Black mist

Beyond Belief is yet another account of the atomic tests that were conducted in Australia between 1952 and 1962. It does not deal with nuclear strategy, the technical aspects of nuclear weapons or their delivery systems. It is weak on secondary sources, and there is no reference to archival records. The absence of footnoting makes it of limited use for detailed scholarship. It relies to a great extent on the 1984-85 McClelland Royal Commission for a discussion of the reasons behind the bomb tests, the so-called ‘Black Mist’ incident, the undeclared use of Cobalt in the trials and the poor oversight of the Australian Atomic Weapons Test Safety Commission. The section of the book, based on the writing of Alan Parkinson, dealing with the problems in cleaning up the test sites is useful, but hardly new.

The book contains a clear message: the veterans of the tests should be accorded the same consideration as members of the armed services who fought in combat areas. This is reflected by the fact that one of its authors, Avon Hudson, has long campaigned on behalf of those who have suffered from the effects of the tests. Beyond that, the book assembles testimony from civilians and service personnel alike to record a process of culpability by the authorities from the moment the decision was taken to conduct the tests and continuing through to the present.