Nuke veterans seek checks on offspring

BOOM: Wes ten Hove, former Masterton District Council chief executive, watched French nuclear testing while aboard HMNZS Otago in 1973.PHOTOS/FILE

New Zealand nuclear veterans have teamed up to establish a trust fund which will allow for medical testing of their children and grandchildren.

The Mururoa Nuclear Veterans Group Inc was formed in 2013 by veterans who witnessed atmospheric testing in the 1973 Labour Government's protest against French nuclear testing in the Pacific.

The group is currently searching for more veterans who sailed to Mururoa Atoll aboard the frigates HMNZS Canterbury, HMNZS Otago and HMAS Supply, which amounts to a total of more than 600 crew.

Former Masterton District Council chief executive Wes ten Hove was a 19-year-old midshipman aboard HMNZS Otago in 1973 and has expressed concerns for his fellow veterans over health issues in the past.

He said the health concerns among veterans were not just about whether their health had been affected by the nuclear contamination but more about the long-term generational effects on DNA and reproductive issues.

Mururoa Nuclear Veterans Group president Wayne O'Donnell said it had been monitoring the medical conditions which had affected the personnel aboard the Otago and Canterbury, and their children and grandchildren.

"Unfortunately over the years, contact has been lost with the widows and children of those who have 'crossed the bar' and we need to make contact with these people so they can be informed of any findings," Mr O'Donnell said.

"Between the Otago, Canterbury and HMAS Supply, which was carrying fuel, there were over 600 crew and we have managed to get the names and details of around 60 to 70 per cent and 10 per cent of Aussie crew members. Our members are spread worldwide.

"It is hoped the results will establish the truth of the genetic transfer of illnesses related to the nuclear exposure encountered by the crews that were sent to Mururoa Atoll in 1973.

"There's the concern of cancers but also one of the biggest issues with veterans' families is that there is a huge amount of miscarriages and stillborns from the partners of crew members, which may be generational.

"We have been having meetings with the Minister of Veterans' Affairs, Craig Foss, to enable medical testing to be done on the children and grandchildren, which will hopefully be carried out by the end of August," Mr O'Donnell said.

At the meetings with the ministry, the veteran group's executives updated Mr Foss on health issues that were being suffered by crew members' children and grandchildren.

"We presented our case and had very positive responses," Mr O'Donnell said.

"I would say we are now on very good footing with the Ministry of Veterans' Affairs."