Nuclear testing is never safe

I thank the Deseret Morning News for its editorial "New weapons tests worrisome" (March 30).

As an Idaho downwinder, I am one of those affected by the nuclear weapons tests in Nevada between 1951 and 1969. I am a thyroid cancer survivor. Several members of my family have suffered from other radiation-induced cancers. Idaho downwinders are not eligible for compensation under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, but we are working to achieve justice and parity with other exposed populations, such as those in Utah. Our betrayal is not a distant memory but an unfolding nightmare.

I appreciate the wariness urged by your editorial. Victims of the first period of nuclear oppression must make it clear to younger generations that there will never be an appropriate time to conduct new tests. New tests mean new victims. Nuclear weapons do not make anyone safer and never will.

Valerie Brown

Salem, Ore.