Bill would give US vets of 1966 Spain hydrogen bomb accident benefits – By Dave Collins (The Associated Press) / April 16 2021
“The nuclear disaster in Palomares caused untold suffering and harm to the servicemembers sent in to clean up radioactive material without adequate protective gear or warning of severe health risks,” Blumenthal said in a statement. “Yet fifty-five years on, the VA still hasn’t recognized radiation risks at Palomares, cutting off benefits and health care for these deserving veterans.”
On Jan. 17, 1966, a U.S. B-52 bomber and a refueling plane crashed into each other during a refueling operation near the southern Spanish village of Palomares, killing seven of 11 crew members but no one on the ground. At the time, the U.S. was keeping nuclear-armed warplanes in the air near the Soviet border as the Cold War was in full swing.
The midair collision resulted in the release of four U.S. hydrogen bombs. None of the bombs exploded, but the plutonium-filled detonators on two went off, scattering 7 pounds (3 kilograms) of highly radioactive plutonium 239 across the landscape. It’s been called the worst radiation accident in U.S. history.
About 1,600 servicemen were sent to the crash site area to recover the weapons and clean up the contamination. They were exposed to dangerous levels of radiation daily for weeks or months at a time, and later developed various forms of cancer, blood disorders, heart and lung dysfunction and other sicknesses, according to a class-action lawsuit against the VA by veterans denied benefits.
