By: Eva Luo
On July 16, 1945, precisely at 5:30 am, the nuclear test at Jornada Del Muerto, New Mexico codenamed “Trinity” detonated, vaporizing the test tower. The explosion had a mushroom shape, and became the iconic symbol of the Atomic Age, which started from the Trinity nuclear test and ended when the Soviet Union fell.
As soon as the bomb went off, there was an intense wind and heat waves that everyone felt. The Gadget, another name for the bomb, exploded so close to the ground that it sucked up dirt and litter, melting it to become a radioactive green glass called trinitite, and some of it floated away into the atmosphere.
The test was part of the Manhattan Project, a top secret operation ran by the U.S. Army that created the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The location chosen was Jornada Del Muerto, or the Dead Man’s Journey, an Army Air Forces bombing range.
The experiment was a success, but it was 3 to 5 times as powerful than expected. Instead of the estimated 12,000 or 13,000 feet, the cloud that came from the Gadget reached the height of between 50,000-70,000 feet. The fallout zone was approximately 100 miles long, and 30 miles wide.
Fallout is made of radioactive particles that go into the environment after a nuclear explosion as dust or perception. Of the thirteen pounds of plutonium used in the bomb, a radioactive, silvery-gray metal, only three pounds exploded, while the other ten pounds became fallout and floated into the atmosphere. The fallout reached at least 46 out of 50 states, Canada and Mexico in only 10 days.
When the explosion occurred, it was so bright that even a blind girl could see it. One person, General Thomas Ferral, Deputy Commander of the Manhattan Project, stated, “The whole country was lighted by a searing light with the intensity many times that of the midday sun. It was golden, purple, violet, gray, and blue. It lighted every peak, crevasse, and ridge of the nearby mountain range with a clarity and beauty that cannot be described but must be seen to be imagined. It was that beauty the great poets dream about but describe most poorly and inadequately.”
People living near the site weren’t warned, to keep the experiment secret, and they suffered the effects of the nuclear test. Some were as close as 12 miles to Jornada Del Muerto, and countless others within a 50 mile radius. After the denotation, residents were lied to, told that it was just an ammunition dump explosion.
The fallout from Trinity contaminated water and food supplies, and caused many generations of downwinders, people living in the fallout zone, to experience diseases caused by radiation. Young girls who saw the ash from the bomb, thought it was snow, and played in it later had diseases, and only one of them made it to the age of 30. Livestock left outside had discolored fur and died from the radiation. Even those who seemed unaffected later became ill with various cancers, and thyroid issues.
That year, infant deaths in New Mexico increased by 56% compared to years before. People who drank the milk of cows and water exposed to the radiation after the fallout were affected the most, because radiation is very damaging to developing infants, especially if consumed.
Kathryn S. Behnke, a healthcare provider noticed the effects of the fallout on communities: “As I recall, in August 1945, the month after the first bomb was tested in New Mexico, there were about 35 infant deaths here. I understand the rate at Alamogordo, nearer the site of the test, was even higher than Roswell.” Children born later had cases of leukemia as they grew older. Cases of cancer for adults also started to increase.
Though there have been efforts to compensate people who were hurt in these weapon experiments, Trinity downwinders, the very first people harmed by this haven’t been included. Though the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, a $ 50,000 lump sum compensation to each person who has been harmed by nuclear tests, supports downwinders, they must be in specific states, which don’t include New Mexico.
Right now, activists have tried and still are trying to get Trinity victims included into RECA, but it expires in July 2024. There is also a lack of proof, since the experiment was kept confidential. Recently, there have been efforts in the House and Senate to increase financial compensation, and expand the area RECA includes.
Source:
https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/the-first-light-of-the-trinity-atomic-test
https://nationalatomictestingmuseum.org/2020/04/30/spot-on-trinity/
https://time.com/5434343/trinity-louisa-hall-atomic-bomb-oppenheimer/
https://apnews.com/article/health-us-news-nm-state-wire-7329a2d4886a69882336abed222d1059