Radiation on pacific cold war nuclear test sites higher than chernobyl

The US carried out more than 65 nuclear tests on the Marshall Islands in the central Pacific Ocean in the 1940s and 1950s. Scientists from Columbia University have tested soil samples on

four uninhabited isles and found they contain concentrations of nuclear isotopes that are “significantly” higher than those found near the sites of the two power station disaster. Dr David

Krofcheck from the University of Auckland said: “All of these measurements are important due to the potential for repopulation of at least some of the atolls in the Marshall Islands. “Such

measurements of the effects of nuclear weapons testing in the Marshall Islands must continue on a regular basis into the indefinite future.” Bikini Atoll and Enewetak Atoll were used as

“ground-zero” for US nuclear tests between 1946 and 1958. Rongelap and Utirik were affected by radioactive fallout from the largest of the 67 tests conducted, known as the Bravo test. The

Columbia team said they aimed to “present a picture of current radiological conditions” in the region “by examining external gamma radiation and soil radionuclide activity concentrations.”

Their findings showed gamma radiation in some areas were “well above” the legal exposure limit established in agreements between the US and Republic of the Marshall Islands. The Chernobyl

nuclear power station was the site of the world’s worst nuclear civilian accident on April 26, 1986, when Reactor 4 exploded, killing at least 30 people. The exact death toll from radiation

is not known but has been calculated by some as being in the thousands. According to the UN, nearly 20,0002 square miles of land were contaminated. The Fukushima disaster occurred after an

accident at the nuclear power plant in Okuma, Japan and was the most significant nuclear incident since Chernobyl. The disaster was sparked by a tsunami following the Tohoku earthquake on

March 11, 2011, and while the active reactors automatically shut down, water flooded the emergency generators providing power to the coolers. The coolant loss led to three nuclear meltdowns,

hydrogen-air explosions, and the release of radioactive material in units one, two and three between March 12 and 15.