For decades the US has compensated some of the people affected by nuclear

weapons testing. Now the government has let that program expire.

There's no price that you can actually place on a life.

And so we bury our loved ones on a regular basis

and they claim it's too expensive to take care of us.

It's Wednesday, June 26th,

and you're listening to Science Friday.

I'm Cyfripe producer Rasha Arredi.

In July 1945, the U.S. deployed the world's very first nuclear weapon

during the Trinity test. And since then, the U.S. has tested more than 200 nukes above ground in places like New Mexico, Nevada,

and several Pacific islands. For decades, people who live near those test sites, they're

called Downwinders, as well as those involved in the making of these

weapons were exposed to dangerous levels of radiation. And they've disproportionately suffered

from diseases like cancer, autoimmune disorders, and more. Here's Cyfri's John Dankowski.

The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, or Rika, was established in 1990 to provide victims of the

U.S. nuclear program a one-time payment,

but the programs fallen short of helping everyone affected, like the people living right around

the Trinity test site in New Mexico. With the program set to expire in early June of this year,

the Senate passed a bipartisan bill that would expand the program to more people

and provide more money. Now it's up to the House, but Speaker Mike Johnson won't call a vote on the bill

saying that the price tag around 50 billion dollars is just too expensive. So with

Rika now expired what happens next? Joining me to talk about this is Tina Cordova,

...