France is to carry out a study on the death rate of people who served on the nuclear weapons test sites in French Polynesia amid claims by many that their health has been damaged as a result of exposure to the atomic blasts.
French radio says this is the first study of its kind and will cover 35,000 test veterans.
The study comes after a nuclear safety official confirmed in 2006 that there had been fall-out from ten tests.
Officials says this will allow those who are worried about their exposure to radioactivity to get answers on whether they are at a higher risk of getting cancer or dying than the rest of the population.
