Today marks 80 years since the first atomic bomb was tested in New Mexico — and for the first time, the people who lived downwind of the explosion are officially being recognized, both symbolically and through new federal legislation.
A public ceremony was held this morning near the Trinity Test Site, where the United States conducted the world’s first nuclear detonation, as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project.
New Mexico Department of Transportation officials unveiled a new roadside marker along U.S. Highway 380 at its intersection with New Mexico 525.
The sign honors residents of the Tularosa Basin, many of whom experienced serious health effects following the blast.
The commemoration comes just days after Congress passed an expansion of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, or RECA — a major development for communities long excluded from federal relief.
Bernice Guiterrez was born in Carrizozo, New Mexico eight days before the test, which was held on July 16, 1945.
Carrizozo is about 35 miles from the test site.
Several generations of Guiterrez’s family have suffered from radiogenic cancers linked to the launch.
She spoke last week during a press call about the impact of the test and the expanded. compensation law.
"The damage that our government did to us has been horrendous because it's our legacy—our legacy." said Guiterrez.
"It's been our past, it's our present, and it's going to be our future. And to just be acknowledged, now, finally, is a good thing."
At the same time, Guiterrez and other advocates admitted that the new law will help but more work is required to assist Downwinders.
The legislation is extended only until 2028, raising concerns about how many people won’t have time to complete enrollment in the program.
RECA now offers a one-time payment of $100,000 to individuals who lived in parts of New Mexico for at least one year between 1944 and 1962 and later developed one of 19 specific cancers linked to radiation exposure.
It also extends compensation to uranium workers and miners in New Mexico and other Western states.
New Mexico Senator Ben Ray Luján, who has pushed for the law’s passage for years, welcomed the RECA expansion but sharply criticized the broader package it was attached to.
He said the larger bill cuts healthcare and food assistance, potentially affecting some of the same people the compensation is meant to help.
To dig deeper into the marking of the 80th anniversary of the Trinity Test, listen to the July 14 episode of KSFR’s The Forum, with Jim Falk, on our website.
