Research confirms high rate of cancers among Mururoa nuclear veterans' families

Friday, 5 June 2020

Mururoa veterans Gavin Smith, right, with Cyril Goulsbro and Tony Cox.

A navy veteran who saw his own finger bones in the flash of a nuclear blast says families should be compensated for suffering health problems linked to the military service of their relatives.

And he now has evidence to prove the link.

Gavin Smith, 69, served in the navy in 1973 when Prime Minister Norman Kirk sent two frigates and 500 men on a sea-borne protest to nuclear testing at a French Polynesian atoll.

It was at Mururoa that he and his colleagues were exposed to harmful radiation while observing two nuclear explosions by the French on board HMNZS Canterbury.

* Grandchildren of Mururoa nuclear veterans face ongoing medical problems

Cyril Goulsbro's tattoo reflects his feelings towards his service at Mururoa.

Smith, also president of the Mururoa Veterans Group, was one of 83 sailors and 65 children included in a University of Otago study, which was published in the New Zealand Medical Journal in May.

The research proves they have a higher risk of transferring genetic illnesses.

It shows 30 per cent of veterans suffer a cocktail of cancers, including prostate, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, leukaemia and skin conditions.

Thirty-one per cent also suffer joint problems.

Forty per cent of veterans' children reported fertility problems, including endometriosis, miscarriages and polycystic ovarian syndrome.

Some had taken more than 12 months to conceive children, while others chose not to have kids because of their fathers' exposure to radiation.

Smith said the next step was to create a registry for veterans and their families.

He had contacted Minister of Defence Ron Mark about the study and hoped to gain funding for further genetic studies.

Defence Minister Ron Mark has concerns about misinformation related to nuclear testing. (File photo)

This would detect heritable change, where scientists could look at specific changes in genetic code.

Smith said the cost of veterans' health problems were covered by Veterans Affairs, however the plight of their descendents were not.

'We're pleased to have the cold facts, because we've been fighting for this for 40 years,' he said.

'It proves what we've been saying all along – that there is a problem and it needs addressing.

'We now know [the rate of cancer] is higher among veterans and their descendents than the average rate, but further genetic studies will confirm the link.'

HMNZS Otago sailor Mike Cole took this photograph of nuclear testing at Mururoa.

Mark told Stuff he was aware of the study, and that he had always held concerns about the Mururoa operation.

He did not comment on whether veterans' descendents should be covered under Veterans Affairs for hereditary conditions as a result of their service.

He said there was a 'large amount of contradictory information' regarding these operations, and he refused to comment further until he had reviewed the matter properly.

Smith doubted the Government would change its position.

'They hear what we're saying, they understand what we're saying, but they don't have an appetite for changing the legislation.

'You see all the money being spent after Covid-19, but [the Government] is not throwing any of it at us.'

The university's director of veterans' health research David McBride conducted the study, alongside a team of trainee doctors.

McBride said only 21 veterans in the study were receiving Government support.

'Ionising radiation can cause changes in the chromosomes carrying the genetic code, but we know neither if these changes result in disease nor whether they can be passed on by fathers to offspring.'

McBride said more genetic testing was required to show the way genes express themselves through decoding.

This would involve establishing a registry of veterans and their families, and storing tissue samples for analysis.