X-Men, or learning to love the bomb

[elsabeta]

This is the sort of post that requires of me a second cup of coffee, a sweater, and time.  I still am not sure entirely what I am writing, or why, or even why it needs to be here, semi-public, but it is here.  If I say anything worrisome, please be assured that I already have the appropriate psycho/medical support structure in place.

All of this

Comments

[philosofialogos]

Wow. I'd never considered that our servicemen would have dropped a bomb and then gone in and cleaned up after it. And I'd certainly never imagine that the radiation they received would have long-reaching genetic effects. Would there be no way to petition for government-funded genetic testing of some sort to make sure you're okay. If they are doing any testing of the long-term effects of atomic radiation at all (surely someone is), you'd be a great test subject and it would give you some peace of mind. Perhaps they'd even compensate you for it.

[elsabeta]

As a part-time VA employee myself, I know that the government is exceptionally slow to do much of anything, and my tentative searches haven't revealed much in the way of second- and third-generation testing, tracking, or even registries. And there are far more glamorous studies to run on more current military efforts, so few researchers are following up on old news. Even Agent Orange exposure and Gulf War Syndrome aren't as exciting as multiple traumatic brain injuries (exciting in a research-and-funding way) from Iraq and Afghanistan.

I'm not even sure if there is a genetic or blood test for these sorts of things, but that is an avenue worth pursuing: thanks for the idea!