If you were in Troy then you may be dead, or have had some form of cancer.

Physicists experimenting with radioactivity at RPI noticed a sudden surge in their background radiation counts. The surge was radioactive fallout from nuclear tests in Nevada that had blown across the country and were brought to earth by heavy rain.

A cloud of radioactivity came pouring down on residents in Troy and Albany soon after a 43-kiloton Atomic Bomb named Simon detonated atop a 300-foot tower in Nevada. Unfortunately, the blast and thermal waves rolled over military personnel engaged in effects testing as well as members of Congress and others as its yield exceeded their projections.

By 1953 the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) was regularly hosting politicians, business leaders, and reporters to witness tests. As concern over fallout increased, they also extended invitations to community leaders and select residents of downwind communities. But there was never a great amount of information provided.

Instead, the AEC disseminated carefully created images of exploding bombs in the leading magazines of the day. A way to sanitize what was happening.

As Simon drifted across 2000 miles to the East off-site radiological........

© The Saratogian