The United States continued to develop and test increasingly powerful nuclear weapons for decades after World War II, and U.S. veterans were often near the detonations. At testing locations that included Bikini Atoll (a ring-shaped coral island) in the Marshall Islands and sites within the United States, military scientists studied radiation’s effects on humans and animals. Hundreds of thousands of U.S. veterans were exposed to radiation during the tests. These veterans have spent years trying to understand, survive, and receive compensation for health issues likely related to the testing.
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Watch the video to hear veterans’ accounts of the testing, the inadequate safety measures, the secrecy, and their health concerns. You may want to pause the video or watch it more than once in order to answer the questions below.