Downwinders
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A downwinder is a term used to describe people across the United States who were exposed to radioactive fallout from both underground and atmospheric nuclear weapons testing. It has also been used to describe those exposed to radiation through experimentation and uranium mining.
In the middle part of the twentieth century people were encouraged to sit outside and watch the "mushroom clouds" that came from nuclear testing. They were given radiation badges they wore and that then were later collected to gather data about radiation levels.
Under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act of 1990, downwinders able to show correlations between certain diseases and their exposure to nuclear fallout are eligible for up to $50,000 in compensation from the federal government.
