The Atomic Pilgrim-Lessons Learned, Lessons Spurned

Millie Smith was one of 20,000 American children secretly exposed to radioactive gases; gases released from the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in eastern Washington. She later told Congress she developed metastasized Thyroid Cancer, describing classmates who died, illness-induced poverty that forced her to subsist at times on rice and popcorn. “We are as abused children, victims of our own country”, she testified. Despite the stories of Millie and others and the investigative reporting that uncovered the suppression of evidence, governments and corporations are today increasingly seeking to roll back disclosure and safety standards. In this second episode of ‘The Atomic Pilgrim’, we look at lessons learned and lessons spurned.