2. BACKGROUND -- THE RONGELAP EXPERIENCE Rongelap Atoll is located about 2,500 miles southwest of Bawaii, at 12°N, 167°E (Fig. 2 #1). It comprises more than 50 low-lying islands and islets, total area 3.07 sq. niles, which bound a lagoon of 400 sq. miles. The largest and by far the most important island, Rongelap, has an area of 0.3 sq. miles. ‘ The geological structure is that of a coral reef atoll resting on a submerged volcanic mass. The islands are made of reef debris, primarily of sand and gravel size, and reef organisms. The atoll is typical in appegrance, and the islands are covered with vegetation. However, a major factor limiting the kinds of plants that can be grown as staples is the long dry season. The Marshall Islands Statistical Abstract of 1986, issued by the Republic, lists the population of the atoll as totalling 235. Previously, it was 165 in 1973, 189 in 1967, 264 in 1958. In 1954 at the time of the Bravo incident, 84 persons were evacuated. (These fluctuations reflect the need to work elsewhere.) Earlier records for Japanese and German periods of control are: 99 in 1945, 98 in 1935, 110 in 1920, 100 in 1906, 120 in 1860. However, Mr. Peter Oliver, the Republic's Special Assistant for Compact Affairs, has informed me that the Rongelap Distribution Authority now makes per capita payments from its Nuclear Claims Fund to 1,578 individuals. Currently, these amount to $1480 per year to those exposed to fallout in 1954, and $480 to others. The Council has also determined that 2,277 individuals qualify for the benefits of the Section 177 Health Care Program as a result of their ties to Rongelap. 2.1 Bravo test -- 1954 The initial event occurred on March 1, 1954, when a 17-megaton-yield thermonuclear device was set off at Bikini Atoll, the Bravo test. The device was 1000 times as powerful as the bombs that destroyed Nagasaki and Hiroshima; its cloud rose 25 miles above the earth, and after 10 minutes had a diameter of 70 miles. It had been planned that the "cloud" would be blown to the west and north (Fig. 2.1 #1). Unexpectedly for whatever reason (Note 3), it was blown to the east so that at, about 5 hours after detonation fallout began at Rongelap Atoll, and during the ensuing 7 hours fell in such quantities as to suggest to Rongelapese, who had never seen snow, that it was snowing (Sharp & Chapman, 1957). Rather than avoiding contact, children played in the powdery, finely granular fallout, and no particular effort was made to separate it from food or clothing. No warning was or had been issued by the military. 11 5000b18