Bikini Atoll resettlement trust fund
- In a 2008 survey, about 70% of my former coral species had returned and 28 sensitive species were not found. Mongabay
- In 2019 the annual radiation dose measured at Bikini was 648 millirem. The agreed safe limit is 100.
- 167 people were displaced or listed for relocation.Residents evacuated from Bikini in 1946.
- Researchers 2008 study in Marine Pollution Bulletin (via Mongabay): About 70% of former coral species had returned and 28 sensitive species were not found; recovery was attributed to people staying away and to larvae from Rongelap Atoll. Mongabay
- Researchers Peter Kareiva (then chief scientist, The Nature Conservancy), Michelle Marvier and Robert Lalasz, 2012: Cited Bikini as an example of the number of coral species having increased compared with before the tests.
A trust fund set up by the US Congress for the people displaced by nuclear tests at Bikini Atoll fell from about $60 million in 2018 to $89,002 on 30 June 2024. The Bikini council and four individuals have sued the fund's manager in Delaware; the manager's position is not in the sources reviewed.
As reported by Pacific Island Times (21 August 2024); the 2018 figure is approximate.
Status As of August 2024: the fund held $89,002 (30 June 2024); the council and four individuals had sued Arden Trust in Delaware; no ruling was found.
- Arden Trust (fund manager since 2018) — Charged an annual management fee, according to the lawsuit; the amount is not given. Pacific Island Times
- Bikini community, the fund's beneficiaries — The fund set aside for them fell from about $60 million to $89,002. Pacific Island Times
- Descendants of the 167 people evacuated in 1946 — Still living on Kili and Ejit in 2018; Kili's freshwater could be salted by waves around 2050. Grist
What happened
Between 1946 and 1958 the United States carried out 67 nuclear tests at Bikini and Enewetak. In 1946, 167 people were evacuated from Bikini. Grist reported in 2018 that their descendants were still living on the islands of Kili and Ejit, and that Kili's freshwater supply could be salted by waves around 2050.
The US Congress placed close to $110 million in a resettlement trust fund for the Bikini people in 1982 and 1988, the Pacific Islands News Association (PINA) reported. The fund held $71 million at its last audit, on 30 September 2016. On 16 November 2017 the US Department of the Interior, at the request of the local council, removed the annual spending limit and the oversight that had applied to the fund. The change was communicated in a letter from Deputy Secretary Doug Domenech. Grist reported that $59 million was released by the letter.
Pacific Island Times reported in August 2024 that the fund held about $60 million in 2018 and $89,002 on 30 June 2024. A separate compensation fund fell from $59.1 million to $28.7 million; the period of that fall is not given in the source.
The council and four individuals sued Arden Trust, which has managed the fund since 2018, in Delaware. According to the lawsuit, the trustee distributed $15.7 million in 2018 although $1.59 million was permitted that year, and charged a management fee every year. PINA reported in July 2023 that purchases of land and vehicles in Hawaii by Mayor Anderson Jibas were being questioned.
On the reef, a 2008 study in Marine Pollution Bulletin, reported by Mongabay, found that about 70% of the coral species formerly recorded at Bikini had returned and that 28 sensitive species were not found. The authors attributed the recovery to people having stayed away and to larvae arriving from Rongelap Atoll.
- 1946167 Bikini residents evacuated; nuclear testing at Bikini and Enewetak runs to 1958 (67 tests)
- 1982US Congress puts money into the Bikini resettlement trust fund (close to $110 million in total with 1988)
- 1988Second Congressional contribution to the fund
- 2008Marine Pollution Bulletin study: about 70% of former coral species returned; 28 sensitive species not found
- 2016Last audit: $71 million (30 September)
- 201716 November: Interior removes annual spending limit and oversight, at the council's request
- 2018Fund about $60 million; Arden Trust begins managing it; lawsuit alleges $15.7 million distributed against $1.59 million permitted
- 2023PINA and Civil Beat report on the fund's depletion; questions raised about the mayor's purchases in Hawaii
- 202430 June: fund balance $89,002; August: lawsuit against Arden Trust reported
What was said
Where accounts differ
Each party's account, side by side, with its source. The record does not settle these points; it shows them.
Removed the annual spending limit and oversight in November 2017, at the local council's request.
Pacific Islands News Association (PINA)Allege that Arden Trust distributed $15.7 million in 2018 against $1.59 million permitted and charged a management fee each year.
Pacific Island TimesReported in July 2023 that the mayor's purchases of land and vehicles in Hawaii were being questioned.
Pacific Islands News Association (PINA)About 70% of former coral species had returned and 28 sensitive species were not found; recovery was attributed to people staying away and to larvae from Rongelap Atoll.
MongabayCited Bikini as an example of the number of coral species having increased compared with before the tests.
How it looked
Shown
- Interior removed the annual spending limit and oversight of the fund in a letter saying it would no longer distribute the fund.US Department of the Interior, letter from Deputy Secretary Doug Domenech (November 2017), as reported by Grist · Grist
Recorded
- Congress put close to $110 million into the fund in 1982 and 1988; last audit recorded $71 million on 30 September 2016.
- Fund balance: about $60 million in 2018; $89,002 on 30 June 2024.
- A separate compensation fund fell from $59.1 million to $28.7 million.
- The lawsuit alleges $15.7 million was distributed in 2018 against $1.59 million permitted, and that the trustee charged an annual management fee.
- The Marshall Islands Nuclear Claims Tribunal made awards of more than $2 billion against a fund of $150 million contributed by the United States; from 2006 only 5% of each award could be paid, and about half of the valid claimants died while waiting. The source does not say how many of these claimants were from Bikini.
Who gained
Reached nature or the ground
Gained elsewhere
Responses on record
- us-department-of-the-interior (16 November 2017): Removed the annual spending limit and oversight of the fund, at the local council's request, in a letter from Deputy Secretary Doug Domenech; Grist reported the letter as saying Interior would no longer distribute the fund. · Grist
In court and with insurers
Lawsuits and rulings
- Outcome not on recordBikini council and four individuals v. Arden TrustDelaware (court not named in the source) · Civil · Bikini local council and four individuals → Arden Trust
The suit alleges that the trustee, which has managed the fund since 2018, distributed $15.7 million in 2018 although $1.59 million was permitted, and charged a management fee each year. Reported by Pacific Island Times on 21 August 2024; no ruling was found. Pacific Island Times
Insurers
What nature saw
Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.
What we don't know
Nature
- Disputed Did the Bikini reef recover, and by how much?
Court
- Unclear Bikini council and four individuals v. Arden Trust: outcome not on record.
Figures
- Insufficient Distribution alleged: Alleged in the lawsuit; $1.59 million was permitted that year.
Accounts
- Disputed Who is responsible for the fund's depletion?
Record
- Disputed Reported fund figures differ: '$59 million to about $100,000' circulated in 2023 reporting, while the sources reviewed show about $60 million (2018) and $89,002 (30 June 2024); a March 2023 balance of $100,041 appears only in an unverified secondary report.
- Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: a monthly payment of about $150 to roughly 6,800 community members stopped.
- Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: that the United States rejected a 2000 supplemental compensation petition as not a 'changed circumstance'.
- Disputed How the coral species count compares with the period before the tests: sources give 'about 70% returned, 28 missing', '42 fewer than in the 1950s' and 'species count increased', and the sources reviewed do not establish whether the difference is one of method.
Did the harm stop?
Nuclear testing at Bikini and Enewetak ran from 1946 to 1958. The descendants of the 167 people evacuated in 1946 were still living on Kili and Ejit when Grist reported in 2018.
Who paid?
The fund set aside for the Bikini people fell from about $60 million (2018) to $89,002 (30 June 2024); the sources attribute this to Interior's removal of oversight, to council spending and to the trustee's alleged over-distribution, and do not apportion it.
Sources
Press and investigations
- Depletion of Bikini Atoll funds sparks lawsuit against trust managerPacific Island Times · 2024-08-21
- Congressmen angry that Bikini Islanders' nuclear trust fund may have been squanderedPacific Islands News Association (PINA) · 2023-07-03
Connected cases
- Nauru's phosphate fund falls from US$1.3 billion to US$0.3 billion Nauru · date not stated Related matter
- Marshall Islands nuclear tribunal awards over USD 2bn; payments are a small fraction Marshall Islands · 1946–2026
- US Congress (Government) — here: Funded the resettlement trust fund (1982, 1988); there: Placed close to USD 110 million in the Bikini fund (1982 and 1988)
- US Department of the Interior (Government) — here: Removed the spending limit and oversight (2017); there: Ended the spending cap and audit of the Bikini fund in 2017
- Arden Trust (Company) — here: Fund manager since 2018; defendant in the Delaware suit; there: Fund manager; sued in Delaware
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- US Congress (Government) — here: Funded the resettlement trust fund (1982, 1988); there: Passed the PACT Act
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- US Congress (Government) — here: Funded the resettlement trust fund (1982, 1988); there: Reinstated the taxes; cut the fiscal 2024 appropriation