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Yavapai County designates Jan. 27 as Day of Remembrance for Downwinders; advocates call for RECA reauthorization
Summary
The Board approved a proclamation recognizing Jan. 27, 2025, as a Day of Remembrance for American Downwinders. Speakers described historic fallout from Nevada testing, urged reauthorization of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA), and relayed congressional activity on related bills.
The Yavapai County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a proclamation recognizing Jan. 27, 2025, as a Day of Remembrance for American Downwinders and heard an extended presentation from local advocates on the long-term health impacts of nuclear weapons testing and uranium mining.
Supervisor Brooks Compton introduced the proclamation, noting personal connections. Sherry Hannah, a downwinder advocate, told the board the first above-ground nuclear test at the Nevada Test Site occurred on Jan. 27, 1951, and described long-term effects experienced by people who lived downwind from the testing and by uranium-mining workers. She outlined federal efforts to provide compensation and screening under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA), which lapsed in June 2024.
Hannah told the board she and other advocates traveled to Washington, D.C., in 2024 to support Senate bill S 3853, the Exposure Compensation Reauthorization Act; she said the Senate passed that measure 69–30 but it was not considered by the U.S. House of Representatives before the RECA expiration. She discussed proposals in S 3853 — as reported to the board — to expand eligible territories and diseases and to extend the filing window. Hannah also described advocacy meetings with Arizona’s congressional delegation.
Alyce Whitman, district staff assistant for Congressman Eli Crane, read a letter from the congressman stating his support for reauthorizing and strengthening RECA and noting his cosponsorship of H.R. 6753 (the uranium miners and workers act) and H.R. 7779 (referenced as other related legislation) in the House. The letter and remarks called for federal action to restore benefits and to address legacy mine cleanup and other remediation efforts.
Supervisor Compton moved to approve the proclamation; the board approved it by voice vote. Following the presentation, advocates and congressional staffers posed for a photo with the board.
The proclamation and the public comments raised federal policy matters beyond the board’s jurisdiction, but the board used its ceremonial proclamation to recognize affected residents and to highlight ongoing advocacy at the federal level. The county did not adopt any local policy changes during the meeting.
