Bikini reef partly recovered after US nuclear tests; islanders still displaced
Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.
US nuclear tests at Bikini and Enewetak from 1946 to 1958 displaced islanders, and a 2008 study found that about 70% of former coral species had returned to the reef. The resettlement fund fell from 59 million dollars to about 100,000 by 2023, and descendants still live on Kili, where freshwater is expected to be salted by waves.
- Trust manager (not named in sources reviewed) — Identified as a beneficiary through management fees; the fund stood at about 89,002 dollars on 30 June 2024 (Pacific Island Times) Pacific Island Times
- Bikini islanders — About 167 people were relocated in 1946; their descendants live on Kili and Ejit Grist
- Bikini trust beneficiaries — The resettlement fund fell from 59 million dollars in 2017 to about 100,000 dollars in 2023 (Civil Beat) Civil Beat
What happened
The US carried out 67 nuclear tests at Bikini and Enewetak from 1946 to 1958 (no link in the sources reviewed).
A 2008 study reported that about 70% of former coral species had returned to Bikini's reef, with 28 species not found; its authors credited people staying away and larvae from Rongelap Atoll.
Grist reported in 2018 that 167 people were moved from Bikini in 1946, and that their descendants live on Kili and Ejit, where waves are expected to salt the freshwater by about 2050.
Measured radiation at Bikini reached 648 millirem a year in 2019, against a limit of 100 millirem (no link in the sources reviewed).
In court and with insurers
Lawsuits and rulings
Insurers
What we don't know
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
Record
- Insufficient Reported but not verified: monthly payments to Bikini islanders on Kili were cut; the source gives about 150 dollars a month to 6,800 members and a balance of 100,041 dollars in March 2023.
- None on record Gap: the sources reviewed do not say who authorised the 1946–1958 tests.
- None on record Gap: the sources do not give the cause of the fund's fall or the outcome of the lawsuit against the trust manager.
- None on record Gap: the full species list of the 2008 study is not in the sources reviewed.
Did the harm stop?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Who paid?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Sources
Press and investigations
- Congressmen angry that Bikini islanders' nuclear trust fund may have been squanderedPacific Islands News Association (PINA) · 2023-07-03
- Depletion of Bikini Atoll funds sparks lawsuit against trust managerPacific Island Times · 2024-08-21
Connected cases
- Panama asks US to clean up chemical weapons and munitions it left behind Panama · date not stated
- Government of the United States (Government) — here: Conducted the 1946–1958 nuclear tests; there: Asked to clean up chemical weapons and munitions left in Panama
- Pollution at Subic and Clark linked to deaths; US says it has no clean-up duty Philippines · date not stated
- Government of the United States (Government) — here: Conducted the 1946–1958 nuclear tests; there: Argues it has no clean-up obligation at Subic and Clark
- South Korea agrees to pay first for cleanup of 12 returned US bases South Korea · 2020
- Government of the United States (Government) — here: Conducted the 1946–1958 nuclear tests; there: Party to the SOFA agreement
- TC Energy's claim over Keystone XL cancellation dismissed for lack of jurisdiction United States · 2021–2024
- Government of the United States (Government) — here: Conducted the 1946–1958 nuclear tests; there: respondent; permit cancelled