New study on the bikini-Atoll: Greenpeace: permanent damage caused by US atom tests in the Pacific

The Marshall Islands in the Pacific with around 50,000 inhabitants were the setting for 67 nuclear weapons tests in the 1940s and 1950s. According to a study created on behalf of Greenpeace, the devastating effects of these tests are still noticeable. “Even today, the health, social and ecological consequences on the Marshall Islands continue – far more serious than recognized by the United States so far,” said the organization.

The study was created by the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research (IEER) and analyzes officially official documents from US military data, scientific analysis and medical sources from 1945 to the present day. According to this, all inhabited atolls in the region were contaminated radioactive – but only three of the 24 inhabited atolls received medical help.

Rainbow Warrior once evacuated insulans

With the study, Greenpeace commemorates the 40th anniversary of the evacuation of the Rongelap-Atoll, which belongs to the Marshallinseln, which is about halfway between Hawaii and Australia. A few weeks ago, employees – accompanied by a science and radiation team – returned to the region. For six weeks they collected soil samples on site to examine the long -term ecological and radiological data.

In May 1985, the organization with its ship Rainbow Warrior helped to move around 300 people from Rongelap to another island – after they had suffered from health problems such as tumors as well as miscarriages and malformations in newborns in the course of the nuclear tests.

Without their knowledge and their approval of the United States, the residents were made a medical test objects, Greenpeace complained in a message. “The tests on Rongelap are exemplary for inhumane, imperial politics that deliberately sacrificed human life and ignored Pacific cultures,” said Thomas Breuer, head of the Greenpeace Peace Stand. Those affected finally earned recognition, reappraisal and justice.

According to the study, the nuclear weapons tests were not only a disaster for the Marshall Islands, but also had followed worldwide. “The mostly above -ground tests on Bikini and Eneweak are among the strongest in history,” reports Greenpeace. “The overall brain fired on the Marshall Islands was 108 megatons-this corresponds to the dropping of a Hiroshima bomb over 20 years.”

Around a quarter of the total radiation exposure from all above -ground nuclear tests worldwide go back to this series of tests. According to estimates, the result is around 100,000 additional cancer – many of them with a delayed effect until well into the 21st century. “These atomic bombing tests are not a closed chapter – they still have an impact,” said Breuer. A fair compensation and an apology from the United States are long overdue.