William Bryan: “earlier today the Labor Subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee held a hearing on a report prepared by the…”

“earlier today the Labor Subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee held a hearing on a report prepared by the National Cancer Institute regarding the health effects of fallout from atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons in the 1950's and 1960's. Today, 35 years after the last atmospheric test, we are just beginning to get a clear picture of the effects of the radioactive fallout from these tests. While we should obviously continue to do everything we can to help the victims of these tests, I hope we can also learn something from our mistakes in the past. This August, the National Cancer Institute released the results of its nationwide study of radioactive fallout from atmospheric nuclear tests conducted at the Nevada Test Site in the 1950's and 1960's. Ninety atmospheric tests were conducted at the test site mainly in the years 1952, 1953, 1955, and 1957. All 48 contiguous States received some degree of exposure to radioactive iodine-131 fallout from these atmospheric nuclear bomb tests. Everyone in those States was exposed. Let me repeat that--everyone was exposed.”