According to a report by the US Congressional Agency, the United States conducted dozens of nuclear tests in the Republic of the Marshall Islands in the forties and fifties of the 20 th century, and the "residual poison" has not yet been dissipated, and there are still places in this Pacific island country that are uninhabitable due to nuclear radiation contamination.
The U.S.** Accountability Office released the report on January 31, revealing that U.S. nuclear activities in the 20th century have so far caused nuclear radiation hazards and threats to the Marshall Islands, Denmark, Greenland, and Spain.
The Marshall Islands, a Pacific island nation.
The United States conducted as many as 67 nuclear** tests in the Marshall Islands between 1946 and 1958. **The Accountability Office reported that the nuclear tests had a "significant impact on the land and marine environment" on the ground. The Marshall Islands** testified before the U.S. Congress last July that the amount of radioactive material from these nuclear tests was equivalent to one detonation per day for 12 yearsSeven times as much as the atomic bomb dropped by the U.S. military on Hiroshima, Japan, during World War II.
The report noted that radiation contamination from the U.S. military's nuclear test "is still measurable on some islands and reefs, some of which remain uninhabitable."
The United States** has only admitted that the nuclear test caused radiation contamination to four atolls, including Bikini in the Marshall Islands. But the Accountability Bureau investigation found that two other atolls had levels of radiation contamination comparable to one of the four atolls. In addition, the Marshall Islands identified at least six medium-sized atolls as radioactive contamination.
Located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, the Marshall Islands are made up of a large number of islands and reefs with a population of tens of thousands. In 1947, the United Nations placed the Marshall Islands under U.S. trusteeship. In 1986, the Republic of the Marshall Islands became independent.
The Marshall Islands** and its citizens are concerned that rising sea levels and flooding caused by climate change will lead to the leakage of nuclear waste buried underground and the expansion of radiation contamination. But the U.S. Department of Energy denies the seriousness of the problem. A 2022 report by the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine identified the U.S. Department of Energy as downplaying the risk of radiation contamination.
*The Accountability Office said in the report that the Marshall Islands** and the public were "generally" skeptical of the radiation contamination information provided by the U.S. Department of Energy, which was considered small and obscure, and that the U.S. had apparently made no effort to translate jargon into language that would be more understandable to the local population.
In addition, from 1959 to 1967, the United States tested the feasibility of deploying nuclear missiles under the ice sheet at a base in Greenland, using a small nuclear reactor to power the base. In the meantime, the base and reactor produced nuclear waste and biochemical waste, which were sealed under the ice sheet by the United States.
Due to climate change, there are growing concerns about melting ice and spills from the hazardous waste. **The Accountability Office reports that some professional research data show that the Greenland ice sheet has cumulatively melted billions of tons of ice since at least 1990.
In response to this concern, Denmark** has established long-term observation measures. The U.S.** Accountability Office, citing a 2021 report, said that pollutants under the ice may not move until 2,100.
Screenshot of the U.S. Accountability Office report.
On January 17, 1966, a U.S. Air Force B-52 strategic bomber carrying four hydrogen bombs collided with a U.S. air tanker over Spain. Two planes crashed, and four hydrogen bombs were scattered around the Spanish town of Palomares. The hydrogen bomb did not have a nuclear **, but two of the hydrogen bombs had detonating devices**, causing radiation contamination.
While the U.S. has taken steps to eliminate pollution, the Accountability Office reports that Spain reassessed in the 90s and found that pollution levels exceeded the standards set by the European Union. As a result of this accident, the town of Palomares has had difficulty in the sale of agricultural products.
Spain demanded more remedial measures from the United States, and the two sides signed a statement of intent in 2015 and started dialogue, but no agreement has been reached.