PROPOSAL TO PROVIDE INDEPENDENT SCIENTIFIC ASSESSMENT
THE RADIOLOGICAL
RISK OF RESETTLING
OF
ENEU AND BIKINI ISLANDS
BACKGROUND
Bikini Atoll is a chain of 26 islands with a combined land area of
2.32 square miles, surrounding a lagoon of approximately
243 square miles.
Bikini is the largest of the atoll’s islands and covers 0.66 square miles.
The atoll is one of 29 atolls and 5 islands comprising the Marshall
Islands,
which are spread over 357,000 square miles in the central Pacific Ocean.
In January, 1946, the Joint Chiefs selected Bikini Atoll as the site to
conduct a series of nuclear tests in a program known as “Operation Crossroads.”
The Bikini people were evacuated to Rongerik Atoll, 140 miles
in March of the same year.
base at Kwajalein,
east
of Bikini
Two years later they were moved to the U.S. military
and then to the island of Kili, where most Bikinians
continue to live today.
Between 1946 and 1958, the Bikini atoll was the site
for 23 nuclear tests.
Ever
since the Bikinians were moved off their atoll in 1946, the people
have looked forward to returning to their homeland at such time when it was no
longer needed.
Clearly their wish to return to their native home is balanced by
their desire for ph:ysical safety and health for themselves
Their experience
in dealing with the U.S. government
cautious and distrustful.
and their progeny.
has led them to become
Now instead of accepting without question the