people downwind of the tests to radioactive fallout; and Second, about the morality of deliberately exposing thousands of US soldiers by placing them only a few kilometers from many of the blasts, even after the adverse effects of radiation exposure had become apparent. Reference [2], a DoD propaganda film, depicts the military's attitude - then and in some cases now - about the feasibility of integrating nuclear weapons into the battlefield. Contrast it, please, with the more recent testimony of soldiers who were guinea pigs for the nuclear tests [3].

It only took 45 years for the US Government to acknowledge the damage caused, for in 1990 Congress passed the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA), providing monetary compensation for many - but not all - of the people who suffered as a result of domestic above ground nuclear testing. The original program was set to expire in 2022, but was extended for two years by Congress at the urging of President Biden. The program is now set to expire within two weeks, and although the Biden administration and the Senate have taken action, with strong bipartisan support, to extend it in both time and coverage [4] the House continues to fail to act.

It is very important to the cause of justice that the RECA be extended. The only way it will happen is if citizens from throughout the country, and particularly those represented by Republicans in the House, voice their support to reauthorize an improved RECA. You are also welcome to participate in events in support of RECA near the Capitol in Washington DC, sponsored by the Union of Concerned Scientists, on May 15-16. Details as to time, place and agenda are at [5]. A more detailed chronology of the current RECA legislation can be found at [6].

The experience of US citizens and soldiers, and that of the people and soldiers of every other nation that has conducted above ground testing of nuclear weapons, teaches us that the effects of an above ground nuclear detonation are not localized, and moreover not completely predictable. That by itself should dissuade any responsible leader from employing nuclear weapons of any capacity - including so-called tactical nuclear weapons, because the effects of such weapons inevitably are felt by countries not directly involved in the war. As such, non-combatant countries might rightly consider the use of tactical nuclear weapons on a neighbor as an act of war against themselves. I mention this because Vladimir Putin and his toady Lukashenko have announced plans for joint exercises involving tactical nuclear weapons, an act of attempted blackmail against western support for Ukraine. We should consider in light of the technical characteristics of nuclear weapons effects that use of such weapons against the Ukraine would be an act of war against Ukraine's NATO member neighbors, triggering Article 5 of the NATO charter. That, plus the fact that the US guaranteed protection for the Ukraine against nuclear attack in return for the latter's surrender of its nuclear weapons by signing the Budapest Memorandum of 1994. As has been noted elsewhere [7], only twenty later Russia had already abrogated its responsibilities, but that does not free the United States from upholding ours.

Notes

[1] The 1977 edition, along with a 2022 digitized version, can be obtained at https://www.atomicarchive.com/resources/documents/effects/glasstone-dolan/

[2] youtube.com/watch?v=tXX-1MIMr2E

[3] https://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/590299/atomic-soldiers/

[4] An extension in time is needed because people exposed decades ago are still developing cancer and other diseases linked to radiation exposure. The original program did not extend benefits to residents of New Mexico, despite its having been the Trinity site, nor to other states like Utah and Missouri, home to many victims of our nuclear weapons program.

[5] https://secure.ucsusa.org/a/2024-5-15-reca-vigil-press-conf

[6] https://blog.ucsusa.org/lilly-adams/the-house-has-13-working-days-to-save-reca/

[7] https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-budapest-memorandum-and-u-s-obligations/