This exhibition is dedicated to the millions of people whose lives have been affected by the nuclear industry: indigenous people whose homes were turned into nuclear wastelands by uranium mining, the Downwinders of more than 2,000 nuclear weapons tests, the survivors of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the people affected by radioactive fallout from civil and military nuclear accidents. All of them would have had better lives, if the uranium had been left in the ground.

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The world’s first nuclear explosion took place near Alamogordo on July 16, 1945. This detonation marked the beginning of the “nuclear age,” epitomized by weapons of inhumane destructive power. Since the first detonation in Alamogordo, more than 2,000 nuclear test explosions have led to the radioactive contamination of the entire Earth.

Three underground nuclear tests were carried out on the island of Amchitka in the North Pacific. The most controversial of these, code-named “Cannikin,” raised concerns over the possibility of causing tectonic incidents such as earthquakes or tsunamis. In the wake of protests against testing on Amchitka, the anti-nuclear organization Greenpeace was formed.

Niger, a country with one of the world’s lowest ranks on the Human Development Index, is also the world’s third largest producer of uranium. Uranium is the raw material need­ed for nuclear fuel, as well as nuclear warheads. The downside of this lucrative business: In mining cities like Arlit and Akokan, independent researchers have found increased cancer rates as a result of radioactive tailings and dust from uranium mining.

The use of Depleted Uranium (DU) ammunition during the Gulf War of 1991 caused the local population to be exposed to radioactive uranium dust. This could potentially explain the significant rise in cancer and congenital malformations documented in the southern Iraqi city of Basra after 1991.

Nuclear testing on the Bikini and Enewetak atolls left entire islands uninhabitable, exposed thousands to high levels of radioactivity and contributed to global nuclear fallout.

The Black Hills are considered a sacred place by the Lakota people and are representative of the entire four-state region of South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana and North Dakota, where thousands of uranium mines or exploration wells are located. For more than 40 years, the local population has been exposed to the radioactive legacy of the former uranium rush.

In August 1985, an explosion on a Soviet nuclear-powered submarine caused a massive release of radioactivity in Chazhma Bay. More than 290 people suffered from radioactive exposure and much bay and waterfront were contaminated. The accident was kept secret for many years. The surrounding ocean was also used by the Soviet navy as a nuclear waste dump, adding further to the radioactive contamination of the water. The full extent of environmental damage and health effects may never be fully known.

The Chernobyl nuclear meltdown in April 1986 was the most devastating nuclear catastrophe in history. Huge stretches of land were radioactively contaminated and made uninhabitable for generations. Nuclear fallout led to tens of thousands cases of cancer, malformations, still-births and deaths – not just in the former Soviet Union, but around the world.

In July 1979, a dam breach at the United Nuclear Corporation’s uranium mill in Church Rock, New Mexico released massive amounts of radioactive waste water into the Puerco River. The Church Rock radiation spill was larger in magnitude than the nuclear reactor meltdown at Three Mile Island earlier that year, and is considered the largest release of radioactivity in the history of the U.S. civil nuclear program. The indigenous Navajo people have been exposed to increased levels of radiation for decades.

As a lasting legacy of the “golden age” of uranium mining, the radioactive tailings of Elliot Lake pose a threat to the environment of the Great Lakes region and the health of its inhabitants. Many hundreds of miners have already succumbed to the long-term effects of radiation exposure and tens of thousands more deaths are expected as a result of radioactive pollution in the coming decades.

After testing its first nuclear weapons off the west coast of Australia in 1952, the UK sought to test its newer models on land. In 1953, the British detonated two “Totem” nuclear bombs at Emu Field, exposing a large population to radioactivity.

The Ezeiza Atomic Center is located in a suburb of Argentina’s capital city Buenos Aires. In recent years, it has been the cause of much concern, as radioactive waste has contaminated the groundwater of adjacent neighborhoods, affecting up to 1.6 million people. Epidemiological studies have not been undertaken; the government and the country’s nuclear commission have denied any responsibility.

The use of depleted uranium in the war on Iraq in 2003 has led to expo­sure of the local population to radioactive uranium dust. This could potentially explain the significant rise in cancer and congenital malformations documented in Fallujah after 2003. In addition, soldiers who were in contact with the radioactive ammunition also have increased morbidity rates.

Nearly 200 nuclear tests were conducted on Fangataufa and Moruroa atolls, severely contaminating the environment of the archipelago and exposing its population to dangerous radiation levels.

The three reactor meltdowns at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in March 2011 caused the greatest radioactive contamination of the world’s oceans ever recorded. In addition, it contaminated soil, air, food and drink and exposed the public to dangerous levels of radiation. It is still too early to predict the full extent of health effects of the dis­aster, but due to the high amount of radioactivity released, it must be assumed that several tens of thousands of excess cancer cases will occur in the coming decades. Every single case of cancer is one too many.

The accident in September 1987 in Goiânia was one of the most serious radiation accidents in history. The opening of a radiotherapy machine containing cesium-137 led to the direct irradiation of 249 people. Four people died a short time later; at least 21 suffered severe external radiation damage. The long-term effects of the accident were never exam­ined. Decontamination of the affected neighborhoods was only performed superficially.

At the Hanford Site, the U.S. produced most of its weap­ons-grade plutonium during the Cold War. Although the compound was decommissioned in 1988, it remains the most radioactively contaminated site in the Western Hemisphere.

On August 6, 1945, the U.S. detonated the atomic bomb “Little Boy” over the city of Hiroshima. Of the 350,000 citizens, about 140,000 had died by the end of the year. The surviving “Hibakusha” suffered from the late effects of radiation, including increased incidence of cancer.

At its Algerian nuclear test site, In Ekker, France performed 13 underground nuclear detonations, causing vast radioactive contamination of soil, air and possibly even underground aquifers, and directly exposing hundreds of people to radiation. To this day, the casualties have not been properly compensated and the extent of radioactive contamination has not been assessed.

Having grown rich by the discovery of uranium in its mines, the town of Joachimsthal/Jáchymov soon became one of the Soviet Union’s suppliers of fissile material for its nuclear weapons program. A large number of miners, many of whom were forced laborers, soon devel­oped lung cancer due to exposure to radioactivity.

Uranium mining in the region around Jadugoda has not only contributed to India’s nuclear weapons program, but has caused grave environmental damage as well. Also, the indigenous Adivasi people are experienc­ing serious health problems due to continued exposure to radioactivity from working in the mines and living near the irradiated tailings.

A total of 33 nuclear detonations were conducted on two atolls of the Republic of Kiribati by the UK and the U.S. in the 1950s and 1960s. Thousands of islanders and servicemen were subjected to radioactive fallout and now suffer from radiation effects.

The reprocessing facility La Hague produces plutonium and uranium from spent nuclear fuel. Large amounts of plutonium and nuclear waste are stockpiled, creating a dangerous proliferation risk. Also, radioactive dis­charge from the plant pollutes the sea and the atmosphere. Several studies have already shown increased rates of childhood leukemia around La Hague.

Between 1964 and 1996, the People’s Republic of China conducted 45 nuclear tests in Lop Nor, a lake region in the Western province of Xinjiang. For the ethnic minority of the Uighurs, who live in this region, radioactivity-induced diseases and malformations have become a major health issue.

The former uranium mining town of Mailuu-Suu is notorious for its insecure radioactive waste rock heaps and tailings dumps in tectonically unstable hillsides. Thousands of people have already been affected by radioactive contamination of the Mailuu-Suu river system and the region’s high seismic activity continually threatens to wash more radioactive waste into the drinking water supply of the valley.

Between 1952 and 1957, the United Kingdom conducted seven major and hundreds of minor nuclear tests at the Maralinga Test Site in Southern Australia. Nuclear fallout from the explosions contaminated large parts of the region and exposed many people to high levels of radioactivity. To this day, the casualties of these tests are denied recognition, medical care and compensation.

Through a series of accidents and spills, the Russian nuclear facility at Mayak contaminated more than 15,000 km² with highly radioactive waste. In 1957, the so-called Kyshtym accident alone made large parts of the Eastern Urals uninhabitable. Thousands of people had to be relocated and, to this day, the region affected by nuclear fallout is considered one of the most contaminated places on earth.

During decades of uranium mining in the jungle of Gabon, the French nuclear company COMUF neglected environmental safety standards, exposed mine workers to high doses of radiation and dumped thousands of tons of radioactive waste into the delicate ecosystem of the Mitembe River. This radioactive legacy continues to harm the environment of the region and the health of its inhabitants.

On August 9, 1945, the U.S. detonated the nuclear bomb “Fat Man” over the Japanese city of Nagasaki, with a population of more than 240,000. The bombing resulted in the immediate deaths of 22,000 people. Those who survived the attack were left without help as hospitals and vital infrastructure had been completely destroyed. More than 64,000 people had died as a result of the bombing by the end of the year. Many of the survivors still suffer from long-term radiation effects today.

More than 1,000 nuclear detonations at the Nevada Test Site between 1951 and 1992 dispersed massive amounts of radioactive particles across the Earth, leading to wide-spread contamination and exposing the world’s entire population to dangerous radioisotopes.

From 1954 to 1990, the islands of Novaya Zemlya were used by the Soviets to conduct atmospheric and underground nuclear tests. Decommissioned nuclear weapons and nuclear submarines were also scuttled around the islands, turning the entire region into an environmental disaster zone.

The uranium mine at Olympic Dam poses a threat to the ecosystem of the region and a health hazard to the workers and the surrounding populations. Uranium tailings, leaks and spills have caused severe radioactive contamination of the environment. With plans on the way to enlarge the mine in the coming years, comprehensive studies on health and ecological effects are urgently needed.

In 1966, four hydrogen bombs were dropped near the Spanish city of Palomares, when a U.S. B-52 bomber crashed into another plane in mid-air. The non-nuclear explosives of two of the bombs detonated, spreading radioactive plutonium across a vast area. Forty years later, contaminated soil still continues to be found near the crash site.

Radium Hill, Australia’s first uranium mine, was operational between 1906 and 1961. Due to their exposure to uranium dust and radon gas, many miners developed lung cancer. In addition, unsecured tailings dumps have caused severe radioactive contamination of the surrounding countryside.

Ranger is an open-pit uranium mine in the middle of the World Heritage Kakadu National Park. Numerous radioactive leaks and spills have contaminated the Kakadu wetlands, which are the home of the Mirarr Aboriginal people. Increased cancer rates have been found in the local population, but further studies have so far not been undertaken.

The French army conducted four atmospheric nuclear tests near Reggane, Algeria in 1960 and 1961, contaminating the Sahara desert with plutonium, exposing soldiers, workers and local Tuareg to radioactive fallout, and causing long-term health effects like cancer, infertility and genetic mutations.

The Rössing uranium mine has been a cause for concern for more than 30 years. Unsafe and inhumane working conditions, occupational exposure to radioactivity and the contamination of the environment with uranium tailings and radioactive waste rock all pose serious public health problems.

Saskatchewan mines roughly 25 % of the world’s uranium. The radioactive tailings produced by the mining process contaminate native land, pose a health threat to the local population and remain a dangerous legacy for future generations. The miners themselves are most acutely affected by radiation-induced diseases.

The story of Soviet nuclear testing at Semipalatinsk is a cautionary tale of how “national security” can be used to justify willful deception that jeopardizes public well-being and the health of future generations. In Semipalatinsk, the local population was exposed to high levels of radioactivity from nuclear weapon tests for several decades.

The twin nuclear power plants of Sequoyah and Watts Bar were included in this exhibition in order to represent nuclear reactors around the world, all of which pose a danger to public health and the environment even without any massive catastrophes – through chronic leakage, spills and malfunctions. In addition, Watts Bar produces tritium for the U.S. nuclear weapons program.

The uranium mine at Shiprock left a legacy of health and environmental damage that affects indigenous Navajo communities to this day. Moreover, pressure is mounting to reopen the mines in order to fuel new generations of nuclear warheads and power plants.

Over several decades, the Spokane Reservation was contaminated by open-pit uranium mining and its inhabitants exposed to increased levels of radioactivity. As on other Native American lands, no proper studies were conducted to assess the health effects on the local population.

“Uranium Mine 792” at Diébù has been producing uranium for the Chinese nuclear industry and nuclear weapons program since 1967. Reports about radioactive contamination and a lack of safety measures, endangering the health of miners and the inhabitants of the region, have been ignored and subdued by the authorities.

The most infamous nuclear reactor accident in U.S. history occurred at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in March 1979. Equipment malfunction, design-related problems and human error led to a partial meltdown of the reactor core and the release of vast amounts of radioactive gas and liquid. To this day, effective lobbying and cover-up efforts by the nuclear industry have prevented a meaningful scientific analysis of the effects on health and the environment.

The crash of a U.S. Air Force B-52 bomber with nuclear weapons on board contaminated a large areas of land and the surrounding waters with radioactive plutonium. Inhabitants, rescue- and clean-up workers were exposed to high levels of radiation.

The accident at the Tokai-mura nuclear facility in 1999 irradiated a total of 667 people, two of whom died from acute radiation poisoning. Tokai-mura was Japan’s worst nuclear crisis before the Fukushima meltdowns and serves as an example of the dangers inherent in every link of the nuclear chain.

The explosion of a nuclear reprocessing facility in Tomsk-7 dispersed large amounts of radioactivity over an area of 120 km², exposing tens of thousands of people to increased levels of radiation and contaminating air, water and soils for many generations to come. It is considered the most serious Russian nuclear accident after Chernobyl and the Kyshtym accident at Mayak.

Europe’s largest civil and military nuclear complex is located in Sellafield. It used to produce plutonium for the British nuclear weapons program and now serves as a reprocessing site for nuclear waste. A fire in 1957, as well as numerous accidents and radioactive leaks, have polluted the environment and exposed the population to increased levels of radiation.

Between 1946 and 1990, the joint Soviet-East German stock company Wismut turned the Erzgebirge mountain range in Saxony and the adjacent Vogtland in Thuringia into one of the world’s largest uranium mining regions and the most important supplier of uranium to the Soviet nuclear weapons program. As a lasting legacy, many thousands of workers and inhabitants of the region are still suffering from radiation induced diseases such as lung cancer.

Inadequate controls and safety standards in the uranium mining industry in the Witwatersrand basin have resulted in an environmental catastrophe. Radioactive tailings and contaminated water are not just detrimental for the ecosystem in the region, but also represent a grave public health problem. At the same time, South Africa’s nuclear industry is a good example of the intangible connection between civil and military nuclear programs and the inherent proliferation risk of nuclear energy.