Runit Dome: The Radioactive Trash Can on Enewetak Atoll

Jan 13, 2013 65 comments

Since World War II, the United States has conducted over 1,000 nuclear tests mostly at Nevada Test Site and the Pacific Proving Grounds in the Marshall Islands, and various other locations around the United States. Over 100 of them took place place at sites in the Pacific Ocean.

Enewetak Atoll is a large coral atoll of 40 islands in the Pacific Ocean, located 305 kilometres west from Bikini Atoll, and was a major test bed for nuclear weapons, post World War II. Before Enewetak came under the control of the United States as part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, it was under the Japanese control who used the atoll as refuelling stop for planes flying between Chuuk Lagoon and the islands to the east. After the capture of Enewetak, it became a major forward naval base for the U.S. Navy. Then the island was evacuated and the nuclear tests began.

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Between 1948 and 1958, Enewetak Atoll witnessed 43 such as tests including the first hydrogen bomb test in late 1952 as part of Operation Ivy, which vaporized the islet of Elugelab.

In 1977, an effort to decontaminate the islands of Enewetak began. During the three years that followed, the military mixed more than 111,000 cubic yards (85,000 m3) of contaminated soil and debris from the various islands with Portland cement and buried it in a 30-foot deep, 350-foot wide blast crater on the northern end of the atoll's Runit Island. The crater was created by an 18 kiloton test bomb nicknamed “Cactus” on May 5, 1958. A dome composed of 358 concrete panels, each 18 inches thick, was constructed over the material. The final cost of the cleanup project was $239 million.

After the completion of the dome, the United States government declared the southern and western islands in the atoll safe for habitation in 1980, and residents of Enewetak returned that same year. Today, you can visit the dome and stomp across the surface.

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Comments

  1. Incomplete story. Here's the rest: there are huge cracks in the dome, which have been reported by fishermen for years and tourists more recently. You can actually see them on pictures accompanying Google Earth. No plans to fix it thus far... Furthermore, the inhabitants were not "evacuated" but forcefully removed to other islands in the atoll that are so close that cancer rates have skyrocketed! Naturally, the U.S. Govt. has been denying responsability for decades... U.S. soldiers (navy) & scientists that were present stepped on the island right after the bombs and their medical claims are finally being honored, now that most of them are dead and the cost will be low! My in-law is one of them...

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    1. Tourists are not allowed to travel to Enewetak. Reporters and scientist's only. With that, they have to have permission from the State Department and the Department of Energy. The visitors that go there are placed in quarantine prior to departure. They are still given protective gear when visiting. This something that the Clean Up Troops were never afforded by our grand government. The Marshallese People are presently being relocated to Arkansas. Due to the fact that Enewetak is still not safe. The northern islands are still Highly Radioactive and still be for another 120,000 years to 200,000 years. Every island was monitored prior to the clean up between 1977 through 1980. And EVERY ISLAND was contaminated. The troops that were participants have cancer and many other diseases. Their children and grandchildren have birth defects, yet the government denies them help or benefits. They have hidden all proof and that information has continued to be withheld. I was one of the participants. Delay, Deny Until We Die. This is the governments Motto as far as ill and dying troops are concerned. They Lie ad Cover Up. as well as hiding ALL proof in files that we can not attain. Google "Atomic Cleanup Vet's". Make your own opinion.

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    2. [citation needed]

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  2. Yes. No Americans were harmed, and no Americans were forcibly moved so who cares? Only one country is allowed to colonize and invade others and that is the USA!!! These brown people had to get out of our way! We saved them from other countries that wanted to colonise and invade by colonising and invading their island. Then they complain that their land is radioactive - ungrateful swine.

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    1. Americans were harmed. I am one of them and there are many more that have suffered their entire lives since the Clean Up Operation. You have to re-check your sources. We are dying off at a ridiculously fast rate. I have less than a year. Death Sentence for serving honorably. The natives were removed from the islands and a few wanted to go back. We made them all wealthy, they chose other places to live and the servicemen suffering from Cancers and other diseases and illnesses get othing.

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    2. I am a harmed American as a participant of the clean up of 43 nucler tests on Enewetak. It is still, to this day, uninhabitable. What we did there was strictly a Dog and Pny Show for the world to see. The military could not find one civilian company that was willing to risk goinf in to Enewetak to do the clean up. Our government said: No Problem, We will do it with American forces. With an estimated cost of 100 million. That total ended up being 239 million, and every one of us is ill with something. We have less than 100 survivors out of 7,00 troops. We are all in our fifties. I was given less than one year to live from my late stage cancer directly proven from exposure to radiation. I have the readings and copies of film badges and dosimeters that were also proven faulty if they managed to get wet. Polaroid or AT&T were the ones that developed the film for the badges and we now have proof that the film was designed to read less exposure than what we were actually receiving. Google "Atomic Clean Up Vet's and read the truth as to what is now happening to the troops that participated. We recently lost 13 of our brothers in less than one week. We also had equipment from Vietnam that was contaminated. The U.S. Government dumped it all in the lagoon and claimed it was for an artificial reef. For starters, they didn't need an artificial reef on the lagoon side. It should have been on the Ocean side. We had absolutely NO PROTECTIVE GEAR. I have over a thousand photos that prove this fact. I was there for six months. It was not a very nice thing for our government to do to us.

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    3. I am so sorry to inform you that many Americans were harmed in the tests. Out of 8,000 men that were assigned to do the Cleanup of Enewetak Atoll, only 134 of them are surviving. I am one of them. We have all suffered through various illnesses. Cancers, Blood diseases, low birth rates, Radiation Poisoning and more. These guys have yet to receive healthcare or compensation for their exposure. Let me also add that while they were there, they were never given any protective gear and they were never told why they were going there. it is a whitewash. The Cactus Dome is full of cracks and was made with a mixture of soil from the islands. They scraped 18 inches of topsoil when radiation levels were abundant and off the charts at six ft. of depth and deeper. They shipped soil over from the U.S. to replace the soil that was originally removed. That soil came from the Nevada Test Site. We managed to get rid of some of the contaminated soil from the U.S. All equipment was dumped in the lagoon at the end of the cleanup operation due to Radioactivity. I was there in 1978. According to the government... We were never there. Our records are blank, they have no film badges or dosimeter records and we are all dying. The Marshallese were reportedly paid massive amounts of money for their trouble. As usual, the U.S. manages to find a way to keep it, and what they did get was used to fight he U.S. in the judicial system and through the United Nations. It has been a Dog an Pony Show for years. Radioisotopes from Enewetak were found 2300 miles away off the Chinese Coast. Water rises to the top during high tide and seeps out through the cracks and in to the ocean. It is highly contaminated. Presently the Marshallese that are still there (very few) are scrapping any metal that they can find and selling it to the Chinese. All the heavy cables on the bottom of the lagoon (to set off the original 43 nukes) are being drudged for scrap. Then sold. The U.S. has washed their hands of Enewetak to date. They claimed they were not sinking another dime into the project. A failed project at that. As far as the technology goes, we were behind during the war and thought that Germany would get it first. Once many Scientist's defected for Peaceful reasons, we beat them to it. We told Stalin about it, but he already knew and had started to develop Russia's nuclear program. The film badges and the dosimeters that were given to the clean up participant's were faulty and the incorrect kind. The dosimeters did not read properly and if they were bumped against something or got wet, it rendered them useless. The film badges could not get wet due to moisture causing them to get low readings, plus they were enclosed in a clear plastic badge protector, which kept them from getting any exposure. if there was a slight hole of opening in the cover, it would retain moisture. Google "Atomic Cleanup Vet's" and draw your own conclusion. I am an original "Lojwa Animal".

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  3. Are you proud of your county's reckless, dangerous, racist past? I wouldn't be. Your nation has disgraced itself enough. Now you're disgracing yourself and your family by supporting this garbage.

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  4. I hope this man does not represent the views of the American people. I would feel shame if my country were responsible for this abomination.

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  5. There's no way around it. The entire nuclear program was a bad idea. Millions of people have suffered as a direct result. But it made the Japanese surrender so it's all worth it right? Wrong.
    I am ashamed to be American when I see things like this

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  6. Everyone we have a problem... A lot of these photos used to be discoverable on the old Google maps. Now they are missing. Is this a glitch or is Google bowing to the requests of the government?

    You can still see them on the old Google maps here, but I believe the vast majority of people use the new google maps now. http://goo.gl/maps/vXzVp

    I think we need all need to write feedback to google and post publicly about this to make sure they don't feel like its ok to hide this kind of information!

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    1. Try Google Earth, they're still there. Looked at them about 10 minutes ago. I stood on the very edge of that crater before there was a dome there 11 years after the "Cactus" shot. Only lingered about 5 minutes then went to join the rest of my group; we had motored to Runit aboard an old LCI from the island of Enewetak.

      So far no cancers or other maladies that could be induced by radiation.

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  7. The really sad part is those of us that did the cleanup and now have cancer can not get our claims approved by the V.A.

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    1. To the Gentleman that spent five minutes on Runit at the cactus dome site. Cancer is very present in most of the clean up participants. You must have been very lucky. I was stationed on Lojwa. It was in between Aomon and Runit. $ weapons detonated on those two islands with Lojwa in the middle. We were exposed to severe amounts of radiation and I have proof. Google "Atomic Clean Up Vet's" for an accurate story for proof. I have definitive proof and we are about to go before Congress very soon. There is an awareness campaign and whomever denies that we were never exposed is an idiot. Do your research and fin out what the truth states. We are dying off at the rate of 85% more than our counterparts from the U.S. And yes, we spread that over the entire earth. They found radioisotopes in the water from Enewetak off the coast of China. The Runit Dome was made of substandard concrete and is now cracking and has holes in it big enough to crawl through. The islands are off limits. If it was still safe, then why won't the U.S. allow the Marshallese to return to their country instead of setting them all up in Arkansas?

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  8. I was there place is not safe they should sent that idiot over there he would change his mind in about two seconds

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    1. Agreed. The guy knows nothing about radiation and is speaking from the wrong orifice in his body. I was there as well.

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  9. Time to start writing congress and get serious nobody knows about runit time for a little 60 minute interview.what do you think❓

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    1. There are many news articles starting to come out as of late. The Huffington Post is writing a series about us now.

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  10. I was in the army back then and several people in my company were chosen to go over there add part of the cleanup detail. At the time I thought I had missed out on a cool detail but now, some 30 years later, I'm glad I didn't go. I wonder after all these years how they did health wise. I wish them the best.

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    1. Thank You. Especially for not going. I was ordered to go. I had no choice, but we are all doing very poorly where health is concerned. Many have cancers and other issues. Their children and grand children have birth defects as well. less than a hundred survivors from Enewetak Clean Up out of 7,000 troops. That alone should say something.

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  11. I was stationed on Enewetak for the Clean-up. I didn't find out we were awarded Humanitarian awards until 33 years after they were issued. I never did get mine. I had Stage 3-C Colon Cancer. I am on 30 medications, have over 20 different health issues. I have a Nexus Letter from a VA doctor that states he believes my cancer was caused by exposure on Enewetak. I also have a presumptive disease that is acknowledged by the VA. I have all my records and travel orders. My records were either missing, redacted and my medical records were completely blank. I am now on my third appeal. I have contacted over 50 politician's, News organizations and various Veteran Organizations and I have gotten absolutely nowhere. This is a blatant slap in the face to anyone that served there under Honorable Conditions. Why does our government turn their backs on us?

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    1. I'm so sorry and hope that you have been able to file a successful RECA claim. I'm not surprised to hear that your records vanished--my dad's dosimetry badges from his time there in 1958-59 disappeared too, and it was only recently that our RECA claim was awarded after the government obfuscated and lied for twenty-five years.

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  12. I was a participant in the Nuclear Clean-Up Project as a U.S. Serviceman. I was Discharged with an Honorable Discharge and moved up the ranks faster than anyone I knew. I found your comment to be repulsive, due to the fact of the hardships we all suffered while there and for our entire lives' post Enewetak. I ended up with Stage 3-C Colon Cancer that the Government admits causing. I have proof of where I was at and when I was there. We were not told why we were going there and we were given NO protective gear to clean up radiation from the largest weapons ever detonated on the planet. The half-life for radiation is 10-20000 years after the blasts. Now with your incredible insight, do you believe that scraping 18 inches of topsoil off the island, including the one we were living on, then replacing it with soil from the Nevada Test Site is going to decimate all the radioactive debris, dust, groundwater, lagoon, food we ate? No. But the U.S Government has turned their backs on all of us and done nothing. I had to quit working at 49 years old. I lost everything I ever worked for. I had a business that netted me almost 500,000 per year. I gave back to my community and was never greedy. We did a ton of Philanthropy work and never used one item of those donations on my tax returns. For you to call one of us an idiot is a blatant Kick in the Teeth to an Honorable person that paid his dues to protect the interests and citizen's of the United States, without ever knowing of the circumstances of our living, working and most of all, our health risks. The government placed us there, and YES... THEY OWE US! Big-Time! And individuals such as yourself should be a little more empathetic towards the ones that keep you free. Sincerely, Another ATOMIC VETERAN THAT HAS BEEN IGNORED. And yes, by this stage in our lives, we all have Attitude!

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  13. If it were not for our country and it's policing the world duties, your country would have probably been annihilated by now and you wouldn't be able to spout crap like you did about America. Get a life. If you pull your head out of your tail end, it is a lot lighter and you can actually see truth in the world. What I just relayed to you was TRUTH. You have a lot of gall. Or are you on here as a joking 14 year old?

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  14. Leroy again, sorry your mad about someone whom wont bad mouth his country. America is not the only country which tested a nuclear weapon, and it's a tragedy that unknowingly we put people at risk. War crimes happens, but to go spot checking and rambling about and claiming USA is horrible because of a test site which became a nuclear hazard; would be for me unpatriotic and I stand by my country and it leaders. We developed sustainable nuclear energy out of the research, helping to provide energy and heat after the cold war. Another thing I had a father in active duty at the island during this operations; and not once he complained about the hypocrisies of the nuclear effects on himself.

    Killing and destruction is always sad, and heart breaking; however the slaughter of human kind has always been apart of history. In order to protect your nation against invading forces, and or the threat of it; you prepare weapons which will minimize the casualties of your people while destroying your opposition. I'm not total unapologetic however our country was to protect America, the little amount of people miss placed which was already being misplaced by other invaders which wanted to harm America.

    So yes we unfortunately by testing left a nuclear radiation stain on our beautiful mother earth which cannot be undone, however we had no idea about the long term effect; this was something every country learned with the development of nuclear fusion and fission. So if your in the comfort's of your home, reading and replying your country mort than likely as well learned and or benefits from the creation of nuclear power. Human displacement is always sad and we learned from attack with nuclear weapons, and we haven't attacked another country with a nuke; however remember our country was at war. Our people at the time did what was thought to be necessary, we were a fairly new country and didn't understand much about the long term effects of radiation.

    So to sit here and hate America my home country for the creation of nuclear energy, and the unfortunate test site in the Marshall Islands and in Nevada which left radiation would be unpatriotic; I support my country lessons. We American's are not terrible, just because I will not say our fore father's were terrible people for building and testing a nuclear bomb which unfortunately displaced humans which were already displaced by another invading force. I stand by my fore fathers doing's and the wrong or right decisions which came out of this creation. I'm proud to be an American, even when we are not glorious because of our actions. Since were pointing fingers, why don't you list all the nuclear contaminations of the world; it happens we are humans we make mistake's. And America has attempted to pay and right the actions of this contamination and displacement. My real blessing goes to the soldiers which were contaminated during these test which never got rewarded or sick pay for the radiation they took with honor and was still proud to be an American. I'm an American, and I can't change what my fore fathers did; if you don't like me for that reason sounds like a grudge and not something I can personal account for.

    My initial comment was what I thought was someone American bad mouthing, America; therefore unpatriotic so I commented. Every country has some events which can be considered inhumane, even America; however this doesn't mean I will bad mouth their efforts at providing safety for the American people. Yes we are not prefect, however we are not the devil; we learn from mistakes and Americans care about the benefit of all human kind, even if it doesn't seem like it sometimes. So I still love America, flaws and all.

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  15. USA nothing more than a prostitute, no principles no integrity no moral, no ethics

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    1. And just what country are you from?

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  16. I was with Joint Task Force 3.4.2 Drone Squadron-Operation Greenhouse-I was on Eniwetok from Jan.1951 to May 1951. I was an Electronic Tech. on a B-17 Mother Plane which flew B-17 Drones through the atomic clouds to obtain samples for the AEC. I am 84 years old and have enjoyed being cancer free so far. I do have a copy of the radiation that was recorded on the instrument that I wore during all four explosions-this was sent several years ago after a national TV notice to all atomic veterans to call the displayed #. We had an AEC officer on all manned flights to keep check on the amount our radiation and what was in the plane. When we got back to base the AEC officer would collect all instruments and make a determination if on needed to go through decontamination , which was throw away clothes and shower and scrub until the radiation was acceptable.

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    1. As part of the clean up crew, we were never given any contamination procedures.

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  17. Hey anonymous, (May 29, 2014 at 8:08 AM).... Where are you from. I am sure that your country is completely free of any sort of mistakes in the past or present. I am sure that you can wave your flag proudly without a thought of who might have been harmed under its banner. Having served for more than 20 years I have seen the bad and good in a lot of nations but one thing is for sure. I have helped more than I have harmed and the harmed have been in the progress of hurting the innocent. Look at the other side pal...you really need to.

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    1. I might added to your comment if I may. We more than likely saved their tails at one time or another. He is probably French. You know they have tanks that only have one gear... Reverse!

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  18. Qe are the devil forcing this money way of life on people that dont want it does isis want? Hell no..if we created this nuclear mess we need to use again in middle east so finally this planet can have some peace i guess aalot countries forget we have nukes mid east north korea lets show them

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  19. It horrifies me that this dome is portrayed as some sort of amusing novelty. The Marshall Islands were declared the most toxic place on the planet over a decade ago. My father was there during the tests; he died of multiple forms of cancer as a result of his service. The Marshallese way of life was ruined forever. Veterans of the tests and the cleanup efforts have died or continue to suffer from illness and their children have suffered genetic damage as a result of the US government's zeal to test as many weapons as possible before the moratorium. Survivors are still waiting for acknowledgment, adequate care, and compensation for their losses. Yet our government continues to send troops to Eniwetak and visitors come and go freely to play on beaches that will be dangerously radioactive long after all of us are gone. The government that declared the Marshalls "safe" is the same government that sent our families there to be poisoned and die slow, painful deaths.

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    1. Visitors are not allowed to visit. Only news crews, scientists, DOD officials and DOE officials. The ones that do visit need permission from the State Department and the visitors are in protective gear and quarantined before they leave. Thank you for your comment. It is true!

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  20. I was in the Army in a helicopter unit in 1977. Our platoon was asked if anyone wanted to go to "Hawaii" for TDY (temporary duty). My hand shot up and I was selected to go to Enewetak for the clean up. Once I figured out how I had been tricked, I found a loophole to get out of it (not qualified on the type of helicopters they were using). It was a crap reason since all the birds are fundamentally the same but it worked. I've been forever happy that I got out of it and probably saved my life but it only later occurred to me that someone else had to take the fall in my stead. I've felt pretty bad about that. BTW, at the time, they insisted it was completely safe duty.

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    1. I respect your decision, you had clear vision of the subterfuge being used against you. Nobody has a duty to cooperate with bad faith. I suspect that the hazard wasn't nearly as bad in 77 as it was in 58, unless they expected you to stupidly bathe in dust or something. Maybe some reader has a medical story to say I'm wrong about that?...

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    2. Pretty tough to enforce proactive honesty on the military. I wonder if military culture should be considered incompatible with nuclear (or any environmental) cleanup. I.E., it should be civilian contractors all the way. Core of Engineers can design & specify the job...

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    3. To the following post. It was far worse than when the actual bombs went off. The troops there in the fifties during the blasts were here, under cover for maybe one or two blasts. I was there to clean up the residuals from 43 nukes. The contamination was still there. The island that I lived on contained enough Plutonium and Cesium to set of a 455 megaton bomb. The residuals are still there and will be for roughly 240,000 years. We also had no protective gear and were forced to pick up a lot of this stuff with our bare hands.

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  21. were u there for phase 2 clean up

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  22. I was there in 1979 for the cleanup an feel compelled to clear up a few of the untruths and accusations I have read here. 1. The US did not take the atoll from the natives, they bought the atoll, moved all seven tribes to an island about 300 miles away. 2. The money the natives received was placed in a trust and each person receives a check quarterly. 3. The tribal chiefs selected one child from each of the tribes and that child was sent away to school (USA, England, France, etc.) 4. One of them became a lawyer and sued the US, won and the US was required to make the island habitable again. 5. The standard for "habitable" radiation level was based on the natural radiation level of Denver Colorado. 6. The amount of contaminated soil removed was determined by the DOE (Department of Energy) using a tracked vehicle and a probe (known as an IMP) that measured the radiation levels for every 4 foot square of the island. 7. Once an island was determined to meet the requirement, the entire population would return on a Navy ship and the tribal chief would survey the island and the Corp of Engineers built each individual/family a house to their specifications. 8. My assignment there was to teach Radiation Protection to all personnel upon arrival; collect individual dosimeters and film badges and record their readings; collect and record all contaminated island dosimeter reading also. 9. Lemon and Lime trees were planted and the amount radiation drawn up through the roots was also monitored. 10. If you current information follow this link: https://marshallislands.llnl.gov/index.php

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    1. Some of the proof through science has proved some of what you claim to be false now vs. a few years back. The islanders have been relocated to Minnesota and Arkansas. The islands are off limits due to radiation. Coconut trees were planted in grids in the Northern half of the islands, where the contamination was much higher. The coconuts are still not safe to eat, nor the fish, nor the crab, nor the water is safe. Our Government did not buy the atoll. There was an agreement with the Marshallese for the benefit of mankind with the promise to make it habitable again. They have received only a fraction of their money for the use of the islands and they have used the money to fight the U.S. in court for damages. They are very poor people. Since this has all happened, the U.S. has washed their hands of the Marshallese and have given up paying them. Left them out to dry so to speak. The radiation levels are still hundreds of times higher than the readings in Denver. It is equivalent to 1200 nuclear bombs the size of Hiroshima, every single day you are on Lojwa in the northern half of the atoll. I was there in 1978 for participation in the clean up. I have some friends that just returned from there to do a story for the Guardian and Huffington Post. They were given protective gear and quarantined before they left. It is an atrocity.

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  23. I'm glad that y served our country in the capacity that you did now allow me to give you a perspective from someone that never saw any lemon or lime trees or anyone in those fine yellow suits . What I did expirience first hand was laying in that not so polluted soil fixing bulldozers and various other equipment in shorts, cut off jungle boots , and a jungle hat that was the uniform of the day for the lojawa animal. In closing I wouldn't want you or any one else to get me wrong I will love and defend my country till the day I die and I would do it all over again , but I think it's time for our leaders to at least acknowledge that we were there and that a lot of us do have problems from our tours on Enewetak. Speaking for myself I've had two denials from the va. This is so similar to the Vietnam vets and agent orange deny deny deny maybe they will all die off.

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  24. Went thru and read all the comments to the guys that have suffered and are still suffering from either the first time or the clean up God bless and don't stop fighting don't let the va tell you you don't exixt that's what they do every time they deny our claims. As for the rest of you yahoos that want to talk crap about our country all I can say to you is you ought to thank god you live in this country and can exercise your first amendment right to trash our nation ironic isn't it if you lived in communist North Korea they might put you in jail. Finally to the gent that served planting lemon and lime trees thanks for serving , but let me tell you it wasn't quite like that for me and a lot of others the uniform of the day was fatigues cut short as you can cut them cut off jungle boots and a jungle hat . That my friend is how rolled in the dirt to fix dozers trucks and all types of broken down equipment I can't help but wonder if you were one of those guys with the Geiger counters saying your hot go in the lagoon and wash off before you come to eat lunch. That's how it was on Janet day in and day out

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    1. Yep! That is exactly the way it was Lojwa Animal 1978.

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    2. Hi, I was a lojwa animal also. April to October either 77 or 78.I was part of the boat crew Mesh 2 also known as crash 2 for the many times are chief left us high and dry on coral heads!We hauled the soil from the northern islands to Runit. Now that I think about it ,it had to be 77 because they outfitted the deck with an experimental iron box,welded in place by the HT's to facilitate the transport of more soil. Uniform of the day : cut off's , jungle boots, and maybe a jungle hat. The first few run's we covered the soil with a tarp, then I think it be came torn or just a hassle so it was discontinued. We would decon the well deck after leaving Runit with fire hoses, washing everything in to the lagoon.I question the validity of the comments made by lime and lemon tree guy. We never received any safety briefing, and for the 6 months that I was there, I think the badges and dosimeters were collected maybe twice and some were lost and maybe you got another before you left or maybe you didn't. The whole deal of Enewetak is really a shame. It was such a beautiful place at one time. Oh, I should probably add that I have some health issues ,one of those being cancer.

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  25. To the gent that planted trees and took badges and tought radiation classes thanks for serving. It's obious to me that you were not a lojawa animal as we were called nor did you work on engebe. Unless you were one of the guys that checked us at lunch time to see if we were too hot to go eat lunch . If we were we were told to go to the lagoon and wash off. Uniform of the day for most of us if not all was jungle hat fatigues cut as short as could be jungle boots cut at the ankles. This how I repaired dozers trucks and all other broken down equip o yea lets not forget this was done in the sand and dirt the same dirt that was being scraped off and sent to runit to the batch plant .

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    1. The soil that was scraped off the islands and dumped in to the atoll was replaced with soil from the U.S. Want to know where the U.S. Soil was brought in from? The Nevada test site. I have proof of this also. Let's fight fire with Fire instead of water. Lojwa was only tested for Cobalt and nothing else. A half life of 7 and a half years. Plenty of Plutonium, Cesium, Strontium, Iodine and many other things that make an atomic weapon.

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    2. Hello Doc! It is Jim, from Jim and Bev! Glad to see your posts here. I will be in touch at the beginning of the month. Need to cover the cost of little sisters jacket! Take Care!

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  26. Did this really happen?? No way! God bells America

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    1. Yes. It did really happen and we have suffered ever since. The DOD turns their backs on us and so does VA. The DOE has hidden all of our records and added an additional 75 years of secrecy to this. By then we will all be dead and maybe then our great grandchildren 'Might" see it in the history books. I was there for six months and was never told before arrival that it was contaminated. We fought an invisible enemy and could not fight back.

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  27. We probably saved your tail!

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  28. No, Our Government are the idiots for exposing their own to this crap. I am anti Nuke, and was a participant (unwillingly) in the clean up operation that did not work.

    ReplyDelete
  29. What a DB. Where were you during the clean up? Many countries performed Nuclear tests in the Marshall Islands. More than likely yours was one of them. Discover the truth before you spew garbage from an uneducated mind and mouth. Hey! Didn't we save your country once or twice? More than likely, because you speak freely and have the internet! Babies can't protect themselves and adults that are too scared to do anything run in the opposite direction. Do you drive a car? American ingenuity! many other things as well. So just STFU! Unless of course you have something decent to add to the conversation. At least we take bathing and teeth brushing serious and we don't squat in the streets.

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  30. And I am not overweight! I have a Law Degree with four majors and I am not racist. Obviously you are though. DH, go fix your teeth!

    ReplyDelete
  31. I hope this story, along with the Navy Vets at Fukushima and the USS Liberty get the coverage they deserve. I am a recent Marine Infantry Vet with two combat deployments and I've heard how Depleted Uranium will be 'my' generations Agent Orange. I hope not... Keep up the fight... Also, I would like to point out that a lot of the people on here that seem 'Anti-American' probably just hate the gvt and the politicians decisions. I am not a fan of the gvt - but that doesn't make me Anti-American - and even regarding war, you should check out a short read by a Marine Corps God - Smedley Butler and his writing War is a Racket. After reading that, the bowels of DC have been corrupt for sometime... Best of luck to you all who were stationed there for clean up... I hope you all can start a different clean up this time and expose the truth to your cause.

    ReplyDelete
  32. On "new" Google Earth, there is a grey "censored" thing above the dome.

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  33. A lot of echo-chamber talk in here, I suspect mostly by the same two or three individuals. Just an observation..

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  34. 1979 I was there, we set offshore for three days on a ship doing a inchop. tell a bunch of squids not to fish guess what we did,, caught some of the weirdess stuff I've ever seen. At least we were smart enough not to eat it.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Apparently, knowledge of the nuclear era has essentially disappeared not only from textbooks but also from the minds of people old enough to still remember the Arms Race, air raids, fallout shelters, canned water, etc. For all of the nuclear tests that were performed and bombs created, nuclear weaponry has so far only been used twice in history: against Japan in WWII. How/why is it so hard for so many to see what the U.S. Gov't has done to thousands of its own military troops? Oh, and let's not forget the indigenous people of the Marshall Islands? Why is it so unthinkable that our own gov't would lie to cover its own six? "If we close our eyes really tight and don't acknowledge that we sent men to the Marshall Islands quite on purpose, then it really didn't happen." WRONG ANSWER. Time to face the facts, Sheeple...our government does not act in the best interest of its own people. Eh, what's a little collateral damage? Between 7 and 8 THOUSAND men served down on those islands in the late 1970's alone......and less than 300 of them are still alive...many with health issues that can be attributed to exposure to radioactive materials....and some who are fortunate and have had nothing healthwise show up to date. But the huge fact of the matter is that men stepped up VOLUNTARILY to serve their country during a time (think post Viet Nam) when serving wasn't a very popular thing to do. What did the gov't do? Send them to do a job where no civilian contractor wanted to go. And think about the money that private contractors are paid by the gov't for work they do? You KNOW conditions had to be pretty bad in the Marshall Islands...and to leave these men, these few survivors that are left hanging out to dry? To not so much as acknowledge their service? Great job, Uncle Sam! For all the naysayers and ignorant individuals who have no clue as to what is going on, take a look at www.atomiccleanupvets.com Educate yourselves....this really happened.

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  36. I was awarded a six month all exspendses paid vacation to the rock from Oct 77 to Mar 78 from Uncle Sam.What is being discussed here is true.I am 57 years old w/o any symptoms that I am aware of.Maybe because I am too scared to seek medical help from the V.A. and find out what so many of you with whom I served have already found to be true.We who were there know the truth.Hopefully the American citizens will know soon.

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  37. No citizen can be blamed for the actions of its government! Soldiers did what they were ordered to do. Terrible activity produced a lot of hate for exposing our own people! Shame on the government for not being able to clean this up! What exactly can be done? We all need to stop blaming each other for something the government did! Serious pressure needs to be put on OUR US government to take immediate action!

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  38. It is not unpatriotic to criticize your government, or, more broadly, your country, just as it is not self-loathing to recognize personal flaws. I am a human being. As such, I am flawed. If I want to improve as a person, I have to look at my flaws, recognize them as such, and make a sincere effort to fix them. Until I believe that I am flawed, I cannot improve as a person. So it is with nations, and their political manifestations, governments. Perhaps, if, as a nation, we recognize, and discuss our flaws, our governments will follow our lead. The USA has been a source of much that is good, and a source of much that is bad. We should never stop trying to make it better than it is.

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  39. Yeah you show em Oliver! I am a 18 year old great grandson of a veteran who participated in Operation UPSHOT-KNOTHOLE. I am lucky to be a healthy one but I have seen and heard the horrific stories my dad and his brother, my grandma and her siblings and my great grandfather had to go through.

    People like "Leroy Gusman" who deny that radiation affects us are the biggest obstacles to us people affected by radiation.

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  40. Health issues my family has had due to great grandfather's participation in Operation UPSHOOT-KNOTHOLE.

    Great Grandfather - Died aged only 54 from lung cancer.

    Grandmother - Bone and joint issues, lost many teeth young, skin cancer.
    Grandmother's younger brother - Bone and joint issues, heart issues, sterile, Cancer of the larynx which lead to laryngectomy, Died in 2015.
    Grandmother's 2nd younger brother - Severe epilepsy, multiple seizures in life until death at the age of 14. Additionally my great grandpa's oldest daughter was born in 51, 2 years before his nuclear test, Her children and grandchildren are healthy too.
    Dad - Bone and joint issues, Double knee replacement. His only child (me) is healthy for now
    Uncle - Bone and joint issues, respiratory issues. His two daughters are healthy for now.

    All that my great grandmother wanted to know in her life is was that why is the US government completely ignoring and denying that their nuclear testing has caused hell to families.

    ReplyDelete

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