Downwind author Sarah Fox to speak at 2018 Remembering Downwinders Events in Salt Lake

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 7, 2018

Author Sarah Fox to speak at 7th Annual Remembering Downwinders Day events

in commemoration of the 67th anniversary of the inception of nuclear testing in Nevada

Salt Lake City, UT, January 7, 2018– Seattle author, historian, and professor of environmental studies Sarah Fox will speak at the Downwinders Remembrance Day event at 6:30 pm on January 20 as a guest of UCAN (Utah Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons), and UNAU (United Nations Association of Utah).  

The Remembering Downwinders Day event will be hosted by Congregation Kol Ami at 2425 East Heritage Way, approximately 2760 South. Fox, author of Downwind: A People’s History of the Nuclear West (University of Nebraska Press, 2014, www.downwindhistory.com), will address the history and health and environmental impacts of nuclear testing in Nevada. Songwriter Kate MacLeod will also be featured in this program, along with candle lighting and sharing of stories.

January of 2018 marks the 67th anniversary of the first nuclear test conducted in Nevada; over 900 additional nuclear explosions followed by 1992.  For the first 11 years, the tests took place in the open air; Atomic Energy Commission policy dictated that tests go forward only when the wind blew east, away from Las Vegas and California and out across Utah, Nevada, Idaho, Arizona, Montana, and states beyond. Massive amounts of toxic radiological pollution entered into the environment, contaminating the air, food, and water that local citizens relied on, and creating a legacy of health problems that ripples forward to the present day. The tests weren’t the only source of radioactive pollution in the West; the uranium industry that sprang up to fuel the bombs contaminated thousands of sites, communities, waterways, and families.  Many of these uranium-affected regions also bore the brunt of contamination from nuclear tests in Nevada. Remembering the downwinders requires that we do more than mark the past: we must reckon with the persistent and dangerous ways this history of contamination impacts us today and looms over our childrens’ futures.

The Utah Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons is a collection of concerned citizens who join a growing and diverse group of leaders and fellow citizens from across the political spectrum who believe that now is the time for the United States to lead the world in nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament. United Nations Association of Utah seeks to heighten public awareness and increase knowledge of global issues and build support for constructive national policies on global concerns.

Fox will speak at the following public events (all are free and open to the public):

Saturday, Jan. 20, 6:30 pm, “Remembering Downwinders” at Congregation Kol Ami, 2425 E. Heritage Way, approximately 2720 South (just south of I-80).   Kate MacLeod will also be featured in this program, along with candle lighting and sharing of stories.

Sunday, January 21, 1:30, “Bearing Witness: Retelling the Past in Pursuit of Social Justice” talk, potluck lunch at 1, St. Marks, Deans Hall, 231 East 100 South.  

Monday, January 22, “Stories from Downwind: Investigating the Nuclear West” talk at 11:00 am at Utah Valley University, Classroom Building room 317.

Monday, January 22, Tea with the Author, Jane’s House, 3:00-5:00 pm. A chance to ask in-depth questions and share stories at length. 444 E 200 S.

Tuesday, January 23, 12:30 pm, “From Personal Narrative to Policy: Downwind Stories Shifting the Status Quo” Pizza and Politics with the Hinckley Institute of Politics, 332 S. 1400 East, Building 72, room 102 (The Old Law College Moot Courtroom).

Tuesday, January 23, 7 pm, “Raising our Voices Downwind: Citizen Narratives as a Force for Nuclear Policy Change.” United Nations Association of Utah, talk at Millcreek Community Center and Library, 2266 E. Evergreen Ave.

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If you would like more information about any of these events please contact Deb Sawyer of UCAN at dsawyer@xmission.com or Sarah Fox at 206 930 3921, email at downwindhistory@gmail.com.

Bringing Downwind to Idaho: October Book Tour midpoint

During the early years of my research into the impact of nuclear testing in Nevada, I operated under a common misconception: that Southern Utah had borne the brunt of the contamination from the Nevada tests.  During the atmospheric testing era in Nevada (1951-1962) the Atomic Energy Commission tested only when the wind blew east, away from densely populated Las Vegas and California, and over the more sparsely populated regions of the American West.  While this meant that Southern Utah did receive more than its fair share of fallout, as it was sited directly east of the Nevada Test Site, the wind didn't always follow the same course.  Contamination was frequently carried south, into Arizona and beyond, and north, into northern Utah, southern Idaho, and the states that lay beyond to the east. In 1997 the National Cancer Institute released a study on fallout-related thyroid cancer,

providing a sobering look at all the far flung places the wind travelled to.

The NCI study concerned itself with only one of many radioactive isotope produced by the nuclear tests: Iodine 131.  I-131 has a relatively short half-life of only eight days, but it remains very dangerous during that time. It began to make its way into the food chain as it drifted down on grazing lands and alfalfa crops which were subsequently consumed by cattle.  The contamination bioaccumulated, which means it increased in concentration as it moved up the food chain.  When humans consumed that I-131 contaminated cows milk, they received doses of radiation to their thyroids, particuarly dangerous in the developing bodies of children.

The NCI study revealed the extent to which contamination had reached areas beyond southern Utah, and Idahoans struggling to make sense of alarming cancer clusters in their communities found the data particularly enlightening. They've been fighting for years to expand the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act to cover those counties in Idaho that we know were severely affected by radiological contamination from atmopsheric testing in Nevada.  During a gap in my Utah book tour events, I was able to dash up to Idaho to visit two community libraries to speak about these topics. 

I spoke to a lovely audience at the library in Malad City, Idaho. A copy of Downwind has been donated to the Oneida County Library.

Sunrise behind a wind farm. Early morning drive across Idaho from Malad City to Emmett.

In Emmett I had the honor of sitting down with four different residents who grew up in Gem County and interviewing them as a group about their memories of farm childhoods, early mentions of nuclear testing, and patterns of health problems in their community.   

The stack of cards in this photograph represent one year of medical appointments for Emmett downwinder Billy Reynolds.  He has mylofibrosis, which his doctor believes could only have been caused by radiation exposure.  He lived in Emmett on a farm from 1951-1961, during the bulk of atmospheric nuclear testing to the south.  Emmett is located in Gem County, which ranks in the top five counties in the United States for fallout from atmospheric nuclear testing. "It seems like death is just a part of life here in Emmett.  My mother lived to be the oldest of her five siblings.  She died at 47.  Three of her siblings had brain cancer."   Billy's father and brother have also died of cancer. I first met Billy two years ago.  At the time he was receiving regular blood transfusions to stay alive. Today he's on a new experimental medication that's improved his quality of life a great deal. It was dear to see him in Emmett.  A copy of Downwind has been donated to the Emmett library. 

Emmett downwinder organizer Tona Henderson has copies of Downwind for sale at her bakery, the Rumor Mill.  

Snapshot of the tour midpoint. 

Is Your State on this Map?

Areas of the United States crossed by two or more clouds from atmospheric nuclear tests in Nevada between 1951 and 1962.  Map created by researcher Richard Miller based on AEC records on radiation dispersal from weapons testing.  Widely distributed by downwinder activists to demonstrate how  the fallout from US tests blanketed most of the country during this era.

Areas of the United States crossed by two or more clouds from atmospheric nuclear tests in Nevada between 1951 and 1962.  Map created by researcher Richard Miller based on AEC records on radiation dispersal from weapons testing.  Widely distributed by downwinder activists.