By: Ethan Shen

The 1945 Trinity test was the first detonation of a nuclear weapon. This test took place in WWII, so officials were not overly concerned about the radioactive fallout dangers to the public. However, a recent study has found that the radioactive fallout has reached 46 states as well as Canada and Mexico.

This recent study led by Sébastien Philippe created modeling software as well as analyzing historical weather data to find the spread of the mushroom cloud created by the nuclear device. The same study also showed the fallout from the 93 nuclear detonations in Nevada and made a map of it.

The study recently uncovered hour-by-hour weather information from 1940 onward to map where the nuclear fallout would end up. This was a major help as previous documents only depict the fallout as it originally hit the ground in 1945. This information is especially important for groups looking to get the government to compensate more people for the effects of radiation from nuclear tests. The government only compensated for the Nevada tests, curiously not compensating possible victims of the Trinity test’s radiation spread.

This is a major milestone in the effort to see how the United States and the Soviet Union’s nuclear tests affected ordinary people in their race to develop more efficient ways to wage war.