Area 51 staff ‘left with fatal diseases' after guarding top secret project
Security guards at Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR), known as the secretive Area 51, were handed a death sentence by the government due to the presence of an 'invisible killer' on site, they have said.
The NTTR was built in the 1970s on land found to be contaminated with radiation due to years of nuclear testing.
However, veterans who survived the ordeal have not been offered medical care by the US Department of Veterans Affairs as they have not been able to prove they were exposed to radiation.
Former Air Force Sergeant David Crete, who worked at NTTR between 1983 and 1987, said that the left side of his brain was 'dying' due to atrophy, MailOnline reported.
He told the House Veterans Affairs Committee he was one of the luckier ones, as 490 of his co-workershave died of severe illness since serving at the former nuclear site.
Sergeant Crete said that an airman had lost his life at 33 after serving in the unit, and that his fellow servicemen had lived to an average age of 65.
Despite concerns over the NTTR's radiation risk, a government report insisted that stopping projects being carried out there would 'be against the national interest'.
However, veterans have been left without evidence to prove their exposure because the top secret nature of their work meant their records had been 'data masked'.
Sergeant Crete added that the radiation risks were not just a health hazard for servicemen but also for their families, to whom they have never even been able to explain what they did while at the top secret base.
Area 51 is known as a top secret facility operated by the US Air Force, located at Groom Lake in southern Nevada.
Apart from its only confirmed use as a flight testing facility, the site is off limits to the public and media.
Its name comes from its designation on maps by the Atomic Energy Commission.
The base has given rise to many conspiracy theories with many claiming to have witnessed UFOs near Area 51. These are accounted for my military aircraft tests according to the CIA.
Workers reach the site by air from a designated terminal at Las Vegas McCarran International Airport.
Source: Encyclopedia Britannica
'My wife had three miscarriages. One of the guys that I worked with, his wife had seven,' he added.
'All four of my children were born with birth defects or significant health problems. It's not their fault. I'm not saying it's mine, but I brought it home.'
Another veteran, Pomp Braswell, said working at the base at a young age felt 'very special' as his mother knew 'absolute zero' about the nature of his activities. More Trending
Two Congress bills have been introduced to provide more support to NTTR veterans, the Protect Act and the Forgotten Veterans Act.
A previous bill was signed by then-President Bill Clinton in 2000 to provide compensation for veterans who had worked at certain government sites
But Sergeant Crete said that the only acknowledgement of his service came from the late US Senator John McCain, who told him that his unit 'ended the cold war'.
Metro has approached the US Air Force for comment.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
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