ST. GEORGE — Democratic Senate hopeful Paul Van Dam unleashed a scathing attack on Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, saying the two-term senator has "betrayed his constituents" by voting to fund research into future nuclear weapons tests — an issue of deep concern to many southern Utahns who have weathered fallout from past generations of weapons testing.

Above ground nuclear tests conducted at the Nevada Test Site during the 1950s and early 1960s released plumes of radioactive fallout that drifted north into southern Utah and northern Arizona. The federal government assured those living downwind from the nuclear tests there was no cause to worry — a claim that many people today know was a lie.

"Bennett has betrayed his constituents in Utah. He either doesn't listen, doesn't believe what he hears, or doesn't care," said Van Dam, a former Utah attorney general. "I'm a former prosecuting attorney, so I don't use the word betrayal lightly. It's a serious indictment."

Bennett, who held his own press conference on the issue 11 days ago, said he does not want to disarm the United States of its nuclear weapons.

"I believe the U.S. nuclear weapons arsenal helps keep the peace," Bennett said. "It doesn't make sense to me to disarm the United States while rogue nations like North Korea and Iran are working toward nuclear weapons."

Bennett said his new legislation that would require congressional approval for testing would provide a "hedge" against any move to reintroduce nuclear tests.

But for some in southern Utah, where fallout-related cancers are all too common, trusting the government is a hard pill to swallow.

"We were never told what was going on over the hill, so we weren't afraid of that," said 52-year-old Michelle Thomas, a St. George native who beat back two forms of cancer and struggles with a muscular disease. "It wasn't long after the tests began that people around here started noticing the effects. We're reading the obituaries of our friends every day. People die prematurely in St. George."

She is determined that politicians like Bennett and Van Dam understand the depth of pain and suffering downwinders live with day after day.

Van Dam said Bennett's vote to support funding research into future nuclear weapons points out a significant difference between the candidates.

"The degree of tragedy, the number of lives lost to nuclear weapons tests is absolutely horrendous," Van Dam said during a Monday campaign stop in St. George. "It's beyond my imagination to do this again."

"No one has said one positive thing about nuclear testing. I don't think the principle has changed," he added. "You don't become safer by creating more weapons."

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E-mail: nperkins@desnews.com