Jan 21, 8:18 AM EST


Nuclear test vets challenge Britian in court


LONDON (AP) -- Nearly 1,000 veterans of Christmas Island nuclear tests in the 1950s are asking Britain's High Court to hear their case for compensation.

The veterans began a case Wednesday arguing for the right to sue the Ministry of Defense for negligence. Lawyers for the servicemen say the ministry alleges the case should be dropped because too much time has passed.

The defense ministry says it can't comment as the case is continuing.

The servicemen - who are mainly from Britain, New Zealand, and Fiji - believe their high rates of cancer and other health problems stem from the nuclear tests on Christmas Island, off Australia's eastern coast.

The island was the site of a number of tests from 1952 to 1962 as Britain experimented with thermonuclear weapon designs.


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END of Associated Press Release