Federal Nuclear Test Compensation Now Available to Idaho Downwinders. Here Is How to Prove Eligibility.
Why It Matters
Thousands of Idahoans who lived in the state during mid-20th century nuclear weapons testing — and later developed cancer — are now eligible for a one-time $100,000 federal payment. For many, the challenge is not proving their illness but proving they were there.
Advocates say awareness remains low across Idaho, and many eligible residents or their surviving family members still do not know the program exists. Libraries across the state have quietly become a critical resource in helping people document their eligibility.
What Happened
Congress expanded the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) to include all of Idaho as part of legislation signed by President Donald Trump in July 2025. Before that expansion, Idaho residents who developed cancers linked to nuclear fallout from Nevada test sites were excluded from the program — despite several Idaho counties ranking among the most heavily affected in the entire country according to National Cancer Institute research.
Gem, Custer, Blaine, and Lemhi counties were among the top five most fallout-affected counties in the United States, yet Idahoans received no compensation for decades after the program was first established in the 1990s. The recent expansion corrected that long-standing gap.
Sen. Mike Crapo, a Republican who helped craft the compensation expansion, credited Idaho advocates with pushing the effort across the finish line. “Idahoans were unfairly left out of the RECA program for far too long,” Crapo said in a statement. He invited constituents needing assistance with the application process to contact his office directly.
A Personal Story
Cheryl Poxleitner, 71, grew up in Lewis County in North Central Idaho. Her family moved to Craigmont near Grangeville when she was a child, where her father operated a dairy farm. She believes radiation exposure came through the food supply — specifically contaminated grass consumed by dairy cows, which then passed radioactive material into the milk.
Within months of each other roughly a decade ago, Poxleitner and her sister were both diagnosed with thyroid cancer. “The surgeon was really stumped,” she said. “He said, ‘This is the craziest thing I’ve ever seen: two sisters with thyroid cancer, and so much alike.'”
Poxleitner is among the many Idahoans now working to document their residency during the qualifying window to submit a compensation claim.
By the Numbers
- $100,000 — one-time compensation payment for qualifying Idaho downwinders
- 19 — number of cancer types that qualify under the program
- 1951 to 1962 — the qualifying residency window (at least one year required, or the specific period in July 1962)
- 100+ — number of Idahoans advocate Tona Henderson says she has helped get approved so far
- Dec. 31, 2028 — deadline by which RECA is currently set to expire under the existing law
Libraries Become Frontline Resource
To receive compensation, applicants must prove they lived in Idaho during the qualifying period — and that documentation is often decades old. Many Idahoans have turned to libraries and archival institutions to locate old phone books, city directories, tax records, and voter registration files.
The University of Idaho Library’s Special Collections and Archives has seen a marked increase in RECA-related requests. Dulce Kersting-Lark, who leads that department, said staff frequently hear difficult personal stories in the process. “Archival work is care work,” she said, adding that the demand demonstrates the long-term value of preserving historical records.
The Idaho State Historical Society in Boise has also tracked a surge in requests. Owen Prout, a reference archivist there, said staff initially noticed a pattern when multiple visitors came asking for records from the same specific time period before understanding why. The agency began formally tracking RECA-related requests in January of this year.
How to Apply
Tona Henderson, who leads the Idaho Downwinders Group, has been traveling the state hosting workshops and coordinating with librarians to help applicants gather documentation. She says most people are learning about the program through word of mouth rather than formal outreach. Claims can be filed through the Justice Department’s online portal at reca.justice.gov. If the qualifying individual is deceased, family members may apply on their behalf.
What’s Next
With the RECA program set to expire at the end of 2028, eligible Idahoans and their families have a limited window to file claims. Advocates are urging faster outreach to rural communities where awareness remains lowest. Sen. Crapo’s office has also indicated it is available to assist constituents navigating the federal claims process.
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