Thule Air Base Nuclear Cleanup (Greenland, 1968)
What Thule, Greenland is
- Plutonium-239 contamination of sea ice and debris near Thule.
- Project Crested Ice — recovery, ice-breaking, drum-loading, and decontamination operations from January through September 1968.
- Limited respiratory and dosimetry protection for most participants given the Arctic operating conditions.
Who was exposed
- U.S. Air Force personnel assigned to Thule and TDY personnel who responded to the Project Crested Ice operation.
- Contractors and Danish workers (Danish workers pursued their own compensation track separately).
Recognized conditions & VA framework
- Evaluated under the same § 3.311 individual radiogenic-disease framework used for Palomares — not the § 3.309(d) presumptive list.
- Conditions commonly claimed: cancers of the lung, bone, thyroid, kidney, liver, urinary tract, and hematologic cancers (leukemia, lymphoma, multiple myeloma).
Evidence to gather
- DD-214 and unit records showing Thule assignment or Project Crested Ice participation.
- Diagnosis records for the claimed radiogenic condition.
- DTRA dose-reconstruction request for radiogenic diseases.
- opinion as needed.
Claim path
- Confirm Thule / Crested Ice participation through service records.
- File citing the Thule Broken Arrow event and the specific diagnosis.
- Request DTRA dose reconstruction where applicable.
Where these claims break down
- ×Filing under Atomic Veteran § 3.309(d) — Thule is not on that presumptive list.
- ×Not requesting dose reconstruction for a § 3.311 radiogenic disease.
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