"DOWNWINDERS" — 2 stars — directed by Tim Skousen, produced by Tim Skousen and Tyler Bastian, featuring Jay Truman; not rated; 2016 LDS Film Festival

The galloping horses in "The Conquerors" stirred up plenty of the red, southern Utah desert dust as they roared across the ground. Truckloads of it were hauled back to the studios for final filming.

John Wayne as Genghis Khan fell several times from his horse into the red dirt.

If it was dust made lethal by atomic bomb testing in Nevada, the cast and crew breathed it in, worked on it and rolled in it for months.

It's one of the examples shared in "Downwinders," a film screened at the recent LDS Film Festival. The Downwinders is an organization formed to help those downwind from nuclear testing sites seek legal redress from the government.

I had always thought that John Wayne's cigarette habit lead to his getting lung cancer, and his death. However there may be more to the story. I came across something today which pointed to a possible different cause of the cancer. I was looking at information on the actress Susan Hayward, and found this quote. "Was diagnosed with brain cancer, allegedly the result of being exposed to dangerous radioactive toxins on location in Utah while making The Conqueror (1956). All the leads John Wayne, Agnes Moorehead, John Hoyt, Pedro Armendáriz, Hayward and the director Dick Powell died of cancer. The case is still a scandal.
I had never heard of this particular incident, although I knew Saint George was part of the down wind area, and there is a large cancer center there now as a result.

The federal government announced this week it has awarded more than $2 billion to people exposed to radiation during the atomic tests near Las Vegas in the 1950s. But it still has not recognized the county that was exposed to the highest levels of radioactive

Congress passed the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act 25 years ago. The federal government allocated $50,000 to any person diagnosed with cancer or other diseases linked to radiation exposure. Uranium miners were also eligible for claims. The Justice Department awarded more than 2,800 claims filed by members of the Navajo Nation, valued at more than $212 million.


Soldiers working near the Nevada test site and people who lived nearby as well as far away have suffered the impacts of radiation fallout.
utah.gov