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The United States tested nuclear devices at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall
Islands in the Pacific. During Operation Crossroads, the United States exploded
two atomic devices--one above the water on July 1 and the other below the water
on July 25--to test the effects of atomic weapons against naval vessels. The
162 inhabitants of Bikini Atoll were relocated to Rongerik Atoll, 128 miles
east of Bikini, and eventually moved to Kili Island. Approximately 70 ships and
submarines, "manned" only by test animals, were anchored in the lagoon of
Bikini Atoll for each test. The above water test sank five ships; the below
water test sank nine. Both tests used atomic devices like the one dropped on
Nagasaki, Japan. Forty-two thousand servicemen witnessed the tests from the
decks of ships anchored outside Bikini Atoll. Four days after the last test,
the bikini swimsuit debuted at a French fashion show.
The United States used Bikini Atoll again for its largest atomic test ever,
code-named Bravo, in February 1954. The explosion from the Bravo test was three
to four times greater than anticipated, equal to that of 15 million tons of
TNT. The fallout area was also three to four times greater than anticipated.
Fallout from the test contaminated an area 300 miles downwind from the
explosion and 40 miles wide. Rongelap Island, 120 miles from the test, and
Utrik Island, 300 miles away, were hurriedly evacuated days after the
explosion.
In 1967, the Atomic Energy Commission ruled the radiation on Bikini Atoll had
decreased enough for people to live there again. After removing debris from the
tests, some plants, and some topsoil, the U.S. government allowed several dozen
people to return to Bikini Atoll in 1969. However, further studies proved the
island was still dangerous, and the inhabitants had to return to Kili Island.
Currently, the level of cesium-137 in Bikini Atoll's topsoil is too high to
permit its former inhabitants to return permanently. Since 1990, Congress has
appropriated approximately $90 million to be used by the Bikinians to clean up
their atoll. Currently, the citizens are working with national laboratories and
independent contractors to guide their cleanup decisions.
During the atomic testing, servicemen aboard the decks of the ships received
radiation doses from the nuclear fallout. Although at the time of the testing
no one knew how much radiation the men would be exposed to or the effects of
these doses, these servicemen have raised legal issue with the U.S. government.
Independent of this issue, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is
conducting a study to determine if thyroid disease among citizens of the
Republic of the Marshall Islands is related to nuclear fallout from these
atomic weapons tests.
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