On July 16, 1945, the world saw the detonation of the first atomic bomb in a New Mexico desert, which changed the very definition of warfare. The Trinity Test practically demonstrated the destructive power of nuclear weapons. Official data shows that the immediate impact of the explosion was equivalent to around 20,000 tons of TNT. It was more powerful than anyone had thought, including its creators. The successful conduct of the test marked the completion and validation of the secret tripartite Manhattan Project involving the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada.
The trio hailed it as a triumph for science, and a way to end the World War II. However, no one apparently calculated, or cared about, the fallout of the test. Just days later, uranium-based “Little Boy” and plutonium-based “Fat Man” were dropped on Japan’s Hiroshima and Nagasaki, respectively. The two bombs indeed ended the war quickly, but with the use of such weapons opened Pandora’s Box. The bombings sparked a nuclear arms race in the world, which soon led to Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD), a principle of deterrence after the Soviet Union challenged the United States’ temporary monopoly on nuclear weapons.
Fallout and forgiveness
The test also had adverse environmental and health impacts. The radioactive fallout released from the explosion contaminated the surrounding area. No warning was issued to the locals and down winders prior to the test. According to reports, the area received black rain that day, while cows there were burned and started giving radioactive milk. It also contaminated water and land, while multigenerational cancers are being reported even after almost eight decades. Activists call it environmental racism and continue to fight for the rights of the local population, saying that the government has for long highlighted only its military might and scientific achievements it had made through the Trinity Test.
The residents, however, have awaited compensation from the federal government under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA), which would have included the Trinity site victims for the first time this year. However, the bill was allowed to expire last month, as it was not “financially feasible” and would have cost the national kitty another $50 billion over 10 years. Moreover, from 1944 to 1986, the US Department of Defense reportedly dumped more than 30 million tons of uranium across a vast area stretching between Arizona and New Mexico known as the “Uranium Belt”.
The area was heart of the Navajo Nation and not just a patch of desert, and the aftermath of that nuclear negligence was nothing but tragic. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that the radioactive exposure has produced devastating consequences over the years. Dozens of cases of cancers, birth deformities, and organ failures have been reported among the local Navajo people. If that didn’t move you, let me point out that the rate of these occurrences was five times higher than the national average. These are not mere statistics but real lives. Members of the local community have suffered at the hands of an invisible enemy that penetrated the soil, water and air.
Generations have grown up under the shadow of this toxic legacy. With every glass of water, every breath of air, and every footstep on the land they risk getting exposed to deadly radiation. The cost the US paid to secure absolute power has been very high, while the stories of those who had suffered over time are heart-wrenching. The Navajo people have found themselves in a cruel twist of fate, betrayed by the very ground they hold sacred. The purpose of this article is not just to looking back at a moment in history, but also recognize the ongoing challenges of managing nuclear technology in a world.
