The Marshall Islands: Nuclear Radioactivity
- frontpageinitiative
- Aug 15, 2021
- 2 min read
75 years ago, the US began their nuclear testing in the Pacific. For at least 12 years, just 5000 miles west of Los Angeles, the Marshall Islands was subject to nuclear testing for the Cold War and its fallout because they were a UN Trust Territory, governed by the United States. Essentially, the US had control over them and could use their territory however they wanted. Since the fallout, Marshall Islands and its residents continue to bear the burden of nuclear radioactivity.
Nuclear testing took place in the mid-1940s, when the US was building an atomic bomb to potentially put an end to WW2 – just like they did in Hiroshima in August 1945. The reasons for testing were justified for the advancement of science and to deter future war. Over 12 years on Marshall Islands, 67 nuclear tests were carried out. There were harmful consequences, but they were covered up by authorities and concealed from the public. People were forced to evacuate their homes and relocate elsewhere. As a result of being exposed to radiation at high levels, Marshallese suffered from birth defects, radiation poisoning, leukemia, thyroids and a range of other cancers. Radioactive clouds were visible throughout the islands. Furthermore, at least four of the islands were partially or completely vaporized.
Following the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, and after the world witnessed the destruction it had cost, the Marshallese submitted a petition to the UN to halt nuclear testing. However, when a resolution to stop nuclear testing was voted on, Australia instead voted for its continuation, again putting Marshall Islands at high risk. Nevertheless, the US finally ceased all nuclear testing in 1958.
The concrete Runit Dome sits atop the Marshall Islands, storing over 3.1 million cubic feet of American-produced nuclear debris and radioactive soil. There are lethal amounts of plutonium inside that could endanger the entire population of the region. It was also a dumping ground for nuclear waste generated on American soil. Because of worsening climate change in the 21st century, tides are rising and threatening the Dome to collapse. Officials in Marshall Islands have asked the US for help, but American officials declined, stating that the responsibility fell on the Marshallese people, since the Dome is on their land.
The US’ nuclear testing in the 1940s put the Marshall Islands in grave danger, and Marshallese are still paying the price for it today. The US should apologize to the Marshall Islands for nuclear testing and take responsibility for the Runit Dome and its impending doom. Not only would this help to solve a problem that will only get worse due to the impact of climate change, but it would also improve foreign relations.
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Published May 22, 2021
Written by Lindsay Wong ~ Graphics created by Elwin Fu
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