Fallout from the new fallout study

Theories, speculations and fantasies evaporate when facts appear. Given that, a group of 15 experts has just scored big points in the downwinder debate. According to a study, led by Dr. Joseph L. Lyon of the University of Utah, those who lived downwind from the nuclear tests in Nevada half-a-century ago suffered more thyroid cancer that once believed. And that means somebody shouldered less accountability than they should have.

The plight of Utah's downwinders has been the subject of books, television specials and articles for years. Terry Tempest Williams stirred feelings and discussion by writing about her "clan of one-breasted women" — downwinder women with breast cancer. But the government fought her findings, feeling the link was tentative. Over the past 10 years, downwinders have appeared 265 times in articles published in the Deseret Morning News. Many of their stories have been heart-wrenching, but their claims have been anecdotal. Now Lyon has struck a telling blow. The study of how thyroid glands accumulated radioactive iodine from the milk of grazing cows will be published in the Epidemiology journal, a credible source of scientific study. Heads may not roll over the revelation, but heads will be turned.

A side issue involves Lyon's claims that his funding was cut off when officials learned he was coming up with fresh indictments against the government. That charge needs to be examined. But for now, the new evidence needs to be sifted. A study in 1993 acknowledged the link between thyroid cancer and the tests. Then, it was decided that people who had come in contact with radiation were 3.4 times more likely to get thyroid cancer. That number has now been revised to 7.5 times more likely.

And the "fallout" from the new fallout study could be as far-reaching and significant. First, it will mean declarations by Washington telling citizens "don't worry, we know what we're doing" will likely be taken with a larger grain of salt. And the needless suffering brought on by the nuclear tests has triggered anger, especially in southern Utah.

Scientists must soldier on. If the government pulls the plug on funding, perhaps other avenues can be found. As with most things political, it is not the original error but the cover-up that has been the most damaging.

The government needs to step back and let the scientists do their work. Any other approach will simply raise suspicions. That will damage trust. And with things as they are in the world, the element of trust is becoming rarer than plutonium.

It must be preserved at all costs.