The Australian government has begun a new investigation into the health of
17,000 veterans who took part in British nuclear bomb tests during the 1950s.
Some veterans believe they were used as guinea pigs to test the effects of
radiation. The Australian Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, Bruce Scott, says that
the rates of death and cancer among the veterans will be compared with national
rates to see if they are any higher. Britain exploded a dozen nuclear bombs on
an offshore island and in the South Australian desert between 1952 and 1957.
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