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Atomic Times in the Pacific Author(s): Barbara Rose Johnston Reviewed work(s): Source: Anthropology Now, Vol. 1, No. 2, SPECIAL ATOMIC ISSUE (September 2009), pp. 1-9 Published by: Paradigm Publishers Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41203536 .

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feature

࣠Atomic Times ; in the Pacific '

Barbara Rose Johnston ;

1946, after evacuating the people of ; Bikini and nearby atoll communities, the :

United States detonated two atomic :

weapons in the Marshall Islands, a nation it ; liberated from Japanese control during ; World War II. The atomic bombs detonated : were the same type as dropped on Nagasaki ; in 1945. In 1947, the United Nations desig- : nated the Marshall Islands a U.S. Trust Terri- :

tory, and the U.S. officially claimed it as ; their Pacific Proving Grounds. Over the next :

eleven years, to test the biggest, dirtiest nu- clear weapons in the U.S. arsenal in secrecy and at great distance from the continental United States, another sixty-five atomic and thermonuclear bombs were detonated in the skies and under the waters of this Pacific island nation.

The largest of these tests, code named

Bravo, was detonated on March 1, 1954. This 15-megaton hydrogen bomb exploded close to the ground, melting and transform-

ing huge quantities of coral atoll, and draw-

ing this debris into the mushroom cloud that

eventually blanketed the Marshall Islands with radioactive fallout. The wind was

blowing that morning toward communities

living in Rongelap, Ailinginae, and Utrik

Atolls, 100 and 300 miles from Bikini

ground zero. The Marshallese communities, U.S. servicemen on Rongerik Atoll (moni-

BravoTest, March 1, 1954. (Source: U.S. Department of Energy.)

Barbara Rose Johnston Atomic Times in the Pacific 1

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toring winds and fallout), and the crew of ; the Japanese fishing vessel Fukuryu Maru ;

received near-lethal doses of radiation from ! this fallout. :

Once the news of atomic casualties hit : the press, international protests were lodged ¡ in the United Nations, with India calling for ; a ban on nuclear weapons testing. Fearful ! that a test ban would pass and further fuel ! efforts to completely eliminate atomic ; weapons from national arsenals (thereby ;

undermining a major source of U.S. power •

in the world), the United States acknowl-

edged the incident and accepted liability. In : statements to the U.N. General Assembly, I the United States assured the world that in-

jured people would be treated, assisted, and

appropriately compensated. The United States evacuated communi-

ties on Rongelap, Utrik, and the 28 service- men who were monitoring weather and fall- out on neighboring Rongerik atoll to

Kwajalein military base where they spent the next three months under intense med- ical scrutiny as human subjects in Project 4.1. A pre-existing classified research pro-

gram, Project 4.1 was authorized, following an Atomic Energy Commission review of re- search programs and needs in 1953, to

study the acute effects of radiation exposure on human populations including research on the carcinogenic action of ingested or in- haled radioactive materials and the effect of

ionizing radiation on blood. At the end of three months, Utrik resi-

dents were returned to their atoll, and ser- vicemen were released for general duty. The

people of Rongelap, who had been exposed to near-lethal levels of radiation, were kept for additional monitoring'. Over the next three years, Naval doctors continued annual exams with the now-exiled Rongelap com-

munity, documenting radiation levels and related health effects. Other scientists moni- tored the presence of radioisotopes in the

soil, water, plant, and marine life back on

Rongelap. Atomic Energy Commission sci- ' entists reviewed the classified findings from

this work and, in 1957, observed that re-

turning the exposed people of Rongelap to their still-contaminated islands "afforded a

: unique opportunity to study the movement of radiation through the environment, food

: chain, and the human body/' With false as- : surances that their islands were now safe, : the Rongelap community was shipped ; home. f Decades passed. More and more people : suffered from previously unknown health : problems - thyroid cancer, stunted growth : and retardation in children, high rates of I miscarriage and congenital birth defects. ; These problems fed community fears that : their atoll was still dangerously contami-

2 anthropology mow Volume 1 * Number 2 # September 2009

Once the news of atomic casualties hit the press, international

protests were lodged in the United Nations. ... Fearful that a test ban would pass ... the United States

acknowledged the incident and

accepted liability.

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nated, a fact that became evident to seien- ; tists in the restudy of radiological conditions : in the northern Marshall Islands in 1978. I The new findings were not, however, ex- ; plained to the Rongelap community until :

1982, when a representative from the U.S. ¡ Environmental Protection Agency informed ; residents that some islands were still highly : radioactive. The Rongelap community asked I to be evacuated, a request that the United ; States denied. Officials feared that evacua- : tion would send a signal that low-level radi- : ation in the environment truly endangers ; public health, news that might not only gen- ! erate enough global concern for a full ban ; on nuclear weapons to finally pass in the ' United Nations, but the news would also :

endanger the rapidly expanding nuclear «

power industry. Arguing that it was safe to ; stay so long as people avoided the northern : islands in the Rongelap atoll and consumed •

imported canned food, the United States re- ; fused to assist in any evacuation. In 1985, : with the help of Greenpeace and its Rain- : bow Warrior ship in what proved to be its fi- ;

Evacuation of Rongelap. This picture of A i sen Tima, the

Rongelap school teacher, was taken through the porthole of Greenpeace Rainbow Warrior, with Rongelap in the

background in May 1985. (Photo by Glenn Alca lay.)

nal voyage, the Rongelap community was moved to an island off Kwajalein.

For some forty years, the Rongelap com-

munity received annual and, later, biannual visits by U.S. scientists conducting classified radiation effects research. These scientists collected fish, plants, soil, and human body samples to document the presence of ra-

dioisotopes deposited from sixty-seven tests, the movement of these isotopes through the food chain and human body, and the ad- verse health impacts of this radiation on the human body.

V V V

In 1 998, I was invited to serve as an advisor for the Marshall Islands Nuclear Claims

Barbara Rose Johnston Atomic Times in the Pacific 3

Decades passed. More and more

people suffered from previously unknown health problems -

thyroid cancer, stunted growth and retardation in children, high rates

of miscarriage and congenital birth defects.

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Tribunal. The Tribunal was created through Congressional action in 1986 as part of the

Compact of Free Association between the United States and the Marshall Islands. Since 1 991 it has operated as an administra- tive court receiving claims and awarding compensation for nuclear weapons testing damages. I was asked to assist the Tribunal in its effort to value land, assess damages, and provide compensation for damages as- sociated with the U.S. nuclear weapons testing program. I have written a case study summary of the Rongelap community expe- rience, and I have researched the impact of

development, resettlement, and nuclear militarism on indigenous peoples.

The Tribunal had finished deliberations in the property claims for Enewetak and was close to completing the claim for Bikini, the two atolls that served as nuclear ground zero. These claims had been developed us-

ing a Western legal framework where prop- erty rights are owned by the individual and

remedy comes in the form of cash compen- sation at rates reflecting fair market value. I

recognized that this approach had its diffi- culties: land cannot be bought or sold in the Marshalls. Land and other critical resources in the Marshall Islands are part of a tightly structured, common property rights system in which use rights are inherited by women, with access granted by customary authori- ties to family members who demonstrate so- cial responsibility and stewardship. Rights to use land are occasionally exchanged for cash payment, but this use is typically re- stricted to the right to occupy, and not the

rights to freely use without permission co-

; conuts, pandanus, and other material re- : sources situated on the land, or reef heads : and other marine resources adjoining the ; land. Customary exchanges of use rights, : and many current use-rights agreements, do : not involve cash transactions. People pro- | vide their labor and the products of labor in : exchange for the right to occupy and use, : with permission, the natural resources of a : particular area. Traditional and current use- : rights arrangements also include an implicit : agreement to care for the land, including ; husbandry of trees, clearing and burning : underbrush, and improving the fertility of : soil. The right to occupy or use land can be | revoked when stewardship principles are : not being met. Customary laws governing : access and use of property are codified in I the Republic of the Marshall Islands Na- : tional Constitution. : Since a fair market value based on the ; sale of land did not exist in the Marshall Is- : lands, in the Bikini' and Enewetak land : claims cases the Nuclear Claims Tribunal ; valued property by relying upon the historic î record of use-rights agreements, largely : consisting of U.S. military leases, where rent i was paid to customary authorities at prede- : termined rates. This, together with the cost : to remediate contaminated land, and mone- : tary compensation for hardships associated : with the loss of land, formed the basis of the : property damage claims. : For many reasons this approach taken in : prior property damage claims was problem- : atic, all the more so when considering the : unique nature of the Rongelap community : experience. The people of Rongelap had not

4 anthropology now Volume 1 » Number 2 # September 2009

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seen their islands atomized, and they had not physically lost their lands. Rather they were removed from the ability to safely live on their lands because of the contamination

produced by fallout. The public advocate wondered: How are damages defined and

compensation provided for property losses in other parts of the world where people live

largely outside of a market economy? Are there precedents or methodologies for iden-

tifying and quantifying the damages associ- ated with the loss of the means to sustain a

healthy way of life? After much back and forth, I agreed to

provide advice to the Nuclear Claims Tribu- nal and to lead a research team working in

support of the Rongelap claim. This work included archival research, development of case precedents involving loss of a way of life, identification and description of meth-

odologies used to value the critical re- sources in nonmarket economies, and, with

linguist and ethnographer Holly Barker, par- ticipatory research and in-depth interviews with the Rongelap community. Here I sum-

j marize our findings, which were presented | in the form of an expert witness report for i the Nuclear Claims Tribunal in the fall of j 2001.

V V V

: We found that the notion of compensation : for the loss of access to and use of dry land I over a defined period of time was woefully : inadequate. Harm included, not only con- : tamination of dry land and the life that it ; supports, but also the marine environment. ; For the people of Rongelap and other Mar- : shallese people, the cultural landscape is I fixed and fluid - both terrestrial and marine. : Seamounts, reefs, islands, and lagoons are ! all significant features of the land and ; seascape. Cultivation of gardens and hus- : bandry of trees and bushes were elements : of a broader subsistence strategy that uti- ; lized the resources provided by wind and : water: migratory birds, fish, and marine : mammals were all essential elements of the ; Marshal lese subsistence economy. : Harm to Rongelap included much more : than suggested by the Tribunal list of radia- ; tion burns, poisoning, and cancers that con- : stitute a claim for personal injury. Declassi- : fied studies of the Marshallese and their ; acute exposure to Bravo fallout in 1954 : documented immediate effects including : beta burns, loss of hair, depressed red cell ; and leukocyte counts, flu-like symptoms, : nausea, fingernail discoloration, radioactiv- : ity in the urine, and changes at the cellular ; level in blood and bone marrow. Long-term : studies documented immune-deficiency

Barbara Rose Johnston Atomic Times in the Pacific 5

The people of Rongelap ... were removed from the ability to

safely live on their lands because of the contamination produced by fallout. ... Are there precedents ... for ... quantifying ... the loss of

the means to sustain a healthy way of life?

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Holly Barker posing questions and Lijon Eknilang testifying to the RMI Nuclear Claims Tribunal, November 7, 2001. (Nuclear Claims Tribunal videotape of the hearing.)

diseases, metabolic disorders (diabetes), :

growth impairment in children, cancers, I leukemia, premature aging (dental decay, j cataracts, degenerative osteoarthritis), and a : host of reproductive problems including •

miscarriages, congenital birth defects, and ; sterility. Long-term studies also confirmed : what other classified research suggested: : that radioiodine-131 adheres to and accu- ¡ mulates in the thyroid, stimulating the pro- j duction of benign and cancerous nodules : and interfering with the production of hor- : mones, leaving children and pregnant ' women especially vulnerable. Thyroid can- : cer and other radiogenic changes occur, not I only in people exposed to an acute level of j ionizing radiation, but also in those who : were born or moved into contaminated ar- • eas long after the initial blast and fallout had ¡ occurred. :

Given these broader injuries, we argued that the Tribunal must consider and redress the many dimensions of the struggle to "sur- vive" downwind from the U.S. nuclear test-

ing. These dimensions include the trauma of

living with an invisible, untouchable, all-

encompassing poison. As Lijon Eknilang noted, in a 1999 interview with Holly Barker, "Psychologically, you stop believing in everything around you. Your feeling of

safety no longer exists when the radiation- contaminated medicine and food around

you is no good, restricted, and makes you worry/'

And, these dimensions include the broader social traumas of humiliation, mar- ginalization, and stigmatization, as Alimira

Matayoshi noted in her 2001 interview with Holly Barker: "People didn't want to shake our hands for fear we would contaminate

6 anthropology now Volume 1 • Number 2 • September 2009

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them. We were embarrassed to walk around where there were other Marshallese, be- cause they would say things like 'they give birth to grapes.'"

We also argued that a narrow focus on

damage to the atoll missed the larger hu- man rights issues raised by the treatment of human subjects in radiation research which was often intrusive, painful, and potentially harmful to the health of the participants. Declassified transcripts from Atomic Energy Commission scientific advisory meetings made it clear that the medical research

agenda served a dual role: to assure the United Nations and general public that all is well in the Marshalls and a weapons test ban is not needed; and, to conduct research that addresses military questions and needs, rather than attend to the health treatment needs of the affected population. Mar- shallese health concerns, especially worries that radiation from fallout remained in their environment, poisoning their food and their bodies, were often ignored. While health was monitored, only the most obvious radi-

ogenic issues, such as the community-wide development of thyroid disease and cancer, were treated. Reproductive health problems and congenital birth defects were noted, but not studied or treated.

Finally, we reminded the Tribunal that much of the scientific record remained clas- sified, and there was no full disclosure of the nature of the nuclear weapons testing program and the extent of its damages. A 1955 classified survey released to the Mar- shallese government in 1995 reports fallout from the 1954 Bravo test present at haz-

ardous levels on all populated atolls in the Marshalls. Recent reassessment of the at-

mospheric tests in the Marshall Islands con- cludes that at least 3 billion curies of the

highly radioactive ¡odine-131 were released in the Marshalls, with much of this release from Bravo test. In contrast, an estimated 150 million curies of ¡odine-131 were re- leased from the Nevada proving grounds,

; and between 40 to 54 million curies of io- : dine-1 31 were release during Chernobyl

disaster. Thus, the entire nation, not simply the four atolls, has been adversely affected

by nuclear weapons. In April 2007, the Nuclear Claims Tribu-

nal issued its findings in this case: "The Tri- bunal has determined the amount of com-

: pensation due to the Claimants in this case is $1,031,231,200. This amount includes

; $212,000,000 for remediation and restora- tion of Rongelap and Rongerik Atolls. This award further includes $784,500,000 for

past and future lost property value of Ronge- lap, Rongerik and Ailinginae Atolls as a re-

Barbara Rose Johnston Atomic Times in the Pacific 7

We also argued that a narrow focus on damage to the atoll

missed the larger human rights issues raised by the treatment of

human subjects in radiation research which was often

intrusive, painful, and potentially harmful to the health of

the participants.

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suit of the Nuclear Testing Program. Finally, : it includes $34,731 ,200 to the Claimants for :

consequential damages/' Notably, the con- !

sequential damages portion of this award ;

includes loss of a way of life, loss of a ;

healthy way of life, and human subject ex- !

perimentation. ! As is the case for all the other property :

claims before the Tribunal, these damages ; far exceed the amount of money initially ] provided by the United States to meet per- : sonai injury and property and other conse- •

quential damages. The Nuclear Claims Tri- ' bunal can no longer pay on any personal i

injury award, let alone a community dam-

age claim. Payment will require an act of the U.S. Congress or an order through the U.S. courts.

>A éA *A

The toxic and radioactive contamination of

soil, water, terrestrial and marine biota, and human life that is the legacy of nuclear war

games in the Marshall Islands is difficult and

expensive to monitor, let alone remediate. What is clearly lacking in the Marshall Is-

lands, and sorely needed, is a high-quality comprehensive health care and environ- mental remediation program addressing the direct and indirect consequences of U.S. nuclear militarism.

The declassified record of medical re- search with Marshallese subjects contains a

long list of radiogenic conditions docu- mented over the decades. Many of these conditions are also noted in the long-term and intergenerational experiences of the

Japanese atomic survivors and post- Chernobyl communities. Malignant tumors and high cancer mortality rates prevail, as do a wide array of chronic health problems not present before testing, documented as

occurring at markedly increased rates after ? exposure to fallout, which are now com- : mon. These chronic conditions include dia- : betes, hypercholesterolemia, heart disease, ; hypothyroidism, and osteoarthritis. Recent : reassessments of the Japanese data point to : the importance of considering the synergis- ' tic effects of radiation and the toxicity of : other chemicals and minerals contained in i fallout. Children exposed to radioactive

' heavy metals in utero or early childhood, : for example, are at increased risk for cancer : and reproductive health problems, and are

' especially vulnerable to impairment of neu- : ral and cognitive function and skeletal- : muscular retardation. ; In the ten years since I first traveled to the : Marshall Islands to work with John Anjain j and other members of the Rongelap com-

; munity, I have received the sad news of so : many deaths from illnesses that, had they : occurred on the mainland, might have been

I diagnosed and treated. Over half of the

8 anthropology xovv Volume 1 • Number 2 • September 2009

The declassified record of medical research with Marshallese

subjects contains a long list of radiogenic conditions documented

over the decades.

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Marshallese advisors who helped support this work are now dead from radiogenic dis-

ease, as is the chairman of the Nuclear ' Claims Tribunal, and many of our key in- formants. :

In an effort to enforce the compensation settlements in the Bikini and Enewetak

claims, a petition was filed in the U.S. court :

system. In 2006, the lower court dismissed these claims. A petition to the Federal Cir- ;

cuit Appeals Court resulted in a 2009 dis- missal of the case.

A petition requesting full funding of the Nuclear Claims Tribunal awards was filed with U.S. Congress in late 1999, noting that with declassification new information had

come to light, and that the extent of dam-

ages are far greater than recognized when the Nuclear Claims Tribunal fund was estab- lished by the Ronald Reagan administration. The Bush Administration recommended dis-

missing the "Changed Circumstances" peti- tion, arguing that all liabilities have been met.

I have to wonder if the U.S. failure to act

responsibly in this matter reflects a con- scious and pragmatic choice to sit and wait. With time, all the voices will be silenced.

And, in a nation of islands that sit some eight feet above sea level, with time the rising seas will simply erase these polluted lands.

Barbara Rose Johnston is Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Political Ecology in Santa Cruz, California. Narrative quotes are excerpted from the book Consequential Damages of Nuclear War - The Ronge lap Report, by Barbara Rose

Johnston and Holly M. Barker (Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press, 2008). For additional infor- mation on classified science and the enduring legacies of Cold War militarism, see Half-Lives and Half-Truths: Confronting the Radioactive

Legacies of the Cold War, edited by Barbara Rose

Johnston (Santa Fe, NM: SAR Press, 2007).

Barbara Rose Johnston Atomic Times in the Pacific 9

In an effort to enforce the

compensation settlements ... a petition was filed in the U.S.

court system. In 2006, the lower court dismissed these claims.

A petition to the Federal Circuit

Appeals Court resulted in a 2009 dismissal of the case.

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