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Background gamma radiation and soil activity measurements in the northern Marshall Islands

2019; National Academy of Sciences; Volume: 116; Issue: 31 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1073/pnas.1903421116

1091-6490

Maveric Abella, Monica Rouco Molina, Ivana Nikolić-Hughes, Emlyn Hughes, M. Ruderman,

Isotope Analysis in Ecology

Significance From 1946 to 1958, the United States tested 67 nuclear weapons in the Marshall Islands, a remote constellation of atolls in the Pacific Ocean that was then a US trust territory. Two atolls, Bikini and Enewetak, were used as ground zero for the tests, which caused unprecedented environmental contamination and, for the indigenous peoples of the islands, long-term adverse health effects. In addition to the populations of Bikini and Enewetak, the people of Rongelap and Utirik were also affected by radioactive fallout from the largest nuclear test the United States has ever conducted, the Bravo test held March 1, 1954. This article presents a picture of current radiological conditions by examining external gamma radiation and soil radionuclide activity concentrations.