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Understanding the Impact of the Atomic Bomb in New Mexico

LOS ALAMOS, N.M. (AP) — In the summer of 1945, the United States dropped atomic bombs on Japan, resulting in the deaths of thousands as two cities were devastated by immense energy explosions. This pivotal decision played a significant role in ending World War II. However, the survivors and their descendants have had to live with the health consequences stemming from radiation exposure.

During this time, U.S. President Harry Truman referred to the bombings as “the greatest scientific gamble in history,” asserting that such devastating power would redefine warfare. What he did not disclose was that the U.S. government had already conducted tests of this new weapon on its own land.

Just weeks before the bombings, an astonishing flash of light lit up the morning sky in southern New Mexico. The explosion was so powerful that it shook windows hundreds of miles away and sent radioactive fallout as far as the East Coast.

For days, ash from the Trinity Test fell like snow, with children playing in it and it covering clothes hung out to dry. This fallout contaminated crops, harmed livestock, and polluted drinking water sources.

The experiences of New Mexico’s “downwinders”—the people living near the site of the first atomic blast and those who mined uranium for the bomb—are not widely known. However, this is changing thanks to the documentary First We Bombed New Mexico, which has garnered awards at film festivals across the United States.

Currently, the film is being shown in Los Alamos as part of the Oppenheimer Film Festival. This event offers a rare opportunity for the historically secretive city—known for celebrating J. Robert Oppenheimer, the “father of the atomic bomb”—to reflect on a darker chapter of its nuclear history.

Directed by Lois Lipman, the film showcases the struggles of Hispanic ranching families who were displaced when the Manhattan Project established operations on the Pajarito Plateau in the 1940s. It also highlights the devastating effects on communities in the Tularosa Basin where the bomb was detonated and the Native American miners who were left unaware of the health dangers associated with uranium mining.

The poignant narratives of these affected individuals, combined with insights from experts and medical professionals, have moved audiences to tears in Los Alamos, as well as in cities like Austin, Texas, and Annapolis, Maryland.

Longtime Los Alamos resident Andi Kron was struck by the film’s powerful imagery and the shocking realities it unveiled. She remarked, “Just unbelievable,” noting that even those who have studied the Trinity Test for years often remain unaware of the downwinders’ struggles.

Lipman and her team aspire to distribute the documentary more widely as part of an effort to raise awareness. Downwinders are advocating for the reauthorization and expansion of the federal Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) to include more individuals who suffered due to government nuclear activities.

For the past decade, Lipman has followed Tina Cordova, co-founder of the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium, as she has spoken before Congress, organized community meetings, and shared meals and prayers with those affected.

During the film’s premiere in Los Alamos, Lipman expressed her frustrations, highlighting that despite the testimonies about the injustices stemming from the Trinity Test, the federal government has yet to acknowledge its role in the harm caused nearly 80 years ago.

The film reveals that approximately half a million people, mostly Hispanic and Native American, were living within a 150-mile radius of the blast site. This area was neither remote nor empty, contradicting government claims that no one lived there and was not harmed.

In the documentary, Cordova—a cancer survivor herself—tells fellow community members, “We will not be martyrs any longer.” Her family, like many from Tularosa and Carrizozo, has experienced multiple cancer-related deaths among their loved ones.

“They assumed we were uneducated and unable to advocate for ourselves. We’re not those people anymore,” Cordova asserted. “I’m not that person. You’re not those people.”

This year, the U.S. Senate passed a bill aimed at finally recognizing downwinders in New Mexico and other states affected by nuclear defense work. However, progress has stalled in the House over concerns from some Republican lawmakers regarding funding.

On Wednesday, Cordova and fellow advocates demonstrated in Las Cruces as U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson campaigned for Republican candidate Yvette Herrell. The downwinders have pledged to make their cause a key issue in upcoming elections, particularly in Republican districts that would benefit from an expanded RECA.

At the film festival, Cordova spoke to the audience about the necessity of unity, especially in Los Alamos, where scientific endeavors can sometimes lead to isolation between experts working on different problems.

“There are no boundaries. We are not separate people. We all inhabit this state together, and I hope that we can recognize each other as neighbors and friends, some of us are even relatives,” she said, expressing gratitude for those willing to hear a different narrative.

“We should stand together for what is right,” she concluded, receiving applause from the crowd.

The audience included workers from Los Alamos National Laboratory, county officials, and a state senator. Bernice Gutierrez, born in Carrizozo just days before the bomb was detonated, expressed the importance of raising awareness among Los Alamos residents about the downwinders’ experiences.

“I think many people were surprised,” she remarked after the screening. “They don’t know the history.”

The Trinity Site was among several potential locations for testing the atomic bomb, with others in California, Texas, and Colorado. The flat and dry conditions of the White Sands Missile Range were ultimately chosen, based on the belief that predictable winds would minimize radiation spread.

However, this assumption proved incorrect, as New Mexico’s summer rains often brought unpredictable weather. Rainfall the night after the test likely carried fresh fallout into residents’ water cisterns, as noted in a 2010 study by the CDC. The study also indicated that dairy cows and goats, which families relied on for food, contributed to another pathway of exposure.

Recent modeling by a research team from Princeton University demonstrated in 2023 that nuclear tests conducted in New Mexico and Nevada between 1945 and 1962 led to widespread radioactive contamination. The team found that the initial atomic explosion significantly contributed to the exposure experienced in New Mexico, which eventually affected 46 states, as well as Canada and Mexico.

Cordova emphasized that the federal government failed to warn residents before or after the detonation, and for decades downplayed the incident because “we didn’t matter; we were expendable.”

“There’s no excuse for it,” she stated firmly.