The consequences of the nuclear accident that the US wanted to conceal – The Observer

On January 17, 1966, during the Cold War, one of the largest nuclear accident in history it occurred in a populated Spanish agricultural section. That winter night, a B-52 of the United States Air Force plane crashed into a supply tank above the Spanish coast, releasing four hydrogen bombs that fell on the village of Palomares.

According to The New York Times states in an extensive report, the US wanted quickly and quietly resolve the catastrophe, so I ordered a contingent of cleaning radioactive material. Throughout the cleaning process the Americans and Spanish workers were informed that the place was safe and not pollute of this radiation after the incident, but the stories collected by the media show that this probably was not.

Frank B. Thompson is a musician of 72 years and has liver cancer, a lung and a kidney. When he was 22 years he worked several days in contaminated without any protective equipment more confidence in the word of their supervisors Spanish fields. “We were told it was safe, and we were foolish enough, I suppose, to believe them,” says the man. Today Thompson pays more than $ 2,000 per month to try to push back cancer, something that would be completely free if it is recognized as a victim of radiation by the US Air Force. However, the military agency has declared several times that no harmful radiation surrounding the workers, a position they have held for more than five decades.

According to the Air Force, the danger was minimum and more than 1500 workers who helped clean the area were protected, something that the experiences of Thompson and other veterans seem to belie. In addition, several documents declassified in over the years have revealed that radiation levels were high enough to endanger the health of those who remain in place severely.

According to documents the New York Times, the results of radiation tests have been kept away from the medical records of those who worked in Palomares, many of which are facing critically the effects of Plutonium poisoning. 40 veterans identified by means of the investigation, 21 had some form of cancer and nine of them had died for this cause.

The US government promised to pay a public health program to counter the effects of radiation to the Spaniards affected, but nevertheless that funding fell into a void from which he never came out. Anyway, the Air Force has maintained the initial story and ensures that contamination is not so, although in the affected territory were recorded until 1980 many deaths from leukemia and other cancers.

sequelae of toxic accidents are generally a rough subject for the authorities. The damage is difficult to quantify and is almost impossible to ensure as this damage evolves in the future. Recognizing the problem, the US Congress has passed some laws to automatically benefit veterans of some of the best known accidents of this branch, such as atomic testing in the Nevada desert. But there are no laws that suit men who cleaned Palomares.

b52 palomares.jpg

the B52 bomber that crashed into the tanker

Wikimedia Commons

According to the report, if the former employees could prove they were harmed by radiation , have all covered medical costs and receive a regular disability pension. “First deny we were there, and then there was some kind of danger from radiation,” says Ronald R. Howell, 71, who withdrew a brain tumor recently. “I have filed claims, but deny them. I appealed but deny. Now I am left with no alternative”, after adding that “very soon, we are all dead and have succeeded in covering this whole thing.”

cleaning

Shortly after hydrogen bombs explode, began arriving Americans quotas cleaning. Some arrived in helicopters, others in buses. The bombs had exploded near the village, on a sandbar off the coast and the ocean, so the recovery operation had to divide the area of ​​action.

John H. Garman was 23 when he came to the disaster area by helicopter and, she says the New York Times, the place was a mess. “It was chaos. There was debris all over town. Much of one of the bombs had crashed in the yard of a school.” According to witnesses, the remains of the aircraft left huge craters, while the village was surrounded by a thin layer of toxic dust Plutonium. According to scientists, plutonium outside the body is harmless, unlike what happens with other radioactive elements that burn the skin. However, when ingested by breathing can be very dangerous.

During cleaning, a medical team collected more than 1,500 urine samples from workers to calculate the amount of plutonium were absorbing. These tests showed that only about 10 men absorbed more than the allowed safe dose, and the rest was not damaged. The Air Force is based on these findings by arguing that the men were not harmed by radiation. But those who did the tests say the results are flawed and have no real handle.

the troops began to get sick soon after cleaning ended. Some men were paralyzed by joint pain, others by headaches and weakness. Doctors said at the time they were cases of arthritis or allergies. Several men suffered rashes or tumors and several were infertile. In turn some cases of testicular cancer and lung infections were recorded.

Arthur Kindler, who was in contact with plutonium while cleaning Palomares, has had lymph node cancer three times. “It took me long to realize that this probably had to do with the cleanliness of the bombs,” Kindler said. “We were told that everything was safe. We were young and we trusted them. Why would I lie?”. Kindler, in turn, asked a couple of times the assistance of the Department of Veterans Affairs. “I always refused (…) Eventually, I gave up,” he said.

The cleanup plans US and Spain have been happening during the years following the accident with mixed results. An estimated one fifth of plutonium spread in 1966 still pollutes the area of ​​Palomares.

After years of pressure, the United States agreed with the Iberian country in 2015 to clean the remaining plutonium, but anyway there is no program approved by governments. Meanwhile, several of the workers who tried to clean up the nuclear disaster still carry the consequences of the incident and demanding medical care to which they

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