People in New Mexico who developed cancer and suffered other health issues in the decades following the 1945 Trinity nuclear test are now eligible for compensation.
The Trinity test, which happened 80 years ago Wednesday, was the first detonation of a nuclear bomb.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed into law by President Trump on July Fourth reauthorized Radiation Exposure Compensation Act claims and extended the trust fund that issues payments to valid claimants, the Justice Department said on its website.
RECA payments reimburse people who suffered health problems due to uranium mining and handling and living near nuclear test sites. Those affected by the Trinity test, and several other previously ineligible groups, are now able to get paid due to provisions in the new law.
Newly eligible claimant groups include downwinders in Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, Kentucky, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, Tennessee and Utah as well as uranium miners in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Washington and Wyoming, reported USA Today.
“After decades of advocacy, communities harmed by radiation exposure are set to finally receive long-overdue recognition and compensation. This achievement marks a significant step toward providing some justice to families who have waited far too long,” Sen. Ben Ray Lujan, New Mexico Democrat, and Sen. Mike Crapo, Idaho Republican, wrote to Attorney General Pam Bondi this month.
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