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Sometime in the early morning hours of 1 March 1954, an atomic weapon of
unknown composition was detonated on Bikini Island,
According to unofficial
versions, the bomb was of immense power,
Some 80 to 110 miles east of Bikini, a Japanese fishing vessel had put
out its lines.Upon seeing the flash the ship's captain immediately steered the
ship towards the East away from the island.
Approximately two hours later,
while the crew was feverishly bringing the lines and catch aboard, the sky
darkened and there was a shower of fine ash-like material lasting four and a
half hours,
The crew stated the "ash shower" came towards them propelled by
and East wind,
When members of the ship's complement began showing evidence of eye irritation, malaise and nausea, to be followed later by skin pigmentation and
vesiculation, the vessel sailed for its home port of Yaizu, Japan,
On this
return trip the crew members washed the decks, bulkheads, clothing, and themselves in an effort to rid themselves of some unknown factor,
Upon landing in
Yaizu, the ship's captain ordered his entire crew to the local hospital for
checkups, before going to sea again,
The signs and symptoms of these men were
highly suspicious of radiation sickness, to the local physicians,
The two
sickest crewzen were sent to Tokyo which started a chain of events leading to
the realization that the crew, vessel, and catch had been contaminated with
radioactive materials,
Steps were immediately taken to confiscate the cargo of
fish (mainly tuna and shark), though the crew had partaken of smaller fish
caught during the fall oute
The significance of this unfortunate incident cannot be over estinated
because of the following facts:
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