Bikini atoll

Detonation of the first hydrogen bomb on Bikini Atoll. 

The eoneentration of tritium inereased by over a hundredfold when thermonuelear weapon testing began on Bikini Atoll in Mareh 1954 but has now subsided as a result of the ban on atmospherie weapon testing and the natural radioaetivity of... 

The first hydrogen (fusion) bomb to be tested by the United States is exploded at Bikini Atoll. 

Bikini Atoll (not specified)a, U.S. Nuclear Test Site from 1946 to 1958, including BRAVO explosion on 3/1/54 Robison etal. 1997b... 

Bikini Atoll. Surface soil collected at 20 sites on Bikini Atoll in 1972 contained 1.2-45 pCi/g of241 Am (Nevissi et al. 1976). This level will increase for several decades as a result of ingrowth from 241Pu before it begins to decrease. Bikini Atoll was the site of 23 nuclear detonations between 1946 and 1958. 

Nevissi A, Schell WR, Nelson VA. 1976. Plutonium and americium in soils of bikini atoll. International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna. STI/PUB/410 ISBN 92-0-020076-1. 

Robison WL, Bogen KT, Conrado CL. 1997b. An updated dose assessment for resettlement options at Bikini Atoll-a U.S. nuclear test site. Health Phys 73(1) 100-114. 

Unstable, silvery metal. The element was first discovered in the fallout from the first hydrogen bomb on the Bikini Atoll (1952), later produced by neutron bombardment of plutonium. Half-lives of the isotopes range from 20 to 401 days. "Relatively short-lived" in comparison to Einstein s formula E=m-c2, which is valid forever. Only of scientific interest. 

Welander, A. D. (1969). Distribution of radionuclides in the environment of Eniwetok and Bikini Atolls, August 1964, page 346 in Symposium on Radioecology, USAEC Report No. CONF-670503, Nelson, D. J. and Evans, F. C., Eds. (National Technical Information Service, Springfield, Virginia). 

Figure 5. Radionuclide concentration profile at Station B-2 in Bikini Atoll Lagoon. Key X. Co 0,13TCs , lssEu A, 207Bi ,241 Am and >...

The first US thermonuclear bomb was detonated near the ground at Bikini atoll in 1954, and much surface material was incorporated into the fireball, but most US and USSR thermonuclear tests were conducted at altitude, and relatively small amounts of material were vapourised. Consequently small particles were formed on condensation, and these have become attached to the general stratospheric aerosol (Harley, 1980). 

Public interest in radioactive aerosols began in the mid-1950s, when world-wide fallout of fission products from bomb tests was first observed. The H-bomb test at Bikini Atoll in 1954 had tragic consequences for the Japanese fisherman, and the inhabitants of the Ronge-lap Atoll, who were in the path of the fallout. In 1957, radio-iodine and other fission products, released in the accident to the Windscale reactor, were tracked over much of Europe, and these events were repeated on a much larger scale after the Chernobyl accident. 

Then, on March 1, 1954, the United States tested a new kind of bomb, a superbomb powerful enough to obliterate an entire Pacific island. Pauling was outraged as he learned more about it over the following weeks. It appeared to be a thousand times more powerful than the bomb used on Hiroshima. The one blast that destroyed Bikini Atoll contained more explosive force than all the bombs used in every war in human history to that time. 

Polymer and Coatings (MST-7), Structure/Properties Relations (IVlST-8), and Theoretical Chemistry and Molecular Physics (T-12), Los Alamos National Laboratory, Bikini Atoll Road, Los Alamos, NM 87545... 

The evolution of environmental radioactivity and radiation measurements in Japan originated essentially in the survey of widespread radioactivity contamination due to the nuclear explosion tests at Bikini atoll on 1st March, 1954. Today, environmental radiation monitoring in the vicinity of nuclear power facilities has become more important than radioactive fallout surveillance, since 38 nuclear power plants are already in operation or under construction in Japan. 

Bikini Atoll was the site of 24 of the 66 tests conducted under water, at ground level and above ground in the Marshall Islands (see Fig. 10.13). The yields of the tests at Bikini Atoll amounted to about 72% of the total yield of 1.1x10 kilotonnes (kt) of TNT equivalent for both test sites (Simon and Graham, 1995). 

Fig. 10.13. Dates of 24 atomic weapons tests at Bikini Atoll and explosive yields (after Simon and Graham,...

Table 10.7 presents data for the trials at Bikini Atoll (Simon, Robinson, 1997 Bikini Atoll Rehabilitation Committee, 1983,1984 Schell et al., 1980 USDOE, 1994 Carter and Moghissi, 1977). Figure 10.14 shows approximately where in Bikini Atoll the nuclear devices were detonated (Bikini Atoll Rehabilitation Committee, 1983, 1984). 

Prior to the Able test in 1946, the first nuclear test in Bikini Atoll, the 167 Bikinians then living on Bikini Island were evacuated to Rongerik Atoll, about 200 km to the east. 

Nuclear weapon tests conducted at Bikini Atoll... 

Fig. 10.14. Bikini Atoll (A-J) locations of nuclear weapon test detonations (1 NM = 1.85 km).

In 1978, it was determined that for the inhabitants of Bikini Atoll a tenfold increase in the body content of the radionuclide Cs had occurred (Miltenberger et al., 1980). This increase was the result of a combination of the coconut trees starting to bear fruit and a drought that led to increased consumption of coconut fluid. Apart from assessments of the long-term impacts on the Bikinians, studies have been conducted on service personnel and Japanese fishermen exposed, in particular, as a consequence of the Castle Bravo test (Klenm et al., 1986 Kumatori et al., 1980 Eisenbud, 1987 Sharp and Chapman, 1957). 

In August and September 1978, in response to the high uptake of caesium in the population—then composed of the 139 Bikinians who had returned to Bikini Atoll— officials of the Trust Territory decided to relocate the Bikinians again from their atoll, back to Kili Island and to Ejit Island at Majuro Atoll. 

The radiological dose via all exposure pathways is estimated for various living patterns at the atolls. LLNL project was also studying remedial measures for reducing Cs uptake in vegetation, as part of the resettlement options at Bikini Atoll. 

Year taken Bikini Atoll Enewetak Atoll Rongelap Atoll Utirik Atoll Other northern Marshall Atolls Total... 

In January 1986, a Compact of Free Association between the governments of the USA and the Marshall Islands was signed into law. This provided for the payment of compensation to the people of Bikini, Rongelap, Enewetak and Utirik Atolls. An additional trust fund was established for the cleanup and resettlement of Bikini Atoll. 

The Republic of the Marshall Islands was accepted as the 122nd Member State of the IAEA on 26 January 1994. The Marshall Islands Government subsequently requested the IAEA to conduct an independent international review of the radiological conditions at Bikini Atoll, and to consider and recommend strategies for the resettlement of the atoll. The IAEA responded to this request by convening an Advisory Group, which met in Vienna on 11-15 December 1995 (lAEA-RAR Series, 1998). 

No further independent corroboration of the measurements and assessments of the radiological conditions at Bikini Atoll is necessary. 

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