Resource Page: Justice for Communities Harmed by Nuclear Weapons
Last Updated on July 25, 2023.
About RECA
Many people are learning about the history of nuclear testing in the United States from the movie Oppenheimer. The struggle of communities impacted by those tests has been long, hard and continues. Generations of families in rural and indigenous communities as well as veterans have been left to pick up the pieces of health crisis, financial ruin, and losing loved ones.
Updates to the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA), now before Congress, seek to address this issue. These bills promise acknowledgment, respect, and rectification of a deep-seated historical wrong. But more than that, they expand access for compensation to victims of radiation exposure and close unnecessary gaps in coverage and support.
Expanding RECA would ensure that all these groups receive the recognition they deserve, the compensation they desperately need, and the promise that their suffering is not forgotten.
To learn more read our full statement here.
Take Action
Has your legislator endorsed the RECA legislation yet? Check here for the House and Senate.
If not? Take action here.
Learn more about RECA and the legacy of suffering caused by nuclear weapons
- Check out this factsheet on the history and impact of RECA
- Read the stories of impacted community members
- Watch the PBS documentary “Downwinders and the Radioactive US”
- Watch “These Atomic Bomb Tests Used U.S. Troops as Guinea Pigs” on Youtube
- Watch “How the US poisoned Navajo Nation” from Vox on Youtube.
Stories of survivors
Click on the images to read the stories of survivors and download these posters to share and spread the word.
