nuclear-news

Video: children of UK’s nuclear veterans call for compensation

Video: Children of nuclear guinea pigs demand compensation http://www.3news.co.nz/world/kids-of-nuclear-guinea-pigs-demand-compensation-2014090209

Tuesday 2 Sep 2014 British veterans who took part in nuclear testing in the 1950s and 1960s are campaigning for a charitable fund to help them and their relatives.

Campaigners say over the decades many of them – and their children – have suffered health problems caused by deliberate exposure to radiation.

The UK’s nuclear arsenal was developed as a result of experimental explosions, and 22,000 service personnel were used as guinea pigs – standing in line as bombs many times the power of the one used on Hiroshima were detonated at Christmas Island.

They weren’t given any protection at all – some just wearing t-shirts and jandals.

The risks of radiation were poorly understood at the time.
Watch the video for the full report.

September 2, 2014 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | general