Scientists Implicated in Atom Test Deception

Abstract

Described here are the circumstances leading to a recent court ruling that Atomic Energy Commission officials suppressed data indicating a link between two 1953 atomic bomb tests in Nevada and sheep deaths in neighboring Utah, and then pressured scientific investigators to concur with the AEC position. In a 1956 trial, a federal judge denied compensation to the sheep owners. Evidence of the deception came to light in 1979 and 1980 and, on 24 August 1982, the same judge ordered a new trial, ruling that several AEC attorneys and scientists had indeed misrepresented the facts. His ruling has been appealed by the Department of Justice. (KIE abstract)