August 6 and 9, 2025 will mark the 80th anniversaries of the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. But before the U.S. bombed Hiroshima, on July 16, 1945, it bombed New Mexico, conducting the very first test explosion of a nuclear weapon at the White Sands Proving Ground in New Mexico, as part of the Manhattan Project. The test was of a plutonium bomb, of the same design as the Fat Man bomb detonated over Nagasaki, Japan less than a month later. The U.S. government for decades claimed that the test bomb was detonated in an uninhabited area. But radiation landed on vegetables and cattle and contaminated the water supply, and hundreds of thousands of people were exposed to radioactive fallout.
In the years after the Trinity Test, people living in nearby counties began to report health issues. Diseases such as heart disease, leukemia, and other cancers appeared in families who had no prior history. People who reported these incidents became known as “Downwinders” because they lived near or downwind from the test site.
A group of New Mexicans known as the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium states that they were unknowingly exposed to radiation from fallout, resulting in illness, emotional and financial distress, and death. This group is pursuing recognition under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) of 1990.
On July 16, a permanent sign that recognizes the sacrifice and suffering of the Downwinders of New Mexico will take place at the Stallion Gate Entrance to the Trinity Site. The dedication of the sign will be followed by a mass and dinner reception and a candlelight vigil, which will be livestreamed. Check here for updates. Read more.
