A brief history of people and events related to atomic weapons testing in the Marshall Islands

The events related to nuclear testing in the Marshall Islands began at the end of WWII when the U.S. began an initiative to determine the effect of nuclear weapons on naval vessels and on the performance of military personnel. The first tests took place in 1946 even though the area known as Micronesia was not entrusted to the U.S. by the United Nations until 1947. Beginning with the first relocation of the Bikini people to Rongerik Atoll in 1946, the saga of the Marshall Islands involvement in the atomic age began. Although the testing program was limited to the years 1946 through 1958, many of the consequences and events related to the testing program continued over the decades since. That story is still ongoing with programs currently underway to attempt to resettle previously displaced communities, remediate contaminated islands, and to settle claims of damages to individuals and communities. The history of the years subsequent to 1958 are a mixed chronicle of a few original scientific investigations aimed at understanding the coral atoll environment, continued surveillance of the acutely exposed Marshallese, some efforts at cleanup and remediation, numerous monitoring programs and many studies repeated either for credibility purposes, to satisfy international demands or because the changing state of knowledge of radiation protection has necessitated us to rethink earlier beliefs and conclusions about late health effects and social consequences. The objective of this paper is to briefly note many of the historical and political events, scientific studies, persons and publications from 1946 to the present that relate to atomic weapons testing in the Marshall Islands.