Utah governor Gary Herbert has designated Jan. 27 as a Day of Remembrance for Downwinders

The Salt Lake Tribune Published: January 28, 2012 10:00AM
Updated: January 27, 2012 10:27PM

Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune A candlelight vigil was held at the Episcopal Church Center on Friday marking the Day of Remembrance for Downwinders in Salt Lake City. The event marked more than six decades of nuclear weapons tests and the impacts they had on people around the West. Nearly 1,000 nuclear weapons were detonated at the Nevada Test Site during the Cold War, and they sent clouds of radioactive fallout across the United States, exposing a generation of Americans to radiation.

Commemorative events mark more than six decades of nuclear weapons tests and the impacts they had on people around the West. Gov. Gary Herbert, local leaders in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Kane County and Springdale have designated Jan. 27 as a Day of Remembrance for Downwinders. Events are planned in conjunction with a U.S. Senate resolution, sponsored by Idaho Republican Sens. Mike Crapo and Jim Risch, to honor “Americans who, during the Cold War, worked and lived downwind from nuclear testing sites and were adversely affected by the radiation exposure” from above ground nuclear weapons tests. Nearly 1,000 nuclear weapons were detonated at the Nevada Test Site during the Cold War, and they sent clouds of radioactive fallout across the United States, exposing a generation of Americans to radiation.