Survivors affected by nuclear weapons testing in the Pacific have once again urged Congress to reauthorise the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA), this time advocating for the inclusion of survivors from Guam.
On Thursday, the Pacific Association for Radiation Survivors (PARS) reiterated their request to recognise Guam as a downwinders area under RECA. "Downwinders" refers to individuals living in regions downwind from U.S. nuclear testing sites, such as Guam.
In a statement released on June 12, PARS said, "Today, we are once again calling on Congress to pass comprehensive legislation that reauthorises and strengthens RECA, ensuring that impacted communities across the country are included. We humbly urge Guam’s congressional delegate to support the reauthorisation and expansion of RECA on behalf of the people of Guam."
The RECA programme offers compensation to areas affected by fallout from nuclear testing conducted by the U.S. government. According to the National Academy of Sciences, the residents of Guam are classified as "downwinders", as stated by PARS. Downwinders are individuals who were in Guam between 1946 and 1962 and have been diagnosed with cancers linked to radiation exposure. "To this day, the people of Guam, represented by PARS and its president, Robert Celestial, along with its members, continue to push for the inclusion of Guam in the RECA programme," PARS noted.
RECA expired in July 2024, but PARS, in partnership with other affected organisations in the states, is actively pursuing its reauthorisation. With the program's expiration, many individuals suffering from radiation-related illnesses, such as cancers and lung diseases, are left without support, according to PARS.
“Every day, we lose our loved ones not due to their own actions, but because of exposure to the harmful fallout from our government’s decisions,” the survivors’ group stated. “The people of Guam—U.S. citizens—bear the lasting effects of these choices and have been waiting for acknowledgement, recognition, and compensation, which have yet to be provided.”
