Trinity fallout hit 46 states, Mexico, Canada

New research, conducted by Princeton University’s Program on Science and Global Security, finds that Trinity atomic fallout reached 46 states, Mexico and Canada within 10 days of detonation in 1945.

The hourly reconstruction of blast fallout shows that it was much larger than anticipated and the radioactive mushroom cloud traveled higher in the atmosphere than the predicted, reaching 50,000 to 70,000 feet.

The study, released to the public ahead of being published in a peer-reviewed journal, used new modeling techniques and historical records to determine not only Trinity fallout, but fallout from all 93 above-ground atomic tests. In future, the research team hopes to reconstruct accurate fallout maps for atomic explosions in the Pacific Islands.

Trinity Downwinders remain uncompensated as of this day and this research bolsters their contention that they were likely exposed to radiation that has caused health impacts that continue.

While the study authors recognize uncertainties in the calculations, they say their “estimates likely remain conservatively low.”