![]() ![]() As reinhabiting these islands would surely involve consumption of local fruit, elevated radiation levels continue to pose a roadblock to a safe permanent relocation of the former residents and their descendents.Ĭastle Bravo Crater Shows Signs of Radionuclides This is tempered by the results and their implications for the resettlement of Bikini and Naen specifically. There is also good news: many of the other islands do have low concentrations of cesium-137 below national and international standards. However, some of the samples taken on Bikini Island have much higher cesium-137 readings, surpassing even the FDA standard. The vast majority of tested fruit on Bikini Island, as well as Naen Island in Rongelap Atoll, falls afoul of the standards set by Japan, Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine, though not the more permissive guidelines of the FDA. One study measured cesium-137 contamination in fruit collected across islands in four northern atolls, another inspected soil radiation content and external gamma radiation also from islands in four different atolls, and the third surveyed ocean sediment from the Castle Bravo test crater.īecause of the wide variety of worldwide standards in regards to allowed cesium-137 content-especially when taking into account the variation in cesium-137 content between samples-it is difficult to precisely classify the danger that exists solely because of contamination in fruit of this type. Ranging in size up to more than twenty miles tall and four miles wide, these clouds-especially when carried by the wind-brought radionuclides to islands far beyond the immediate testing locations.īased on trips to the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) and collaborations with local officials, divers, and navigators and using three different approaches to examine the conditions of the islands today, we demonstrate that the extant radiation and radionuclides is apparent in several ways. Resettlement efforts have been complicated by the wide dispersal of radiation from the mushroom clouds produced by the original explosions. ![]() While Enewetak is now also home to permanent inhabitants, these residents only returned to the island decades after the American nuclear tests had finished and a clean-up operation had taken place. Of the four most affected atolls, only Utirik has had a consistent population since the tests. However, unlike for the other atolls, this resettlement was permanent. Like Rongelap, residents were moved off the island two days after the Castle Bravo test and returned three months later. Utirik Atoll has a similar story-though with a more conclusive ending. They were then resettled three years later, only to leave again for Mejato Island in 1985 amid concerns about the effects of lingering radiation on their health. They were initially moved away from their island, which is located about 100 miles away from Bikini, three days after the Bravo test. ![]() The Rongelapese people, who were exposed to radioactive fallout from the Castle Bravo test in 1954, faced a similar situation. Bikini in particular was briefly resettled in the late 1960s, though this effort soon encountered the still-present dangers of radiation and was aborted by 1978. While the tests took place at a number of different sites, they were concentrated within two atolls: Bikini and Enewetak.Īfter the completion of the tests and continuing to this day there have been various cleanup and resettlement attempts. Tests began shortly after World War II and continued into the late 1950s, with 67 total nuclear weapons (including the United States’ first and its most powerful thermonuclear bombs) being detonated over the course of the Truman and Eisenhower administrations. American military personnel have also maintained their presence-the Army has a sizeable garrison on Kawjaelein Atoll. ![]() Though bomb detonations no longer occur, the remnants of the explosions-in the form of radioactivity and associated elements-still remain. The United States’ involvement in the Marshall Islands is one that continues to impact the Marshallese people to this day. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |