Nearly 80 years after the world's first atomic bomb test rocked southern New Mexico, residents impacted by the fallout are finally eligible for federal compensation under a newly signed law by President Donald Trump, marking a historic step toward justice for thousands who have suffered rare cancers and health issues for generations, Axios reported.
Residents living near the 1945 Trinity nuclear test site are now eligible for federal compensation after decades of being excluded from government aid programs. Trump recently signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act which includes a two-year extension of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) and adds, for the first time, those impacted by the Trinity test.
The measure was signed just days before the 80th anniversary of the July 16, 1945, explosion that took place in the Jornada del Muerto desert near Alamogordo, New Mexico.
The test was part of the World War II-era Manhattan Project and marked the first detonation of a nuclear device. Its thunderous blast knocked residents from their breakfast tables in the nearby village of Tularosa and sent Mescalero Apache tribal members into hiding. Many in the area were unaware of what had occurred until after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki weeks later.
The bill's passage comes after decades of advocacy from victims' families and community leaders.
"The two-year extension will not be long enough for us to get everybody enrolled that should be enrolled, and the healthcare coverage was stripped out," said Tina Cordova, co-founder of the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium, on a call with reporters Thursday.
Cordova added that while she was grateful New Mexicans were finally recognized under the law, her group would continue pushing for restored healthcare access, which had been eliminated by recently passed legislation that cut Medicaid coverage. That law affects many residents in the region, including those affected by the Trinity incident.
RECA, first enacted in 1990, initially awarded $100,000 to individuals exposed to radiation from nuclear testing in Nevada. However, it excluded those downwind of the Trinity test, particularly Hispanic residents and the Mescalero Apache tribe. The recently passed expansion corrects that omission, although it leaves out others in areas such as Guam, parts of Arizona, Montana, Colorado, and new parts of Nevada.
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Sen. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., led the bipartisan push to extend RECA and include the Trinity community.
"I want to recognize the leadership of Sen. Hawley when we had a chance to begin working on this over the last couple of years," Luján said. He added that he hopes Senate Republicans will help restore some of the Medicaid cuts.
The Justice Department has asked the public to wait "for further guidance" before filing claims, as the bill was only recently signed.
The total number of eligible claimants is still unknown.
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.