DARK HISTORY: AMERICAN NUKE TESTING

Ninetoes takes a Geiger counter on vacation and goes Godzilla hunting as he reminds us of what America did to the Marshall Islands.

Hey there, history lovers! It is your old pal, Ninetoes, coming to you from Ninetoes HQ. Today, I am looking at nuclear testing at the Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands. I have coffee in my system and my thinking cap on, so let’s get to it!

From 1946 to 1958, nuclear tests were conducted at the Bikini and Enewetak Atolls in the Marshall Islands by the United States. We were in the early stages of the Cold War with the Soviet Union, and as far as the United States was concerned, the tests were necessary to stay ahead of the Soviets. Sixty-seven tests were conducted in that time period: 23 tests at Bikini and 44 at Enewetak.

The first series of tests in 1946 was called Operation Crossroads. The inhabitants of the Bikini Atoll agreed to a temporary evacuation. This was done with the understanding that these tests were being done for the greater good of all mankind. The first bomb (ABLE) was dropped from an aircraft and detonated 520 feet above the target fleet in the water. The second bomb (BAKER) was suspended beneath a barge. This test produced a large Wilson Cloud (a transient cloud that can appear in explosions in humid air. See picture below.), and it contaminated all of the target ships with radioactivity. Glenn T. Seaborg, the longest-serving chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, called this test the “world’s first nuclear disaster.” Because of concerns of lingering radiation, the third test (CHARLIE) was cancelled.

The next series of tests happened on March 1, 1954. This was named Operation Castle. The first test, Castle Bravo (Codename SHRIMP), utilized a new design with a dry fuel thermonuclear bomb. The expected yield of this test was 4 to 8 Mt (Metric Tons) of TNT. The test yielded 15 Mt of TNT. This was 1,000 times more powerful than the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Castle Bravo destroyed many of the devices put in place to measure its output. The test was considered the worst nuclear test. One of the designers was quoted as saying, “We had no idea what we were doing.” The one positive (if such a thing exists in this case) is that it led to the Limited Test Ban Treaty of 1963.

The Castle Bravo test led to expansive radiological contamination caused by the United States. Debris from the bomb began to fall on Enyu Island on the Bikini Atoll. This is where the crew who fired off the device was located. The Geiger counters in place detected fallout that forced the crew indoors until it was safe for an airlift operation to come to take them away. The fallout continued to spread to other inhabited islands of nearby atolls including: Rongelap, Rongerik, and Utrik. Residents of the atolls were evacuated within two to three days after the detonation, but many of them already showed signs of acute radiation sickness, burns, hair loss, thyroid cancer, and other illnesses. They returned three years later, but were forced to relocate due to the high levels of radiation.

The legacy of the nuclear testing continues to this day. Affected areas remain uninhabitable. Radioactive debris which is buried under the Runit Dome on Enewetak Atoll, faces risks associated with rising sea levels. The Marshallese people continue to advocate for nuclear justice, environmental remediation, and recognition of health impacts which highlight the consequences of Cold-War era nuclear testing in the Pacific area.

Darren “Ninetoes” Perdue is a book and media reviewer. When he is not reading, he is watching true crime shows, cooking for his family, or working on a plan for universal domination. If you see him on his porch, say hi. He does not bite…much.

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