"Downwinder" Resources
The term "Downwinder" refers to the thousands of people across the West who were exposed to radioactive fallout from years of atmospheric and below ground nuclear weapons testing, and to a greater extent those who were exposed to radiation through uranium mining and human radiation experimentation as well. As a result of years of lawsuits and legislation, Congress passed the Radiation Exposure Compensation Program in 1990 to provide a means for "downwinders" to file claims and receive compensation for an array of diseases attributable to radiation and fallout.
Background Information | Radiation Exposure Compensation Program | Information Available from Cline Library | Arizona Information | Additional Resources
Background Information
Background information regarding Downwinders and atomic testing of the 1950s and 60s:
Radiation Exposure Compensation Program
Information Available from Cline Library
- La Cuesta yearbooks for Arizona State College (Northern Arizona University) and other area schools
- Flagstaff and area telephone directories
- Books, videos and government publications regarding nuclear weapons testing
- Northern Arizona University Directory
- Kinlani, Flagstaff High School Yearbook
- Coconino County Records Collection, 1891-1950 , Arizona Historical Society, Special Collections and Archives, Cline Library NAU
Listed below are some of the resources the Cline Library has that may help claimants establish residency in Northern Arizona during the time periods specified by the RECP, along with more general information about nuclear weapons testing.
Arizona Information
Other sites that may be useful to downwinders or RECP filers:
- Sharlot Hall Museum Downwinder Resources
- Coconino County Downwinder Request Form
- Arizona Department of Health Services, Office of Vital Records
- Arizona State Library, State and Local Government Records
Additional Resources
- DOE Openness: Human Radiation Experiments
- Radioactive I-131 from Fallout
- Downwinders
- Nuclear Testing and the Downwinders
- United States Nuclear Tests, July 1945 through September 1992
- Utah
Department of Environmental Quality, Division of Radiation Control:
Fallout Effects
- U.S.
Department of Health & Human Services, Rural Health Policy:
Radiation Exposure Screening and Education Program (RESEP)
- Canyons, Cultures, and Environmental Change: An Introduction to the Land Use History of the Colorado Plateau
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This page last modifiedDecember 20, 2007
