Overview
- Norwegian People’s Aid estimates that decades of nuclear testing from 1945 to 2017 left at least four million people dead prematurely from cancer and other diseases.
- More than 2,400 devices were detonated in that period, and scientists say every person alive today carries radioactive isotopes from atmospheric tests in their bones.
- The report cites strong evidence linking test-related radiation to DNA damage, cancer and cardiovascular disease, projecting at least two million excess cancer deaths and a similar number of early heart and stroke deaths over time.
- Communities near test sites across 15 countries—many in former colonies—continue to face elevated illness, birth defects and psychological trauma with limited access to health care and screening.
- The study documents persistent secrecy and limited redress, noting classified health studies in Kiribati and undisclosed waste sites in Algeria, and it gains fresh relevance after President Trump suggested possible U.S. testing resumption that experts warn would be dangerous.