Connecticut Democratic U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal has introduced legislation to provide disability compensation for the 1,600 U.S. airmen who were sent to Spain in 1966 to decontaminate the countryside after two U.S. Air Force jets carrying hydrogen bombs collided. The bombs fell to the ground. Blumenthal says the airmen were sent in without protective gear and were exposed to plutonium which led to cancer and other radiogenic conditions.
Blumenthal spoke with WAMC’s Brian Shields about the legislation.
A co-sponsor of the legislation is Massachusetts Democratic U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren.