LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — Veterans and downwinders who say they were exposed to radiation during nuclear weapons testing decades ago met with congressional leaders Tuesday to plead for recognition and benefits.
The roundtable at the National Atomic Testing Museum addressed what can be done to help those who say they were exposed to radiation, including veterans and downwinders who lived near the Nevada Test Site during nuclear weapons testing decades ago and others who worked with the weapons during the Cold War.
One Henderson veteran said service members once sworn to silence now are speaking out, demanding their collective voice be heard.
“We had nuclear weapons technicians who worked in secret during the Cold War who could never speak about what they did, what we did,” said Rick Workman, a retired Air Force captain and founder of the Sound of Silence Project.
MORE ON FOX5: Henderson veteran optimistic radiation exposure to nuclear weapons technicians will finally be recognized
Cold War veterans break decades of silence
Workman served around the world working on nuclear weapons and at the Nevada Test Site.
“Our issue is so secretive that nuclear weapons technicians did not speak about what we did for a living at any time during the Cold War, and many of them still take those secrets to the grave,” Workman said.
His mission today is the Sound of Silence Project, advocating for Cold War era veterans who worked with highly classified nuclear weapons. He said they were exposed to radiation and toxic chemicals which decades later have resulted in health issues for generations.
“I do have a lot of friends that have families, family members that have had significant birth defects, a lot of miscarriages,” Workman said.
For years, he has been fighting for the government to acknowledge the connection. For the first time, he met many of Nevada’s leaders face-to-face.
“It’s great that they were all here and they heard our hurt, our cries,” Workman said.
Congressional leader hears from radiation exposure victims
Ranking member of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Mark Takano came from California to host the meeting, hearing from those who say they suffered radiation exposure.
“We cannot do our job in Congress without people like you,” Takano said.
“This is a grave injustice… They’re being denied disability compensation and medical care,” Takano said.
Downwinder shares ongoing health struggles
Downwinder Linda Chase said she has suffered life-long health issues.
“We moved to Southern Nevada in 1955 just as the test site had just recently opened… From 55’ to 62’ is a fairly constant exposure,” Chase said.
“Next week, I’m going in for a test for possible cancer. So it’s ongoing,” Chase said.
While some downwinders have been recognized, she wants the same for people who lived downwind of the test site in Clark County.
“The shroud of secrecy needs to be lifted… I hope that the downwinders that have been excluded finally get some justice and are included as well,” Chase said.
Workman said after years of fighting, he is now hopeful his message will reach the White House, that there could one day be benefits for Cold War nuclear technicians who worked in Nevada and around the world.
Takano said he supports bipartisan legislation from Nevada’s representatives to recognize illnesses that Test Site veterans have so they don’t have to fight to prove that their diseases are connected to the radiation during their service.
Copyright 2026 KVVU. All rights reserved.
