Sydney

New Zealand veterans of British nuclear-weapons tests are to be tested for genetic abnormalities. The New Zealand Nuclear Test Veterans' Association said last month that it will conduct a pilot analysis of DNA from 50 veterans.

Testing times: a New Zealand navy frigate sails into the wake of a British H-bomb explosion. Credit: ROYAL NZ NAVY

Around 40,000 troops witnessed or assisted in the 1952–58 tests, which took place in and around Australia and on Christmas Island, and involved 528 New Zealand sailors, with most of the others coming from Britain and Australia.

Those involved have long complained that the effects have never been fully investigated. The New Zealand veterans claim that their life expectancy has been reduced by at least 10 years, and that there is an unusually high rate of genetic disorders among them and their children.

“Rightly or wrongly, the men who were exposed to the nuclear tests perceive that they now suffer from a range of illnesses that is different from the normal population,” says Al Rowland, a cytogeneticist at Massey University in North Palmerston, New Zealand, who will carry out the tests.

Rowland will use stem cells from veterans' bone marrow to look for chromosome damage. In parallel, John Podd, a psychologist from Massey University, will assess the long-term psychological effects of the nuclear trials.

The Australian government also plans to compare the health of the nation's 18,000 test veterans — a full list of whose names was published last month for the first time — with that of the general population.

The New Zealand veterans' association is planning legal action against the British government for allegedly neglecting its duty of care. Previous claims by individuals have been unsuccessful or settled out of court, with no admission of fault by the government.