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Matter of Fact: American's Living Downwind of America's First Nuclear Weapons Test Seek Accountability

On July 16, 1945, America’s first nuclear weapons test took place at the Alamogordo Bombing Range in New Mexico. About 35 miles away from the site, residents in the town of Tularosa not only felt the reverberations of the blast but would deal with the health impacts of living downwind of a nuclear explosion for decades to come. Many community members suffered varying levels of radiation exposure, now linked to certain kinds of cancer. Nearly 80 years later, they are still fighting for health care assistance and seeking accountability from the government. Special correspondent Joie Chen traveled to southern New Mexico to hear their story.

America's Nuke Test Victims

On July 16, 1945, the U.S. detonated the world’s first nuclear bomb in the New Mexico desert—without warning the thousands living nearby. Radiation blanketed the land. Newborn babies died. Cancer rates soared. And the fallout still hasn’t ended. We went to New Mexico to hear the stories of those who lived downwind.