Joseph T. Burns: “in Montana, when someone does something to hurt someone else, they make it right. Not just because it is the right thing…”

“in Montana, when someone does something to hurt someone else, they make it right. Not just because it is the right thing to do, but because in this State we shoot straight and take responsibility for our actions that's why I'm working to bring some of that Montana ethic to Washington to get the Federal Government to make amends for actions that have caused too many Montanans great pain and suffering. Nuclear testing in Nevada during the 1950's threw blooms of radioactive Iodine-131, I-131, high into the atmosphere. Those who were affected are sometimes referred to as ``Down Winders'' because the wind carried the poisonous iodine north to Montana where gravity finally kicked in and the radioactive material settled to the ground. It eventually got into the milk supply--one of the primary sources of Iodine 131--and disproportionately affected milk drinkers. And who drinks milk? Children and babies, who are the most vulnerable in society. Iodine-131 is absorbed by the thyroid--the organ of the body that uses iodine to produce important hormones. It can take between 20 and 40 years, but eventually the damage caused by Iodine-131 manifests itself as thyroid cancer. I've had cancer, and I understand the physical, mental and emotional pain that follows this terrible disease. I know the pain, and it is time that the government made right the harm it has caused to people in my State of Montana.…”