SANDPOINT — Individuals diagnosed with certain cancers and who lived in Idaho for at least a year between January 1951 and November 1962, or all of July 1962 may be eligible for compensation of $100,000 under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act.  

After receiving several phone calls from individuals hoping to benefit from the act, the Sandpoint Library shared guidance on how residents can prove they lived in Idaho during qualifying years. 

Library officials said individuals can access census records through Ancestry.com and vital records through the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. Land and Property records can be accessed at the Bonner County Recorder's office. 

The University of Idaho Library’s Special Collections and Archives Department is also helping individuals access documentation through a form individuals can complete here: https://harvester.lib.uidaho.edu/posts/2025/11/11/downwinders.html. 

The compensation seeks to award victims exposed to radiation from the United States Atmospheric Nuclear Testing, which took place in New Mexico in 1945 and at the Nevada Test Site in the 1950s and 1962.

The affected areas under RECA’s downwind provisions include the states of Idaho, New Mexico, and Utah, as well as certain counties in Arizona and Nevada. 

According to the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, these tests dispersed large amounts of radioactive particles into the atmosphere, causing widespread environmental contamination and health hazards to neighboring areas.

"The radiation from these detonations worked its way into the ecosystems, leading to higher rates of cancer and illness among nearby populations who were often unwarned," the foundation's website says. 

U.S. Senator Mike Crapo spoke on the Senate floor in July 2023, advocating for the expansion of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act to cover the forgotten victims of such tests. 

"When America conducted nuclear tests in Nevada, New Mexico, and the Pacific, we had little understanding of how radiation spread," said Crapo at the time. "Those affected by these tests deserve to be compensated for the effects of these weapons." 

In 2025, RECA was reauthorized under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, broadening its eligibility.

To file a radiation exposure compensation claim to receive a one-time, lump sum payment of $100,000, individuals must have been physically present in an affected area for a certain duration of time and must show that they were diagnosed with a specified compensable disease.

For additional information about compensation qualifications, visit: https://www.justice.gov/civil/reca. 

To get started on filing a claim, individuals can fill out a registration form at https://www.downwinders.com/current-claims-form/. 

After the form is completed, a Downwinders office in the state where the person with cancer lived during the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s will contact the applicant and help guide them through the claims process.