:

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The positioning of 35 of the nuclear explosives before detonation
follows: 14
Positioning

Number of Tests

Barge

17

Tower

9

Land Surface

5

Air Drop

2

Underwater

-

2

Of course, land surface tests were the most destruct ive to the physical condition
of the islands by producing still-existing craters or by removing an island
entirely.

Most barge tests were offshore on the lagoon side off the islands

of Runit (Yvonne) and Enjebi (Janet). Being generally west of these islands,
the tests produced radioactivity that the prevailing winds from the northeast
‘generaliy carried away from the island and over the lagoon. >
In either the case of a successful nuclear detonation or the case of an
unsuccessful nuclear detonation, a spread of radioactivity results in addition
to physical damage to the land, vegetation, and animals.

In the case

of a successful detonation, the following principal radioactive results are:
1.

fission products resulting from the fission of the
uranium or plutonium used for the nuclear explosive, with
significant fission products being cesium-137 and strontiom-90.
(Their 27- and 28-year half lives, respectively, roughly
correspond to human lifetimes, sottey do not decay appreciably
in an acceptable waiting period, nor do they decay sufficiently
slowly to result in a low amount of radioactivity.

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Select target paragraph3