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~ oo Merz ollese, prese:.tly aiterding a university in Vawaii and my permenen:
resicer.ce is cr tie isisrnd of Lieve, inv jalein atoll.
2. tac Lutter lo a. cinz to adcress some of the problems fcocins necple ‘arc
as a resvlt of the U.o. nuclear testh. irecran.
is” vou are indeuotedis’ cuare, 2
U.o. cisned vc vnited -utic.us Trustees ip -greenent in 1°47, wie) is tindins on
americo 2 acrisicvering nut oritvy of tiislands,
/4.¢ Agreement statec tie Lil. is
res orci3obe te “srotect tho nealth cf t'> inhabitants" and te "prcetect t.e in.asitants a7ai.st tre loss of t eir land ans resources."
Po
6ofve svent the last two months travelling threughou. the .-ars.clis - te 4.2
many tiny ouver lying atolis tv st can onl be reached by port - intervievine differnt
pecple on t © tresscie tier ‘ave experienced Eecm the radiozetive Scallove Crem toe
S. were cre sase of tie things I have learned:
r
* In 1¢4¢, prior te tie first test series of “low yield" atcmic bombs at bikini,
residents cf Acncelep ana nearby atclls were evacuated es 4 precnution. Zisht vears
later, wen Z3ravo was detcnated - the largest bomb ever cxrloded alcove ground (770
tines larger than earlier tesic} - none of the people were evccuated and several
Mundres were seriousl; contaminated wit. snow like fallout on Fonrelep and Utirik.
americ: © rudiavion s.onitcring cerse:nel on an atoll close to Senrelaz were evacucted © oartly acter te test, but the Rongselap rveorle were net evacunated Tor tore
than oe nour
tnus compounding theri radiation problen
* In 1¢5% (three vears efter the Bravo shot), with no extensive radiolcgical
surveys conducted, the peo l= of Rongelap were told ov the Atomic -nersy lom-ission
thet tr»eir atoll Wes safe for re. abitation "despite cliriit lingering redioactivity"
and allowed to return nome. rclloving a court suit in 1975 which forced tie AEC /
Dept. of cnercy to do 2 radiolo-ical survey cf the northern hars clls, the DCs's
19v& report shows that Ronvelap}'as, on some islands, radiation levels close to
Eikind! Ss, where the tests were conducted,
Bikini has been declared unlivable for
50-100 -ccrs. Despite the AcC's cssurances of Eongelap's cafet#, t 2 peo: le have
been Livin>z on a contominated atoll for more than 20 vears.
x The vecple of Utirik were also contaminated by Sravo, but with abouth 1/10
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of the Songelap dose. Accordingly, the AEC reacsured ther: continua lly trat they
tre cancer and
“ould nov: no prebless - ‘owever, in 1977 there was a sudden jwop in
Teer
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thyroid proble.s equalling t st of the much more heavily
The praric an doctors admitted they had been completely wrong in their oredictions
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