To Marshallese

What The Atomic

Age Means

TO be isolated does not mean to be safe, when isolated spots are chosen for atomic experiments —with unexpected results.

On March 1, 1954, the meteorog ists of the US Atomic Energy Com mission miscalculated the upper winds and gave the OK signal for the firing of the first hydrogen bomb. The result, as all the world knows, was an atomic “fall-out” on the Japanese tuna fishing vessel named unappropriately Fortunate Dragon (F ukuryo Maru ) and other vessels outside the official danger zone. As well, two small in habited islands were polluted, but about this a good deal less was heard. m m Dr. S. H. Riesenberg, Trust Terri tory Staff Anthropologist, writing in a recent Micronesian Monthly, tells what the accident meant to 238 Micronesians, residents of Rongelap and Utirik in the Northern Marshalls, and explains why they recently sent a representative to UN Head quarters in Washington to plead for the termination of atomic tests in the neighbourhood of their islands.

Immediately following the acci dent, the US Navy brought the en tire population of the two atolls to Kwajalein, housed them in barracks, gave them free rations, candy, movies, and medical attention.

The 156 Utirik people, less severely affected, were soon declared medically fit and were temporarily transferred to a tent city on nearby Ebeye Island .

Early in May, an AEG survey party visited the polluted atolls.

Rongelap was found still danger ously radio-active. On Utirik, all the poultry were dead, the dogs had gone wild, and the pigs “hostile and dangerous.” Water in village tanks was “probably dangerous” and had to be drained off and replaced, but this atoll was again habitable, so the Utirik people were returned home aboard Navy LST-1157. All live animals that could be located were shot as the first job, on land ing. Everything required by the people for resettlement was supplied, and they were given cash compensa tion for loss of copra production during their enforced absence.

The Rongelap people, now with out a home, and fit for discharge from Navy medical care at Kwaja lein in June, were taken to Ejit Island, one of the Majuro group, where a 15-house village had been prepared, complete with church, school, dispensary, cookhouse and storehouse.

Livestock was supplied by AEC, 300 fowls being flown in from Hawaii. The people hope eventu ally to return home to Rongelap.

Meanwhile they are being paid com pensation for loss of copra earn ings.